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  SUTD researchers show how a newly discovered family of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are more energy-efficient thanks to the presence of a built-in atomic protection layer. According to researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), a recently discovered family of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors could pave the way for high-performance and energy-efficient electronics. Their findings, published in  npj 2D Materials and Applications , may lead to the fabrication of semiconductor devices applicable in mainstream electronics and optoelectronics—and even potentially replace silicon-based device technology altogether. In the quest of miniaturizing electronic devices, one well-known trend is Moore’s law, which describes how the number of components in the integrated circuits of computers doubles every two years. This trend is possible thanks to the ever-decreasing size of transistors, some of which are so small that millions of them can be cram...

  Researchers led by Manos Tentzeris have developed an electromagnetic energy harvester that can collect enough ambient energy from the radio frequency (RF) spectrum to operate devices for the Internet of Things (IoT), smart skin and smart city sensors, and wearable electronics. Harvesting radio waves is not brand new, but previous efforts have been limited to short-range systems located within meters of the energy source, explained Tentzeris, a professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His team is the first to demonstrate long-range energy harvesting as far as seven miles from a source. The researchers unveiled their technology in 2012, harvesting tens of microwatts from a single UHF television channel. Since then, they’ve dramatically increased capabilities to collect energy from multiple TV channels, Wi-Fi, cellular, and handheld electronic devices, enabling the system to harvest power in the order of milliwatts. Hallmarks of the technology inclu...

 Qualcomm last week announced several products that will be used to enhance next-generation automobiles. These future cars will most certainly be electric and increasingly autonomous. The underlying technology has applications in emerging markets like robotics, automated businesses, and even smart cities; because when you develop an automated control that can handle the complexities of driving on a public street, you have a foundation to automate pretty much anything. This opportunity is why other companies like Intel and Nvidia are chasing this as well; it isn't just the car market. We're talking about an industrial revolution of epic scale. Let's discuss that this week, and we'll close with my product of the week, the coming Cadillac that could be more of a technology showcase than anything Tesla has. Today's Cars Are a Mess I grew up working on cars. My father had a shop when I was young, and I worked for a very short time as an apprentice mechanic in a Jaguar sh...

Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI) is delivering humanitarian relief to remote locations using drones powered by its innovative energy-dense hydrogen-fuel cells. With two hours of flight time, the drones have transported masks and emergency supplies between the U.S. Virgin Islands and have delivered medical AEDs to the top of Mt. Hallasan (6,388 feet), the tallest mountain in South Korea, located on Jeju Island. This technology paves the way for developing mobile robots with extended range and load capacity. DMI drones delivered emergency medical supplies to the Virgin Islands. A hydrogen-fuel–cell power pack made this possible by enabling over two hours of UAV flight time; 4× longer than most battery-powered drones. Additional uses for the DMI extended-range drones have been in commercial applications in which longer flight times have enabled the monitoring of vast solar farms, such as Korea’s largest solar energy plant in Solasido, Haenam. When performing the same mission using a batte...

 While most EEs are familiar with Kirchhoff’s Laws of Current and Voltage, Kirchoff's research may have an even deeper impact on modern circuit analysis—and even quantum mechanics—than some may realize. To appreciate where circuits are heading in the future, it is necessary to understand where the foundation was laid. A major contributor to the foundation of electrical engineering is that of Gustav Kirchhoff and his laws of circuitry and spectroscopy. These laws provided a cornerstone for future scholars and engineers to build off, leading us to the technology we have today.  Portrait of Gustav Kirchhoff. Image used courtesy of the Library of Congress  Kirchhoff was a German physicist who helped develop the fundamentals of circuits, namely principles relating to current, voltage, and resistance. Kirchhoff attended the Albertus University of Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). While there, he was taught by Franz Ernst Neumann, a German physicist and mathema...

 Each of the top-10 growing IC product categories is expected to see a double-digit increase in sales, but only the top-five segments are forecast to grow faster than the total IC market, which IC Insights projects will rise 12% this year. DRAM and NAND flash are expected to be the two fastest-growing product segments in 2021 with 18% and 17% sales growth, respectively.  Laying claim as the fastest growing IC product segment is familiar territory for the DRAM market. DRAM was also ranked as the fastest-growing IC segment in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018. On the other hand, due to its extreme cyclicality, DRAM has also been among the poorest performing categories. Collapsing prices resulted in the DRAM market falling -37% in 2019, ranking its growth rate last among the 33 IC product categories that year. An increase in laptop, tablet, and server system sales boosted NAND revenue 24% in 2020 as the Covid 19 pandemic forced a transformation in the way consumers, schools, businesses,...