Electronics & Software

Electrical/​Electronics

New technologies in power supplies and management, board-level electronics, electronics and computers, and battery systems provide wide-ranging applications essential to military, aviation, medical, and automotive.

Stories

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Briefs: Materials
Used since 2013, electroceutical bandages — which use electrical impulses to treat medical issues — kill bacteria around a wound, allowing wounds to heal faster. In addition, if infection is...
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
All-Fiber, Optically Controlled Optical Switch
An optical switch is a device where information-bearing light may be directed to one of several outputs. Prior art optical switches have mainly been integrated optical waveguide structures such as titanium-diffused (Ti) waveguides in lithium-niobate (LiNbO3) or gallium-arsenide (GaAs) structures, or...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
In contrast with conventional light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit billions of photons simultaneously to form a steady stream of light, a single photon emitter (SPE) generates...
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Briefs: Communications
Algorithm Predicts How Electromagnetic Waves Interact with Materials at the Smallest Scales
Magnetic materials can attract or repel each other based on their polar orientation — positive and negative ends attract each other, while two positives or two negatives repel. When an electromagnetic signal like a radio wave passes through such materials,...
Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
Directly converting electrical power to heat is easy; however, converting heat into electrical power is not as easy. To address this issue, a tiny silicon-based device was developed that can harness...
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Briefs: Materials
Conventional electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries that power household electronics like computers and cellphones are not suitable for lithium-metal batteries....
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Products: Electronics & Computers
Code Generator dSPACE, Wixom, MI, offers Version 4.4 of TargetLink code generator software that features controller modeling with MATLAB® code from MathWorks. It describes algorithms and behavior directly with...
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Briefs: Energy
Double-Fed Induction Linear Alternator
This technology was developed to address the limitations of traditional, single-fed linear alternators that require permanent magnets, adhesive bonding organics, and heavy iron laminations for flux control. They experience eddy-current losses and require electromagnetic interference protection. Furthermore,...
Briefs: Transportation
Design Software Identifies a Product's Performance Tradeoffs
Designing any product — from complex car parts to wrenches — is a balancing act with conflicting performance tradeoffs. Making something lightweight, for instance, may compromise its durability.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Lithium batteries allow electric vehicles to travel several hundred miles on one charge. Their capacity for energy storage is well known — so is their tendency to occasionally catch...
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Typical butterfly valves cannot seal at both ambient and cryogenic temperatures. At cryogenic temperatures, valves grow and shrink, changing critical dimensions such as distance between the disc and seat. Ideally,...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Traditionally, electronics are cooled using a heat sink that transfers the heat generated by the electronic system into the air or a liquid coolant. For the heat sink to work, it has to be...
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Products: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Extreme Environment Displacement Sensors and Systems The Measuring Division of Kaman Precision Products, Inc (Colorado Springs, CO) announces the availability of its Extreme Environment high-precision displacement sensors and...
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
Stretchable electronics, which can be stretched, deformed and wrapped onto nonplanar curved surfaces, have attracted much attraction due to their...
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Briefs: Materials
Batteries with metallic lithium anodes offer enhanced efficiency compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries because of their higher capacity. However, safety concerns and a short lifespan stand in the way. To...
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Articles: Connectivity
The 2019 Sensors Expo and Conference will be held at the McEnery Convention Center, San Jose, CA from June 25 – 27. Both the expo and conference are excellent opportunities to get a good sense of important sensor...
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Briefs: Motion Control
An ultra-low-power hybrid chip inspired by the brain could help give palm-sized robots the ability to collaborate and learn from their experiences. Combined with new generations of...
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Articles: Propulsion
Employing fluid power to achieve mechanical motion can be implemented via hydraulics using uncompressible liquids or via pneumatics using compressible gasses; typically, air. The latter provides several distinct...
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Special Reports: Propulsion
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Vehicle Electrification - June 2019
Demand for electric vehicles is accelerating, with several automakers announcing that their entire lineups will either be hybrid or all-electric by the 2020's. To help you keep pace with the rapid changes in...

Blog: Energy
An Ohio State researcher shares with Tech Briefs the promise of potassium-oxygen batteries.
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INSIDER: Materials
A team of engineers at Tufts University has developed a series of 3D printed metamaterials with unique microwave or optical properties that go beyond what is possible using...
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Briefs: Materials
Transparent, Self-Healing Electronic Skin
Scientists have taken inspiration from underwater invertebrates like jellyfish to create an electronic skin with similar functionality. Like a jellyfish, the electronic skin is transparent, stretchable, touch-sensitive, and self-healing in aquatic environments.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Traditionally, electronics are cooled using a heat sink that transfers the heat generated by the electronic system into the air or a liquid coolant. For the heat sink to work, it has to be...
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Q&A: Test & Measurement
Dr. Sultana won funding to advance a nanomaterial-based detector platform that can sense environmental parameters from minute concentrations of target gases and vapors, to...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Anew type of magnet — called a singlet-based magnet — was discovered that differs from conventional magnets in which small magnetic constituents align with one another to create a strong...
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Products: Test & Measurement
Position Sensors Novotechnik, U.S., Southborough, MA, introduced Vert-X 2900 Series sensors that measure angular position and are available in single or redundant versions. Users can specify configurations including...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a new way to reduce the high-temperature heating requirement of sapphire substrates in wafer production. The growth of...
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Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
A current-steering digital-to-analog converter (DAC) was developed that achieves improved switching times (up to 75% faster) in high-speed (gigahertz), high-resolution (8-14 bits)...
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Facility Focus: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Founded on July 1, 1960, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL is one of NASA’s largest field centers. Marshall engineers designed, built, tested, and helped launch the Saturn V...
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