Electrical/​Electronics

World’s First 2D, Non-Silicon Computer Developed

In a world first, researchers have used 2D materials, which are only an atom thick and retain their properties at that scale, unlike silicon, to develop a computer capable of simple operations. The development represents a major leap toward the realization of thinner, faster and more energy-efficient electronics. Read on to learn more.

A Flexible and Efficient DC-DC Power Converter

A new DC-DC power converter is superior to previous designs and paves the way for more efficient, reliable, and sustainable energy storage and conversion solutions. The Kobe University development can efficiently interface with a wide range of energy sources while enhancing system stability and simplicity at an unprecedented efficiency. Read on to learn more.

Grain-of-Salt-Sized Neural Implant

Researchers at Cornell University, working with collaborators, have created an extremely small neural implant that can sit on a grain of salt. Despite its size, the device can wirelessly transmit brain activity data from a living animal for more than a year. Read on to learn more.

A Biocompatible Sensor Implant to Monitor Neurological Functions

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, and New York’s Columbia University have embedded transistors in a soft, conformable material to create a biocompatible sensor implant that monitors neurological functions through successive phases of a patient’s development. Read on to learn more.

Sweat-Powered Wearable Akin to Wearing a Band-Aid

A sweat-powered wearable has the potential to make continuous, personalized health monitoring as effortless as wearing a Band-Aid. Read on to learn more.

A Fully Autonomous Robotic System Measures Key Properties of New Materials

Scientists are striving to discover new semiconductor materials that could boost the efficiency of solar cells and other electronics. But the pace of innovation is bottlenecked by the speed at which researchers can manually measure important material properties. A fully autonomous robotic system developed by MIT researchers could speed things up. Read on to learn more.

New Electronic “Skin” Could Enable Lightweight Night-Vision Glasses

MIT engineers have developed a technique to grow and peel ultrathin “skins” of electronic material. The method could pave the way for new classes of electronic devices, such as ultrathin wearable sensors, flexible transistors and computing elements, and highly sensitive and compact imaging devices. Read on to learn more.

First Electronic-Photonic Quantum Chip Created in a Commercial Foundry

In a milestone for scalable quantum technologies, scientists from Boston University, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern University have reported the world’s first electronic–photonic–quantum system on a chip, according to a study published in Nature Electronics. Read on to learn more about it.

Using ‘Doughnut’ Beams to See Incredibly Small Objects

In a new study, researchers at CU Boulder have used doughnut-shaped beams of light to take detailed images of objects too tiny to view with traditional microscopes. The new technique could help scientists improve the inner workings of a range of “nanoelectronics,” including the miniature semiconductors in computer chips. Read on to learn more.

Quantum Eyes on Energy Loss: Diamond Quantum Imaging for Next-Gen Power Electronics

Improving energy conversion efficiency in power electronics is vital for a sustainable society. Wide-bandgap semiconductors like GaN and SiC power devices offer advantages due to their high-frequency capabilities. However, energy losses in passive components at high frequencies hinder efficiency and miniaturization. Find out what a research team from the School of Engineering, Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan, developed to help.

New Evaporative Cooling Technology Aims to Thwart Rising Energy Demands

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new cooling technology that could significantly improve the energy efficiency of data centers and high-powered electronics. The technology features a specially engineered fiber membrane that passively removes heat through evaporation. It offers a promising alternative to traditional cooling systems like fans, heat sinks and liquid pumps. Read on to learn more.

New Wearable Aims to Mimic Skin’s “Sensors”

When it comes to haptic feedback, most technologies are limited to simple vibrations. But our skin is loaded with tiny sensors that detect pressure, vibration, stretching and more. Now, Northwestern University engineers have unveiled a new technology that creates precise movements to mimic these complex sensations. Read on to learn more.

An Autonomous, Programmable Computer in the Form of an Elastic Fiber

MIT researchers have developed an autonomous programmable computer in the form of an elastic fiber, which could monitor health conditions and physical activity, alerting the wearer to potential health risks in real-time. Read on to learn more.

Robotic System for Assembly and Maintenance of Lightweight Reconfigurable Structures

Missions to the moon and other planets will require large-scale infrastructure that would benefit from autonomous assembly by robots without on-site human intervention. NASA Ames Research Center has developed a novel and efficient mobile bipedal robot system to construct low-mass, high precision, and largescale infrastructure. Read on to learn more.

Researchers Give New Meaning to the Term “Microwave Brain”

Cornell researchers have developed a low-power microchip they call a “microwave brain,” the first processor to compute on both ultrafast data signals and wireless communication signals by harnessing the physics of microwaves. Read on to learn more about it.

Printable Heat Shield Formulations Advance Spacecraft Construction

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed additively manufactured thermal protection system (AMTPS) comprised of two printable heat shield material formulations. This technology could significantly decrease heat shield or thermal protection system (TPS) fabrication cost and time. Read on to learn more.

Upper Body Robotic Exoskeleton

This lightweight, portable garment is designed for active shoulder and elbow positioning.

Better Images for Humans and Computers

Maksym Kovalenko and his team have proposed a novel solution that allows them to utilize every photon of light for color recognition. For nearly a decade, they have been researching perovskite-based image sensors. In a new study published in Nature, they show that their new technology works. Read on to learn more.

Ultra-Thin Cooling Solution for Mobile Devices Unlocks Slimmer, High-Performance Technology

Scientists from Nagoya University in Japan have developed an innovative cooling device — an ultra-thin loop heat pipe — that significantly improves heat control for electronic components in smartphones and tablets. Read on to learn more.

Finding the Length ‘Sweet Spot’ for Yarn-Shaped Supercapacitors

Researchers at North Carolina State University have now identified a “sweet spot” at which the length of a threadlike energy storage technology called a “yarn-shaped supercapacitor” yields the highest and most efficient flow of energy per unit length. Read on to learn more.

DC-DC Converter Unifies Power Switches on a Single Chip

University of California San Diego and CEA-Leti scientists have developed a ground-breaking piezoelectric-based DC-DC converter that unifies all power switches onto a single chip to increase power density. Read on to learn more about this new power topology, which extends beyond existing topologies and blends the advantages of piezoelectric converters with capacitive-based DC-DC converters.

Chiral Photonic Device Combines Light Manipulation with Memory

As fast as modern electronics have become, they could be much faster if their operations were based on light, rather than electricity. Fiber optic cables already transport information at the speed of light, but to do computations on that information without translating it back to electric signals will require a host of new optical components. Researchers have now developed such a device. Read on to learn more.

Advanced Thermal Inspection with Pulsed Light Emitting Diodes (PLED) Technology

Engineers at NASA Langley Research Center have developed a cutting-edge thermal inspection technology that enhances defect detection on low-emissivity surfaces by eliminating false readings caused by infrared reflections. Read on to learn more.

A New Computer Vision Method Enables Faster Screening of Electronic Materials

A new computer vision technique developed by MIT engineers significantly speeds up the characterization of newly synthesized electronic materials. The technique automatically analyzes images of printed semiconducting samples and quickly estimates two key electronic properties for each sample. Read on to learn more.

A Lightweight Floating Robot Replicates Nature

Researchers have developed a compact and versatile robot that can maneuver through tight spaces and transport payloads much heavier than itself. Smaller than a credit card and weighing 6 grams, the nimble swimming robot is ideal for environments with limited space like rice fields, or for performing inspections in waterborne machines. Read on to learn more.

Fast-Charging, Long-Running, Bendable Supercapacitor

This technology has potential as a portable power supply in several applications, including electric vehicles, cellphones, and wearable technology.

A New, Simple Method to Speed Cache Sifting

Computer scientists have invented a highly effective, yet incredibly simple, algorithm to decide which items to toss from a web cache to make room for new ones. Known as SIEVE, the new open-source algorithm holds the potential to transform the management of web traffic on a large scale. Read on to learn more.

Implantable Transmitter for Wireless Sensor Nodes

An invention that uses microchip technology in implantable devices and other wearable products such as smart watches can be used to improve biomedical devices including those used to monitor people with glaucoma and heart disease. Read on to learn more.