Science and Enterprise

Tag: semiconductors

  • NSF Funding Organic Crystals Research for Electronics

    A physics professor at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina received a $400,000 National Science Foundation grant for research on the physical structure and electronic properties of organic semiconductor crystals. The five-year award to Wake Forest’s Oana Jurchescu was made under NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program. Organic semiconductors are hydrocarbon substances like…

  • Alternative Quantum Computing Data Storage Process Found

    Physicists at Technical University Munich (Technische Universitaet Muenchen, TUM) in Germany found an alternative method for storing data as quantum bits for quantum computers using carbon nanotubes. The findings of TUM’s Simon Rips and Michael Hartmann appear online today in the journal Physical Review Letters (paid subscription required). Quantum computing is a more powerful method…

  • Investment Fund to Support Canadian Quantum Technologies

    Quantum Valley Investments, a new venture fund in Waterloo, Ontario, plans to invest $100 million to develop and commercialize quantum computing technologies in its region. The fund, started by Blackberry co-founders Michael Lazaridis and Doug Fregin, aims to make stimulate development of Waterloo and vicinity into a Quantum Valley technology hub, similar to Silicon Valley…

  • Polymer Light-Trapping Properties Enhanced for Photonics

    Researchers at North Carolina State University and University of North Carolina developed a process for enhancing a polymer’s ability to trap light waves, making it a better material for photonic semiconductors. The team led by NC State materials scientist Lewis Reynolds published its findings online in a recent issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters.…

  • Industry Technology Formulas Given Real-World Tests

    Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico found two formulas for predicting technological change, including Moore’s Law, produce reasonably accurate forecasts. The team led by MIT engineering systems professor Jessika Trancik (pictured right), formerly a postdoctoral fellow at Santa Fe Institute, published its findings last week in the online…

  • Wireless Brain Sensor Designed, Tested in Animals

    Neuroscientists and engineers at Brown University in Providence developed a wireless broadband implanted brain sensor that the researchers are testing in lab animals. The team led by Brown engineering professor Arto Nurmikko described their findings at this week’s 2013 International Workshop on Clinical Brain-Neural Machine Interface Systems in Houston, and in the April 2013 issue…

  • Feasibility Shown of Spintronic Enabling Organic Materials

    Engineers at University of Utah in Salt Lake City developed a process to create organic materials with the ability to conduct electricity on their edges, while the inside acts as an insulator. The team led by Utah professor Feng Liu published its findings in yesterday’s issue of the journal Nature Communications (paid subscription required). Materials…

  • Process Adds New Properties to Ferroelectric Materials

    Materials scientists at University of Illinois in Urbana developed a new type of thin metal oxide film with a built-in electric field, useful  for semiconductor devices such as computer memory. The team led by Illinois professor Lane Martin published their findings online in a recent issue of the journal Advanced Materials (paid subscription required). Lane,…

  • Semiconductor Research Corp, DARPA, Launch University Nets

    Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Virginia unveiled their support for six U.S. university research centers. STARnet, as the program is called, will devote $194 million microelectronics research over five years. SRC is university-company research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies…

  • Mobility Device with Health Monitor Developed for Disabled

    Biomedical engineers at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Taiwan built a robotics device that provides mobility, lifting, standing, and health monitoring for disabled persons. The team led by NCKU engineering professors Fong-Chin Su and Tain-Song Chen demonstrated the system at a recent forum sponsored by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education. The device, known as the…