Archive : 14 January 2015 год

A new type of 'nanowire' crystal that fuses semiconducting and metallic materials on the atomic scale could lay the foundation for future semiconducting electronics, say researchers in the Neils Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen. 

"Our new material was born as a hybrid between a semiconducting nanowire and its electronic contact," said Associate Professor Thomas Sand Jespersen, pictured left. "Thus, we have invented a way to make a perfect transition between the nanowire and a superconductor. The superconductor in this case is aluminium." 

Part of the challenge of working with nanowires is said to be the creation of a good transition between them nanowires and an electrical contact to the outside world. Until now, researchers have cultured nanowires and the contact separately. However, with the new approach, both the quality and the reproducibility of the contact have improved considerably. 

"The atoms sit in a perfectly ordered lattice in the nanowire crystal, not only in the semiconductor and the metal, but also in the transition between the two, which is significant in itself," said Assistant Professor Peter Krogstrup, pictured right. "This opens opportunities to make new types of electronic components on the nanoscale and, in particular, this means we can study the electrical properties with much greater precision than before." 

"We think this approach could ultimately form the basis for future superconducting electronics, and that is why the research into nanowires is interesting for the largest electronics companies," said Jespersen.

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Belgian research center imec says it has attained a conversion efficiency of 22.02% for its large area n-type PERT (passivated emitter, rear totally diffused) crystalline silicon solar cell. This, it adds, is the highest efficiency achieved for this type of two side-contacted solar cell on a 6in wafer. 

Because they do not suffer from light induced degradation and have a higher tolerance to common metal impurities, n-type silicon solar cells are considered promising for next generation highly efficient solar cells. 

Filip Duerinckx, manager of imec's n-PERT technology platform, said: "This new efficiency record has been achieved while simplifying the process, relying only on simplified cleans and without any expensive forming gas anneal. We are committed to further increasing the efficiency of this cell concept and adding to the industrial value of the technology."

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Cadence has unveiled the 11th generation of Tensilica's Xtensa processor. The Xtensa LX6 and Xtensa 11 processors feature architectural improvements that are said to allow users to create custom processor instruction sets with up to 25% less processor logic power consumption and up to 75% better local memory area and power efficiency. 

"These latest improvements put the Tensilica processors even further ahead of all other processor cores on the market that claim to offer configurability," said Jack Guedj, corporate vice president of Tensilica products at Cadence. 

Enhancements in flexible length instruction extensions (FLIX) for Xtensa LX6 allow for very long instruction word (VLIW) instructions from 4 to 16byte. This, says Cadence, results in code size savings of up to 25% compared to prior Xtensa versions. Also included is an option for run time power down of portions of cache memories, which is said to bring local memory power savings of up to 75%. Other features include more efficient data cache block prefetch and reduced dynamic switching power.

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk

Power specialist CUI has appointed Ismosys as its manufacturing sales representative for Europe. Ismosys will represent CUI's power products and board level component portfolio. The move is said by CUI to be the latest step in its plans to expand its European support network. 

"We recognise the great opportunity for growth that the European market provides CUI," explained Matt McKenzie, pictured, CUI's president. "Our new found partnership with a well respected sales organisation like Ismosys is an important milestone in that process. We are extremely pleased to be able to use its expertise in the EU region to amplify our reach and customer support." 

Ismosys' president Nigel Watts noted: "Ismosys could not be more excited to begin this business relationship with a first class organisation like CUI." 

Author
Graham Pitcher

Source:  www.newelectronics.co.uk