silicon
Latest
CNRS learns to control nanoscale strain in CPUs, heads to Jedi training
We've always heard that Chewbacca and friends had the power to control nanoscale strain in processors in a galaxy far, far away, but we Earthlings are just now getting caught up. Researchers at the Centre d'élaboration de matériaux et d'études structurales (CEMES-CNRS) have reportedly patented a measurement device that will essentially "enable manufacturers to improve microprocessor production methods and optimize future computers." We'll warn you, the meat of this stuff is pretty technical, but the take home is this: the technique has a good chance at "optimizing strain modeling in transistors and enhancing their electrical efficiency," which is just what we need for more potent chips that demand less energy. And that's something even a layman can appreciate.
Silicon wafer directs and filters out cancer cells
Normally we get excited when a slab of silicon makes our games run at 60 frames per-second, but in this case we're impressed with a new chip that filters out cancer cells. The device, created by some impressive souls at Princeton and Boston University, directs and focuses streams of cells in a liquid. Like a change sorter, it then separates regular cells form unusual ones. The silicon wafer is tacked with tiny pillars that catch abnormal cells that are, in the end, potentially cancerous. The device hasn't been used to any major extent, but we'll keep an eye on this promising discovery.
Stretchy silicon circuits wrap around complex shapes, like your wife
The first "completely integrated, extremely bendable circuit" was just demonstrated to the world. The team behind the research is led by John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The process bonds circuit sheets measuring just 1.5 micrometers (50 times thinner than human hair) to a piece of pre-stretched rubber. That allows the circuits to buckle like an accordion when pulled or twisted without losing their electrical properties. Unfortunately, the materials used thus far are not compatible with human tissue. In other words, no X-ray vision implant for you. X-ray contacts perhaps... quantum-computers now, please Mr. Scientists? Watch a circuit buckle in the video after the break.[Via BBC, thanks YoJIMbo]
IBM develops greener method for recycling silicon
IBM is looking to save around $1.5 million per year and be a kinder citizen to the environment by instituting a greener method for recycling silicon. Previously, IBM would sandblast defunct wafers to make sure no trade secrets left the premises when they were sold off to solar-panel outfits or used as "monitors." The new process, however, involves defacing the circuitry with an abrasive pad and water, which saves a few bills and leaves the silicon in much better shape for reuse. Reportedly, Big Blue has already implemented the new approach in its Essex Junction, Vermont facility, and the East Fishkill, New York plant is all set to follow suit shortly.
Virtually Overlooked Week: Jason's picks
Virtually Overlooked has taken over Wii Fanboy! All this week, members of the staff will be outlining their personal picks for future Virtual Console releases. Growing up with gaming is an interesting thing these days. Many of you are part of the first generation that was quite literally born into a household with a gaming console, as I was. In my experience, if you start off in life gaming hard, you don't stop. Therefore, in the very near future, I will able to ask a random middle-aged man if he wants to go play Guitar Hero 4, and it won't be totally weird.Who am I kidding? This isn't Japan, and that guy will probably think I am, in fact, totally weird. But man, screw those non-gamers. The hardcore, like you and I, have tons of gaming memories, and thus we frequently long for the games of yore to be released on the Virtual Console. But they have not yet appeased my feral hunger, and thus do I lay these games out in a commanding fashion for Nintendo's minions to take note.You, of course, may gaze as well.
NC State researchers uncover muscle mimicking fibers
While some researchers over in Raleigh are having fun tinkering with PlayStation 3 farms and dodging the RIAA, NC State's Drs. Tushar Ghosh and John Muth are occupied building prototypes with fibers they say "resemble human muscle and can exhibit muscle-like capabilities when electrical currents are applied." The duo sees the development as paving the way for "advancements and potential applications in robotics, smart textiles, prosthetics, and biomedicines," as they have reportedly found that polyurethane and silicone tube structures shaped like human muscle strands can be manipulated with electricity. It was noted, however, that the current models are using strands "roughly the size of a pencil lead," but the next step is to scale down the fibers and integrate them into a robotic Mr. and Mrs. Wuf.
MIT researchers cram optical circuitry on a silicon chip
It looks like MIT is raising the bar yet again, as this time it's taking a break from crafting autonomous UAVs and stackable vehicles to cram optical circuitry on your everyday silicon chip. In an effort to "integrate the optical circuitry with electronic circuitry" on the same silicon wafer, researchers have devised a method which will harness the "enormous power of light waves in networks" while offering up a way to manufacture the circuitry cheaply. The crew has reportedly already been playing around with a working prototype, and suggests that it could eventually "redefine how optical networks are built." Moreover, the development addresses the existing "signal weakening over distance" issue in fiber optic transmissions by "splitting the light beams as they pass through a circuit, rotating one of the polarized beams, and finally rejoining them on their way out of the circuit, which retains the signals' strength." While there's no projection of when this technology could actually hit the mainstream, anything that makes it less expensive to rollout FiOS (and similar networks) to more people most definitely has our vote.
California crooks nab 100,000 microchips
Proving that Malaysian industrial complexes aren't the only venues where shoddy security can facilitate the theft of thousands of PC components, a pair of crooks in California turned a minor fender bender into a successful heist of some 100,000 microchips on Tuesday afternoon. Police suspect that the men had been planning the crime for some time, as the victim's Fremont-bound Mazda MPV had just left a warehouse with $190,000 worth of chips when the robbers rear-ended it with their white van; rather than using weapons to subdue the driver, however, the two thieves simply waited until he exited the vehicle to discuss the accident, when one of them proceeded to slip into the minivan and drive away. The driver of the van followed suit, leaving the victim standing on the side of the road, no doubt confused and worried that his employer would chew him out for being so careless with the precious cargo. Although the brand of chip has not been revealed, since this all went down in Santa Clara, it's not too difficult to figure out whose products got pinched. So far authorities have no leads as to the whereabouts of the chips or the two robbers, but if someone in an MPV with license plate 4NKV115 tries to sell you a CPU for a buck and some change, do the right thing and notify law enforcement officials after you've purchased enough silicon to meet your needs. And if you're driving back home with your cheap booty when someone happens to ram your car, for heaven's sake, don't leave the keys in the ignition when you get out to exchange insurance info.[Via Boing Boing]
AMD shows off Barcelona server chips, garners mixed reviews
With Intel giving its shareholders some awfully great news to savor over the holidays, AMD had to hit back with some news of its own, but you'll definitely get a different vibe from reading ExtremeTech's take on the firm's recently showcased Barcelona than from the horse's own mouth. While AMD parades its 65nm chip as "the world's first native quad-core x86 server processor," and boasts about its "significant advancements in performance per watt capabilities," we've reason to wonder if things aren't a bit sugarcoated. While the wafer was demonstrated as utilizing "all 16 cores" and being a seamless upgrade from "dual-core to quad-core", hard facts (read: the much anticipated benchmarks) were curiously absent. Aside from injecting onlookers with more of the same technical minutiae we've seen over the past few months, AMD didn't exactly flesh out a lot of new details to chew on, but ExtremeTech's reference system "was the loudest they'd ever had in their office," and sucked down nearly 600 watts of power with just two HDDs and a single graphics card. So while we're firmly withholding judgment until its officially released, we'd say AMD still has a bit of tweaking to do before the competition rolls in.UPDATE: Looks like we mistook the quad-core Opteron and the Quad FX (announced on the same day, nonetheless) chips as one in the same, when (thankfully) they're not, but those eying the recently-released FX-based desktops may want to think about how much noise they're willing to put up with before throwing down on a new machine.Read - AMD Press ReleaseRead - ExtremeTech's Hands-on Testing
Group IV Semiconductor unveils plans for silicon lighting
For those out there just looking for zanier methods to get your illumination on, Group IV Semiconductor is hoping to deliver the goods you crave. While about 60 percent of the world's artificial lighting is still derived from the incredibly inefficient incandescent variety, companies like Philips are offering up LED alternatives that conserve energy, emit less heat, and convert perfectly normal buildings into nerdish eye candy. The Ottawa startup has spent its last four years researching and developing a silicon-based lighting system that will hopefully be "just as cheap" to produce as solid-state alternatives and emit equivalent amounts of light to boot. To overcome one of silicon's less helpful characteristics (poor light emission, of all things), the company has packed nanocrystals -- otherwise known as "quantum dots" -- between a transparent layer in which current is directed and a substrate of silicon underneath. Once electricity is applied, the nanocrystals settle back into their natural state, give off photons, and create a low-heat form of light roughly equivalent to a standard 100 watt light bulb. Group IV is aiming to produce a product that requires "90 percent" less energy than options currently on the market, while building it to last "50 times" longer than the already longevous alternatives, so you should probably expect this (presumably) once in a lifetime purchase to demand quite a premium should it actually hit store shelves.
Laser microchips set to speed computing
Silicon-and-wire-based computer chips not fast enough for you? Your gaming rig may one day be supercharged by chips that communicate by laser light.The New York Times has a report on a new study in academic journal Optics Express that details how using lasers rather than electrical pulses to send data could result in transfer rates up to 100 times what is currently possible. The technology could allow computer makers to pack chips even tighter inside a case and remove a significant bottleneck in the download of broadband data from the internet.Commercial applications aren't likely before the end of the decade, the article says, and affordable consumer versions will likely take even longer. As gamers know better than anyone, when it comes to hot new technology, patience is a virtue.
Intel embedding lasers into silicon for speedy data
In what's being marked as a breakthrough in the world of "photonics," Intel has managed to squeeze laser beam functionality into silicon-based chips, allowing for high speed data transfer between chips on the cheap. The new technology should be a boon to both high-end computer manufacturers and the fiber-optics industry, allowing for cheaper, smaller and faster optical switching of high volumes of data. Intel managed the feat by bonding some light-emitting indium phosphide to the surface of a regular ol' silicon chip that has been etched with light-directing channels. With billions of lasers in one place, the chips should help with the "last mile" problem of bringing fiber to the home, and resolve most bandwidth bottlenecks inside your computer -- though that type of consumer application could be quite a few years down the road. Commercial versions of the chips are still years away, but we're liking where this is headed.
Self-healing chips could function forever
Although you may have never given a thought to what transistors do to repair themselves when certain sectors fail, there are a few organizations who make it their life's work. Researchers from the National Science Foundation, the Semiconductor Research Corporation, and the University of Michigan have a mission to complete before their grant money runs dry: to create semiconductors that can heal themselves without the burdensome redundancy currently used. The goal here, which could seem a tad superfluous until you consider these chips operate in things like airplanes and medical devices -- you know, fairly critical applications -- is to design a semiconductor that runs more efficiently and can be counted on to function no matter how crucial the situation. By designing a chip that can auto-detect a problem, then shift the resources to a functioning area while the chip diagnoses and repairs the issue with help from "online collaboration software," you'll get a slimmer semiconductor that suffers no noticeable loss in performance while self-repairing. If this circuitry talk has your wires all crossed up, here's the skinny: more dependable chips will make everyone's life a bit easier, and if the team's plan is free of defects, we can expect to see prototypes within the next three years. [Via Mobilemag]
ezGear Video Protective Case for iPod
ezGear has released a hard, clear acrylic case for the 5G iPod cleverly called the clearCase Video. The case is hinged at the bottom and includes openings for easy access to the headphone port, hold switch and dock port. While one downside is that the click wheel is completely exposed, a plus for the case is that, in addition to the belt clip, it's one of the few 5G cases (or possibly the only) I've seen that includes a lanyard.The ezGear clearCase Video is $26.98, comes in sizes for both the 30 and 60 GB 5G iPods and is shipping now.[via Playlist Mag]
Customizable iJacket case for iPod
Brainchild Products, LLC offers a new spin on the iPod case with the custom iPod iJacket, a customizable silicon jacket for "all version of Apple's iPod," though the latest 5G version is not on their list - yet. They offer a slew of interesting and fairly unique pre-designed cases for the iPod 4G/photo, nano, mini and shuffle, while also offering a fairly robust customizing service that seems geared towards organizations and companies who want a custom design in bulk packages of at least 50 cases. A six-step customization process is outlined with a choice between downloading a DIY design template or having Brainchild Products, LLC design the case for you. For now pricing on custom jobs is only available by phone, but pricing on individual pre-designed cases starts at just $12.99.[via iLounge]
