Within the next three to five years, design engineers could have at their disposal new CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) computer chips that are 40 to 65% faster than the chips currently used in computers. Those lightening-fast chips could power web servers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other portable devices, or engineering workstations that could enable dramatically faster simulations and analyses of designs.
IBM scientists have developed the chips using so-called strained-silicon-directly-on-insulator (SSDOI) technology. Strained silicon is silicon whose crystal arrangement has been enlarged by about 1% by stretching the top silicon layer with an underlying layer of silicon germanium. The result: Electrons will flow through faster. The insulator is located in between the transistor and the substrate so that there is no leakage.
In IBM's process, scientists remove the germanium layer after enlarging the crystal arrangement and before actually fabricating the chip. That step, says Mei Kei Ieong, IBM's senior manager of exploratory devices, avoids the heat-dissipation problems normally associated with germanium. "The process for making chips is different with germanium, and we don't have enough experience to optimize the process," he says.
CMOS technology is the backbone of electronics devices because of its high-performance and low-power capabilities. But the technology is approaching its limits in terms of scalability, so the computer and semiconductor industries have been working hard to find new technologies for making electric charges move faster through chip-device channels to increase circuit speeds and lower power consumption. In related activities, HP and Dell have designed new workstations based on Intel's Itanium 2 chip.
IBM will present the details of this latest technology jump at the International Electron Devices Meeting, December 7-10 in Washington, DC.
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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