Industry News

May 2019
Making 3D Sound Interactive and Virtual

Pictured here is Dr. Hyunkook Lee from the University of Huddersfield.

IMAGINE being able to experience music as if standing alongside the guitar heroes in a top rock band, or seated in one of the sections of a major symphony orchestra. The University of Huddersfield's Dr Hyunkook Lee - a world leader in applied psychoacoustics and recording technology - can help to make this happen. He has a key
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Date:
05/31/2019
DNA Origami to Scale-up Molecular Motors
Joint press release by Hokkaido University, Kansai University, and Tokyo Institute of Technology: "We successfully demonstrated programmed self-assembly of a biomolecular motor system," write the researchers from Japan and Germany who conducted the study. The biomolecular motor system, consisti
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Date:
05/31/2019
Flexible Generators Turn Movement Into Energy

An electron microscope image shows a cross-section of a laser-induced graphene and polyimide composite created at Rice University for use as a triboelectric nanogenerator. The devices are able to turn movement into energy that can then be stored for later use.

HOUSTON - Wearable devices that harvest energy from movement are not a new idea, but a material created at Rice University may make them more practical. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour has adapted laser-induced graphene (LIG) into small, metal-free devices that generate electricity. Like rubbing a balloon
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Date:
05/31/2019
Organic Laser Diodes Move from Dream to Reality

Schematic representation of an organic semiconductor laser diode producing blue laser emission under electrical excitation.

Researchers from Japan have demonstrated that a long-elusive kind of laser diode based on organic semiconductors is indeed possible, paving the way for the further expansion of lasers in applications such as biosensing, displays, healthcare, and optical communications. Long considered a holy grail in the ar
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Date:
05/31/2019
Physicists Create Stable, Strongly Magnetized Plasma Jet

PPPL physicist Lan Gao

When you peer into the night sky, much of what you see is plasma, a soupy amalgam of ultra-hot atomic particles. Studying plasma in the stars and various forms in outer space requires a telescope, but scientists can recreate it in the laboratory to examine it more closely. Now, a team of scientists led by ph
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Date:
05/31/2019
Breaking the Symmetry in the Quantum Realm

The figure describes the dynamics of two spins as a harmonious couple-dance. Different from a solo-dance of a single spin, the couple-dance would present more unique and charming features, such as parity-time symmetry breaking demonstrated in the work.

For the first time, researchers have observed a break in a single quantum system. The observation--and how they made the observation--has potential implications for physics beyond the standard understanding of how quantum particles interact to produce matter and allow the world to function as we know it. The researche
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Date:
05/31/2019
Vulnerability of Cloud Service Hardware Uncovered

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are more flexible than common specialized computer chips -- and they used to be seen as particularly secure.

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are, so to say, a computer manufacturer's "Lego bricks": electronic components that can be employed in a more flexible way than other computer chips. Even large data centers that are dedicated to cloud services, such as those provided by some big technology companies, oft
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Date:
05/31/2019
RICHMOND, Va. – On behalf of Power Distribution, Inc. (PDI), the leading supplier of power distribution and monitoring solutions for data centers and the Potomac AFCOM Chapter, Dave Mulholland, PDI’s VP of Global Services and President of the Potomac Chapter, announced that they will spearhead the sponsors
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Date:
05/30/2019
EPC CEO, Alex Lidow, Inducted into ISPSD Hall of Fame 2019

Alex Lidow from Efficient Power Conversion

EPC proudly announces that Dr. Alex Lidow, CEO and co-founder, is inducted into the ISPSD Hall of Fame 2019. This prestigious honor is bestowed upon an honored contributor to advancing power semiconductor technology and sustaining the success of ISPSD. This Hall of Fame award was announced on May 20th, 2019 at 31st IEEE Int
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Date:
05/29/2019
Graphene to Enable Future Space Exploration

Graphene Flagship researchers during one of the zero-gravity experiments.

Researchers embark on zero-gravity parabolic flights to test novel graphene-based thermal management devices for space applications. Graphene significantly improves the performance of loop heat pipes, which dissipate heat in satellites to avoid equipment failure. The Graphene Flagship aims to get thes
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Date:
05/29/2019
Bringing Human-Like Reasoning to Driverless Car Navigation
With aims of bringing more human-like reasoning to autonomous vehicles, MIT researchers have created a system that uses only simple maps and visual data to enable driverless cars to navigate routes in new, complex environments. Human drivers are exceptionally good at navigating roads they haven't driven on
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Date:
05/23/2019
Engineered Bacteria Could be Missing Link in Energy Storage
ITHACA, N.Y. - One of the big issues with sustainable energy systems is how to store electricity that's generated from wind, solar and waves. At present, no existing technology provides large-scale storage and energy retrieval for sustainable energy at a low financial and environmental cost. Engineered electroact
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Date:
05/23/2019
MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. – Sager Electronics announces the addition of NevadaNano to its line card. NevadaNano develops patent-pending chemical sensing technology. “Sager is an excellent partner with which to offer our groundbreaking gas sensors to customers,” noted Bob Christensen, Senior Director Business D
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Date:
05/22/2019
MIT and US Air Force Sign Agreement to Launch AI Accelerator
MIT and the U.S. Air Force have signed an agreement to launch a new program designed to make fundamental advances in artificial intelligence that could improve Air Force operations while also addressing broader societal needs. The effort, known as the MIT-Air Force AI Accelerator, will leverage the expertise
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Date:
05/20/2019
Manipulating Atoms one at a Time with an Electron Beam
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- The ultimate degree of control for engineering would be the ability to create and manipulate materials at the most basic level, fabricating devices atom by atom with precise control. Now, scientists at MIT, the University of Vienna, and several other institutions have taken a step in that d
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Date:
05/17/2019
Polymers Jump Through Hoops on way to Sustainable Materials

Chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Charles Schroeder, left, and graduate student Yuecheng (Peter) Zhou study the flow dynamics of ring and linear polymer solutions to tease out clues about how synthetic polymers interact during processing.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Recyclable plastics that contain ring-shaped polymers may be a key to developing sustainable synthetic materials. Despite some promising advances, researchers said, a full understanding of how to processes ring polymers into practical materials remains elusive. In a new study, researchers id
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Date:
05/17/2019
Advanced Energy to Acquire Artesyn Embedded Power
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Embedded Power business of Artesyn Embedded Technologies, Inc. (Artesyn EP) from Platinum Equity. The total consideration for this transaction will be approximately $400 million. Artesyn EP is one
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Date:
05/16/2019
ISELIN, N.J -- TDK Corporation announced that its subsidiary TDK Electronics has signed a cooperation agreement with Boréas Technologies Inc., developer of ultra-low-power haptic technologies, in order to accelerate the adoption of piezo haptic solutions in a broad range of applications. Under the agreement, th
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Date:
05/14/2019
Assessing Battery Performance: Compared to What?

This is a test facility for evaluation of battery performance and life at Argonne National Laboratory.

Scientists must often ask themselves, compared to what? How do the results we generate in the laboratory compare with those obtained by others? How do our theoretical calculations compare with experimental data? Answering such questions is especially crucial for researchers and developers of lithium-ion batteries
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Date:
05/10/2019
New Materials for Next-Generation Data Storage

Army funded research discovery may allow for development of novel device structures that can be used to improve logic/memory, sensing, communications, and other applications for the Army as well as industry. Image demonstrates simulation of emergent chirality in polar skyrmions for the first time in oxide superlattices

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. - Research funded in part by the U.S. Army identified properties in materials that could one day lead to applications such as more powerful data storage devices that continue to hold information even after a device has been powered off. A team of researchers led by Cornell Universit
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Date:
05/10/2019
Get Going with GaN

Click image to enlarge

Standing room only at PSD's PCIM Europe 2019 podium presentation titled: "Get Going with GaN"

Power Systems Design (PSD) at PCIM Europe 2019. Podium presentation title: "Get Going with GaN", moderated by Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD. To view the slides from this presentation, simple Click here
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Date:
05/08/2019
Cree to Invest $1 Billion to Expand Silicon Carbide Capacity

Five-year investment leverages an existing building and refurbished 200mm equipment to build state-of-the-art automotive-qualified production facility

DURHAM, N.C.--As part of its long-term growth strategy, Cree, Inc. announces it will invest up to $1 billion in the expansion of its silicon carbide capacity with the development of a state-of-the-art, automated 200mm silicon carbide fabrication facility and a materials mega factory at its U.S. campus headquarters in
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Date:
05/07/2019
Generating Electricity From the Coldness of the Universe

A drawback of solar panels is that they require sunlight to generate electricity. Some have observed that for a device on Earth facing space, the chilling outflow of energy from the device can be harvested using the same kind of optoelectronic physics we have used to harness solar energy. New work, in Applied Physics Letters, looks to provide a potential path to generating electricity like solar cells but that can power electronics at night. This is a schematic of the experimental infrared photodiode that has generated electricity directly from the coldness of space.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The obvious drawback of solar panels is that they require sunlight to generate electricity. Some have observed that for a device on Earth facing space, which has a frigid temperature, the chilling outflow of energy from the device can be harvested using the same kind of optoelectronic physics we
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Date:
05/07/2019
Skyrmions in Multilayers + Their Topological Hall Signature

Magnetic measurement images showing how the number of skyrmions in a nanomaterial varies with magnetic field strength.

These results were used to prove the influence of skyrmions on the Hall resistivity, a phenomenon called the Topological Hall Effect.

Magnetic skyrmions are tiny entities, manifesting in magnetic materials, that consist of localized twists in the magnetization direction of the medium. Each skyrmion is highly stable because eliminating it requires untwisting the magnetization direction of the material, just as a knot on a string can only be un
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Date:
05/07/2019
MIDDLEBOROUGH, Mass. – Sager Electronics announced the addition of Calex Manufacturing Co., Inc., to its line card. Calex, a subsidiary of Murata Power Solutions, Inc., offers a wide variety of cutting-edge DC-DC power converters for automotive, transportation and industrial applications. Steve Pimpis, P
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Date:
05/07/2019
Open Source Software Eases the Pain of Multiple UI Designs
The time-consuming and labour-intensive task of designing multiple user interfaces for different screen sizes and orientations could become a thing of the past thanks to open-source software that uses a new paradigm to speed up or even automate the process. The ORC Layout (OR-constraint Layout) software is being
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Date:
05/07/2019
Getting to 5G Smartphones with First Antenna-on-Display

This is the world's first Antenna-on-Display.

It has been few years since physical key boards have been replaced by on-screen touch sensors for wireless devices such as cellular phones. This eventually triggered the modern day smartphone-era by introducing large-screen displays on portable devices. In which country was this technology first in-troduced? Th
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Date:
05/06/2019
Artificial Intelligence Improves Power Transmission

The PrognoNetz project is aimed at monitoring overhead lines at high resolution and in real time. (Figure: ITIV, KIT)

To integrate the usually volatile renewable sources into energy supply, capacities of the power grid have to be increased. The need for new lines can be reduced by better utilization of existing lines as a function of weather conditions. To this end, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) work on
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Date:
05/06/2019
Low-Cost Intervention Boosts Computer Science Interest
A recent study finds that an online intervention taking less than 30 minutes significantly increased interest in computer science for both male and female undergraduate students. However, when it comes to the intervention's impact on classroom performance, the picture gets more complicated. "Our focus was
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Date:
05/06/2019
New Class of Catalysts for Energy Conversion

Michael Meischein in front of the sputter system in which nanoparticles are fabricated by co-deposition into an ionic liquid

Numerous chemical reactions relevant for the energy revolution are highly complex and result in considerable energy losses. This is the reason why energy conversion and storage systems or fuel cells are not yet widely used in commercial applications. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and Max-Planck-Institut f
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Date:
05/06/2019
In 1984, Lee Payne established Dataforth Corporation, an entrepreneurial spinoff from Burr-Brown Corporation, in his garage. Thirty-five years later, the company is a world leader in Instrument Class® Industrial Electronics with two Tucson, AZ, locations and over 2,000 made-in-the-USA products. “I started D
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Date:
05/02/2019
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