Engineers at Johns Hopkins University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering are developing a new way of manufacturing microchips. Unlike the microchips in most computers that use thin slices of silicon as the semiconducting material, the new chip design uses layers of silicon on slices of synthetic sapphire. The sapphire is an insulator. And it allows light to pass through it. Andreas G. Andreou is a professor at the lab where the research is done. "We've developed a very fast way of getting data on and off a chip without using wire," says Andreou. His team uses light beams in place of metal wire. Electrical signals are transformed into light pulses and then beamed through the transparent sapphire substrate via a laser. At its destination, the light enters the high-speed optical receiver circuit that transforms the stream of photons into a stream of electrons that continue their journey through wiring connected to other computer components. Using optical signals, Andreou believes that a signal could move 100 times faster than it does along a metal wire. The opto-electric interface also requires less power because the substrate is an insulating material, not a semiconducting material. Thus, it reduces the power dissipation that commonly occurs in microprocessors when signals travel through wires that have capacitance. "Without peristaltic capacitance, it's much faster to send signals at the speed of light," says Andreou. For more information, go to http://www.jhu.edu.
We looked at a number of sources to determine this year's greenest cars, from KBB to automotive trade magazines to environmental organizations. These 14 cars emerged as being great at either stretching fuel or reducing carbon footprint.
Researchers at MIT and Sandia National Labs have observed a reaction in lithium-air batteries that could help improve the design of these cells for electric vehicles and other applications.
Healthcare might seem to be an unlikely target application for the Internet of Things technology, but recent developments show small ways that big-data is going to make an impact on patient care moving into the future.
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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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