Briefs: Materials

Side-Mounted Solar Modules Enhance Energy Sustainability

Research demonstrates the potential of a solar unit that can hang on the outside of a structure.

Briefs: Energy

Circuit Generates Clean, Limitless Power from Graphene

The chip could provide low-voltage power for small devices or sensors.

Facility Focus: Software

Facility Focus: Stanford University School of Engineering

Stanford University’s School of Engineering has been at the forefront of innovation for nearly a century

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Biocontainment Unit for Virus-Sized Particles

The unit could help healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients.

Briefs: Energy

Next-Generation Computer Chip Has Two Heads

The chip combines two functions — logic operations and data storage — into a single architecture, paving the way to more efficient devices.

Briefs: Energy

Energy-Harvesting Device Turns Wi-Fi Signals into Usable Power

This device for harnessing terahertz radiation might enable self-powering implants, cellphones, and other portable electronics.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Supercool Mini-Thermometer

Applications include monitoring the temperature of processor chips in superconductor-based quantum computers, which must stay cold to work properly.

Q&A: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Q&A: 3D-Printed Polymer Lattice Strengthens Concrete

Brian Salazar and his UC Berkeley team have developed a new way to reinforce concrete with a polymer lattice, an advance that could rival other polymer-based enhancements and improve...

Briefs: Aerospace

Liquid Sorbent Carbon Dioxide Removal System

Applications include aerospace, automotive, commercial spaceflight, scuba diving equipment, and for first responders.

Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

Supercapacitor Based on Manganese Oxide

This supercapacitor promises storage, high power, and fast charging.

Briefs: Imaging

Autonomous HVAC System Measures Facial Temperature

The system turns faces into thermostats, providing more comfort with less energy.

Briefs: Transportation

New Method Makes Computer Memory from Titanium Oxide

The material, commonly found in house paint, can be used in a device to more efficiently process information.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Handheld Device Measures Cancer Biomarkers

Researchers have created the prototype for a handheld device to measure a biomarker for cancer. The device works much like the monitors that people with diabetes use to test their blood-sugar levels...

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Wearable Device Measures Cortisol in Sweat

This patch offers noninvasive and continuous monitoring of various biomarkers for a range of physiological conditions.

Articles: Energy

Products of Tomorrow: January 2021

A malaria-test "bandage"; underwater navigation via sound; and a biodegrading, implantable sensor.

Briefs: Wearables

Painless Paper Patch Tests Glucose Levels

The patch uses painless, biodegradable microneedles.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Solid-State Technology Enables Smaller, Safer Batteries

The technology is inherently safer and more energy-dense than today’s lithium-ion batteries.

5 Ws: Sensors/Data Acquisition

5 Ws of the SoundWatch

The smartwatch app identifies sounds that a user is interested in and sends a friendly buzz and information about the sound.

Technology Leaders: Data Acquisition

Processor Power and Energy Efficiency

Just like smartphones, the same trend of combining separate components into one device is also apparent in industrial automation.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Photonic Wireless System Powers Medical Implants

The system can recharge the internal battery of devices without invasive surgery or risky penetrative procedures.

Briefs: Imaging

Handheld Device Diagnoses Skin Cancer

The device could reduce the need for painful biopsies by 50 percent.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Pill-Sized Heating Device for Diagnostic Testing

Combined with smartphone technology, the device becomes a portable system that can track, monitor, and diagnose infections.

NASA Spinoff: Energy

Water-Powered Engines Offer Satellite Mobility

The technology could allow deep-space exploration without running out of propellant.

Articles: Data Acquisition

Software-Connected Wafer Level Reliability Test

As ICs continue to become smaller and chip complexity increases, manufacturers still need to ensure reliability to their customers.

Application Briefs: Imaging

Cameras Capture Asteroid Debris Retrieval

See how Space Dynamics Laboratory built the electronics for a three-camera suite onboard OSIRIS-REx.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

“Stethoscope” Monitors Machine Quality and Functionality

This system provides low-cost monitoring for machine health with audio-based artificial intelligence.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Cavity-Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (CEAS) for Ozone Detection

This simple and inexpensive design achieves high-quality ozone measurements.

Products: Electronics & Computers

New on the Market: January 2021

Radar sensors, cameras, RF processing systems, and more.

Briefs: Energy

Generating Renewable Hydrogen Fuel from the Sea

Membranes that remove salt from water help split sea water into fuel.

Briefs: Medical

Mobile Bedside Bioprinter Prints Skin Directly into a Wound

The system is filled with a patient’s skin cells.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Platform for All-Optical Computing

Computations are done solely with beams of light.

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Microstrip Circuit and Material Characterization System

The system enables measurement of active or passive microstrip line devices with DC probing capability.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Inexpensive Method Decontaminates Personal Protective Equipment

The system uses off-the-shelf materials combined with ultraviolet lights to decontaminate N95 masks.

Briefs: Automotive

Lithium Metal Battery Allows Cold Charging

The battery could be used for drones, cars, or underwater applications at low temperatures.

Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Product of the Month: January 2021 Tech Briefs

Modules from Pickering Interfaces simulate industrial control transceivers.

Blog: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Experts Weigh In: How Will a Robotic Future Impact Nature?

A survey of over 170 experts assessed the opportunities and challenges that drones, robots, and autonomous systems could have for urban nature and green spaces.

INSIDER: Imaging

Orbiting Instrument Hints That Stored Magnetic Energy Heats Solar Atmosphere

A phenomenon first detected in the solar wind may help solve a long-standing mystery about the sun: why the solar atmosphere is millions of degrees hotter than...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Combining Electronic, Photonic Chips Enables Super-Fast Quantum Light Detection

Researchers from the University of Bristol’s Quantum Engineering Technology Labs (QET Labs) and Université Côte d‘Azur have made a new miniaturized...

INSIDER: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Large-Area Flexible Organic Photodiodes Can Compete with Silicon Devices

The performance of flexible large-area organic photodiodes has advanced to the point that they can now offer advantages over conventional silicon photodiode...

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

New Products: January 2021 Photonics & Imaging Insider

Bandpass Filters

MidOpt® (Palatine, IL) introduced the BP450 Indigo Bandpass and the BN450 Narrow Indigo Bandpass, two new filters designed for multi-application use. The...

Blog: Automotive

CES 2021: How COVID-19 Turned the Car into a Personal 'Second Space'

In a roundtable presentation at the virtual CES 2021, panelists said the COVID-19 pandemic has changed driving patterns and consumer preferences – and that those shifts are here to stay.

Podcasts: Materials

Here's an Idea: RepelWrap

Learn how RepelWrap began, and how the material can fend off drug-resistant bacteria, from MRSA to coronaviruses.