Advance may enable “2D” transistors for tinier microchip components
Atomically thin materials are a promising alternative to silicon-based transistors; now researchers can connect them more efficiently to other chip elements.
Nanostructured device stops light in its tracks
MIT researchers develop compact on-chip device for detecting electric-field waveforms with attosecond time resolution.
Data transfer system connects silicon chips with a hair’s-width cable
The advance could improve energy efficiency of data centers and lighten the load for electronics-rich vehicles.
An LED that can be integrated directly into computer chips
The advance could cut production costs and reduce the size of microelectronics for sensing and communication.
Explained: Quantum engineering
Quantum computers could usher in a golden age of computing power, solving problems intractable on today’s machines.
Discovery suggests new promise for nonsilicon computer transistors
Once deemed suitable only for high-speed communication systems, an alloy called InGaAs might one day rival silicon in high-performance computing.
Lighting up the ion trap
Fiber optics built into a chip can deliver all the laser light needed to control ions for quantum computing and sensing.
How to detect life on Mars
Scientists from the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Genomes instrument team develop method to detect the tiniest traces of life on other planetary bodies.
Technique streamlines fabrication of 2-D circuits
Growing material directly onto substrates and recycling chip patterns should enable faster, simpler manufacturing.
Integrating optical components into existing chip designs
Technique would allow addition of optical communication components to existing chips with little modification of their designs.
Researchers develop flexible, stretchable photonic devices
Light-based devices could be used as biomedical sensors or as flexible connectors for electronics.
Using chip memory more efficiently
System for generating ad hoc “cache hierarchies” increases processing speed while reducing energy consumption.
Practical parallelism
System enables large speedups — as much as 88-fold — on common parallel-computing algorithms.
A big leap toward tinier lines
Self-assembly technique could lead to long-awaited, simple method for making smaller microchip patterns.
Commercializing integrated photonics
AIM Photonics fall meeting attendees tackle plans for making computer chips with integrated optical devices and developing a regional workforce.