Semiconductors

By Milad Abolhasani, NCSU and Matt Shipman, NCSU Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University at Buffalo have developed and demonstrated a ‘self-driving lab’ that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and fluidic systems to advance our understanding of metal halide perovskite (MHP) nanocrystals. This self-driving lab can also be used to investigate a broad…

From Sandia National Laboratories Scientists from Sandia National Laboratories have announced a tiny, electronic device that can shunt excess electricity within a few billionths of a second while operating at a record-breaking 6,400 volts — a significant step towards protecting the nation’s electric grid from an electromagnetic pulse. The team published the fabrication and testing…

By Karyn Hede, PNNL A research team probing the properties of a semiconductor combined with a novel thin oxide film have observed a surprising new source of conductivity from oxygen atoms trapped inside. Scott Chambers, a materials scientist at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, reported the team’s discovery at the Spring 2022…

Thermo Fisher Scientific introduces the Thermo Scientific Centrios HX Circuit Edit System. This state-of-the-art circuit edit solution allows semiconductor manufacturers to optimize success rates with high resolution imaging and precise editing of today’s leading-edge devices. As semiconductor devices become more complex, higher precision circuit edit tools are required to optimize product functionality and deliver prototypes…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending February 11, 2022, closed at 5,188.11 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was down -4.28% (or 231.98 basis points) from the week ending February 4, 2022. The stock of eight RDWI members gained value from 0.02% (Alibaba) to 5.34% (Daimler AG). The stock…

Ubiquitous Water Wand (UWAW), developed by Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and Chyi Ding Technologies, is an ultrahigh efficiency vapor/air separation equipment which extracts clean water from the air we breathe. It provides ultra clean drinking water without water sources, cooling media or water filters. In conjunction with an air-conditioner, UWAW can also provide buildings…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending January 21, 2022, closed at 5,208.27 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was down -5.66% (or 312.43 basis points) from the week ending January 14, 2022. The stock of only one RDWI member gained value at 0.42% (AstraZeneca). The stock of 24 RDWI…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending January 14, 2022, closed at 5,520.70 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was up 0.89% (or 48.45 basis points) from the week ending January 7, 2022. The stock of 18 RDWI members gained value from 0.03% (Facebook) to 5.11% (Toyota Motor). The stock…

Artificial Chemist 2.0 is a new technology that allows users to go from requesting a custom quantum dot to completing the relevant R&D and beginning manufacturing in less than an hour. The technology is completely autonomous and uses artificial intelligence (AI) and automated robotic systems to perform multi-step chemical synthesis and analysis. Quantum dots are…

Hitachi has developed a superconducting 8-km-long magnesium diboride (MgB2) wire for high-efficiency superconducting electromagnets. This superconducting wire not only reduces the cooling power of the magnets for the klystron but also contributes to the energy saving of existing superconducting devices such as MRIs. It will also contribute to environmental load reduction as its application is…

By Karen K Dunlap Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee designed and demonstrated a method to make carbon-based materials that can be used as electrodes compatible with a specific semiconductor circuitry. The work bridges nanoscale 3D printing and widely available processes for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor, or CMOS, technologies to enable biosensors…

By Theresa Duque A team of scientists led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and UC Berkeley has demonstrated a powerful new technique that uses light to measure how electrons move and interact within materials. With this technique, the researchers observed exotic states of matter in stacks of atomically thin…

By Matt Ferraro, Product Manager, Semiconductor The semiconductor market is not an easy one to navigate. Semiconductor wafer fabricators are under constant pressure to maintain maximum precision in highly complex processes that involve expensive materials, corrosive gases, and extreme temperatures. There is little room for error, especially given the added strain of keeping up with…

In semiconductor fabrication, the traditional approach to dry etching has been to utilize RF plasma to bombard the surface of the wafer with positive ions to remove material between masking layers. Although ion etching has been effective for decades, it fails to produce the precise, sharp, nano-sized structures and pathways required in next generation devices. …

When there are several processes going on at once, establishing cause-and-effect relationships is difficult. This scenario holds true for a class of high-temperature superconductors known as the cuprates. Discovered nearly 35 years ago,  these copper-oxygen compounds can conduct electricity without resistance under certain conditions. They must be chemically modified (“doped”) with additional atoms that introduce…

A computer chip processes and stores information using two different devices. If engineers could combine these devices into one or put them next to each other, then there would be more space on a chip, making it faster and more powerful. Purdue University engineers have developed a way that the millions of tiny switches used…

Capturing and manipulating light at nanoscale is a key factor to build high efficiency solar cells. Researchers in the 3D Photovoltaics group have recently presented a promising new design. Their simulations show that vertically stacked nanowires on top of ultrathin silicon films reduces the total amount of material needed by 90 percent while increasing the…

Collaborating scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Princeton University have discovered a new layered ferromagnetic semiconductor, a rare type of material that holds great promise for next-generation electronic technologies. As the name implies, semiconductors are the Goldilocks of electrically conductive materials—not a metal, and not an insulator, but…

National University of Singapore scientists have discovered a method for photoinduced electron doping on molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) heterostructures for fabricating next generation logic devices. Two-dimensional (2-D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are promising building blocks for the development of next generation electronic devices. These materials are atomically thin and exhibit unique electrical properties. Researchers are interested…

A team of Fraunhofer researchers has succeeded in significantly enhancing the functionality of GaN power ICs for voltage converters: the researchers at Fraunhofer IAF integrated current and temperature sensors onto a GaN-based semiconductor chip, along with power transistors, freewheeling diodes and gate drivers. This development paves the way for more compact and efficient on-board chargers…

A physical effect known as superinjection underlies modern light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and lasers. For decades this effect was believed to occur only in semiconductor heterostructures—that is, structures composed of two or more semiconductor materials. Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology have found superinjection to be possible in homostructures, which are made of…

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced that ON Semiconductor, a Fortune 500 company with a global customer base, will expand operations in New York State by purchasing and preserving the existing GLOBALFOUNDRIES Fab 10 manufacturing facility located in East Fishkill, Dutchess County. ON Semiconductor has committed to invest more than $720 million over 10 years…