Vacuum tubes initially played a central role in the development of electronic devices. A few decades ago, however, researchers started replacing them with semiconductor transistors, small electronic components that can be ...
In power electronics, semiconductors are based on the element silicon—but the energy efficiency of silicon carbide would be much higher. Physicists of the University of Basel, the Paul Scherrer Institute and ABB explain ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 5, 2019
3
53
After years of tackling numerous design and manufacturing challenges, MIT researchers have built a modern microprocessor from carbon nanotube transistors, which are widely seen as a faster, greener alternative to their traditional ...
Nanophysics
Aug 29, 2019
3
2877
The difficulty of further increasing the power conversion efficiency of silicon-based components in power electronics seems to indicate that we are reaching the limits of potential advances to this technology. However, a ...
Engineering
Jun 5, 2019
0
9
Logic and memory devices, such as the hard drives in computers, now use nanomagnetic mechanisms to store and manipulate information. Unlike silicon transistors, which have fundamental efficiency limitations, they require ...
General Physics
May 8, 2019
0
1020
A team of Fraunhofer researchers has succeeded in significantly enhancing the functionality of GaN power ICs for voltage converters: the researchers at Fraunhofer IAF integrated current and temperature sensors onto a GaN-based ...
Electronics & Semiconductors
May 6, 2019
0
8
Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have developed a simple yet accurate method for finding defects in the latest generation of silicon carbide transistors. This will speed up the process ...
General Physics
Jan 11, 2019
0
6
Billions of tiny transistors supply the processing power in modern smartphones, controlling the flow of electrons with rapid on-and-off switching.
General Physics
Dec 10, 2018
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541
Researchers at RMIT University have engineered a new type of transistor, the building block for all electronics. Instead of sending electrical currents through silicon, these transistors send electrons through narrow air ...
Nanophysics
Nov 19, 2018
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695
Scientists at ANU have invented tiny diamond electronic parts that could outperform and be more durable than today's devices in high-radiation environments such as rocket engines, helping to reach the next frontier in space.
Condensed Matter
Oct 25, 2018
0
106
