TechBlog

Graphene enhanced plastics

Comparison of xGnP (graphene additive) to other nanocomposite additives.

Michigan state University is using the recent discovery that graphene is the strongest material ever and using graphene additives to make stiffer, stronger and lighter plastics.

The material – xGnP Exfoliated Graphite NanoPlatelets - can an either be used as an additive to plastics or by itself it can make a transformational change in the performance of many advanced electronic and energy devices,” Drzal said. “It can do so because it’s a nanoparticle with a unique shape made from environmentally benign carbon, and it can be made at a very reasonable cost.”

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Applied scientists at Harvard University in collaboration with researchers from the German universities of Jena, Gottingen, and Bremen, have developed a new technique for fabricating nanowire photonic and electronic integrated circuits that may one day be suitable for high-volume commercial production.

Fabrication technique could yield low-cost, scalable nanowire photonic and electronic circuits

Spearheaded by graduate student Mariano Zimmler and Federico Capasso, Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering, both of Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and Prof. Carsten Ronning of the University of Jena, the findings will be published in Nano Letters. The researchers have filed for U.S. patents covering their invention.

Continue reading ‘Scientists Demonstrate Method for Integrating Nanowire Devices Directly onto Silicon’ »

Background

Boron nitride is a synthetic material, which although discovered in the early 19^th century was not developed as a commercial material until the latter half of the 20^th century. Boron and nitrogen are neighbours of carbon in the periodic table - in combination boron and nitrogen have the same number of outer shell electrons - the atomic radii of boron and nitrogen are similar to that of carbon. It is not surprising therefore that boron nitride and carbon exhibit similarity in their crystal structure.

In the same way that carbon exists as graphite and diamond, boron nitride can be synthesised in hexagonal and cubic forms.

Continue reading ‘Ceramic - Boron nitride’ »

Normally fragile and brittle silicon chips have been made to bend and fold, paving the way for a new generation of flexible electronic devices. The stretchy circuits could be used to build advanced brain implants, health monitors or smart clothing.

The complex devices consist of concertina-like folds of ultra-thin silicon bonded to sheets of rubber.

Writing in the journal Science, the US researchers say the chip’s performance is similar to conventional electronics. Continue reading ‘Silicon chips stretch into shape’ »

A simple surface treatment technique demonstrated by a collaboration between researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Penn State and the University of Kentucky potentially offers a low-cost way to mass produce large arrays of organic electronic transistors on polymer sheets for a wide range of applications including flexible displays, “intelligent paper” and flexible sheets of biosensor arrays for field diagnostics. In a paper posted this week, the team describes how a chemical pretreatment of electrical contacts can induce self-assembly of molecular crystals to both improve the performance of organic semiconductor devices and provide electrical isolation between devices.

Organic electronic devices are inching towards the market. Compounds with tongue-twisting names like “5,11-bis(triethylsilylethynyl) anthradithiophene” can be designed with many of the electrical properties of more conventional semiconductors. But unlike traditional semiconductors that require high-temperature processing steps, organic semiconductor devices can be manufactured at room temperature. They could be built on flexible polymers instead of rigid silicon wafers. Magazine-size displays that could be rolled up or folded to pocket size and plastic sheets that incorporate large arrays of detectors for medical monitoring or diagnostics in the field are just a couple of the tantalizing possibilities.

One unsolved problem is how to manufacture them efficiently and at low cost. Large areas can be coated rapidly with a thin film of the organic compound in solution, which dries to a semiconductor layer. But for big arrays like displays, that layer must be patterned into electrically isolated devices. Doing that requires one or more additional steps that are costly, time-consuming and/or difficult to do accurately.

Continue reading ‘Directed Self-Ordering Of Organic Molecules For Electronic Devices’ »

One of the most amazing coming developments in aviation is the UAV - Unmanned Air Vehicle. These airplanes have no pilot on board - they are remote controlled. This means that the pilots who can fly them can perform much more violent maneuvers and send them into more dangerous situations than you could possibly risk with a human being on board. It also means that these airplanes can be any size. Some UAVs are as small as your fist.

Future soldiers will likely be issued small UAVs along with their rifles and other personal gear. Under fire, they’ll be able to launch these UAVs to spy on the enemy, jam radar and electronic surveillance, even deliver small bombs, all by remote control.

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, a world leader in LED lighting technology, was presented with Electronic Products’ 2007 Product of the Year Award for its OSTAR Lighting, a 1000-lumen High Brightness LED for general lighting applications in a ceremony held at the company’s North American headquarters in Santa Clara.

Electronic Products is one of the top publications serving the electronics original equipment market and is read by over 120,000 design and development engineers every month. 2008 marks the 32nd annual presentation of its Product of the Year Awards.

“Each year, the editors of Electronic Products select what they feel are among the most significant of the thousands of new products introduced during the year,” said Murray Slovick, Editorial Director, Electronics Group, Hearst Business Media. “It is our way of recognizing excellence in product development.”

Continue reading ‘OSRAM’s 1000-lumen OSTAR LED Wins Electronic Products Magazine’s 2007 Product of the Year Award’ »