ELE Times PDF 1 Nov 2016 | Page 42

Cover Story
- the place where a signal passes from one nerve cell to another
superconductor . Left : Actual measurement . Right : Illustration of
in the body . Memristive devices are electrical resistance switches
concept .
that can alter their resistance based on the history of applied voltage and current . These devices can store and process information and offer several key performance characteristics
New cost-effective silicon carbide high voltage switch created
that exceed conventional integrated circuit technology .
New 3-D wiring technique brings scalable quantum computers closer to reality
A new extensible wiring technique capable of controlling superconducting quantum bits has now been developed , representing a significant step towards to the realization of a scalable quantum computer .
ELE Times | 42 | November , 2016
Researchers have created a high voltage and high frequency silicon carbide ( SiC ) power switch that could cost much less than similarly rated SiC power switches . The findings could lead to early applications in the power industry , especially in power converters like medium voltage drives , solid state transformers and high voltage transmissions and circuit breakers .
Wide bandgap semiconductors , such as SiC , show tremendous potential for use in medium- and high-voltage power devices because of their capability to work more efficiently at higher voltages . Currently though , their high cost impedes their widespread adoption over the prevailing workhorse and industry standard -- insulated-gate bipolar transistors ( IGBT ) made from silicon -- which generally work well but incur large energy losses when they are turned on and off .
Electrons in graphene behave like light , only better
Electrical and computer engineers have directly observed - for the first time - negative refraction for electrons passing across a boundary between two regions in a conducting material . The
The quantum socket is a wiring method that uses threedimensional
wires based on spring-loaded pins to address
individual qubits . The technique connects classical electronics
researchers were able to observe the effect in graphene ,
with quantum circuits , and is extendable far beyond current
demonstrating that electrons in the atomically thin material
limits , from one to possibly a few thousand qubits .
behave like light rays , which can be manipulated by such optical
Physicists pass spin information through a
devices as lenses and prisms . The findings could lead to the
superconductor
Every electronic device - from a supercomputer to a dishwasher - works by controlling the flow of charged electrons . But electrons can carry so much more information than just charge ; electrons also spin , like a gyroscope on axis .
Harnessing electron spin is really exciting for quantum information processing because not only can an electron spin up or down -one or zero -but it can also spin any direction between
development of new types of electron switches , based on the principles of optics rather than electronics .
The ability to manipulate electrons in a conducting material like light rays opens up entirely new ways of thinking about electronics . The switches that make up computer chips operate by turning the entire device on or off , and this consumes significant power .
2-D boron may be best for flexible electronics
the two poles . Because it follows the rules of quantum
Though they ' re touted as ideal for electronics , two-dimensional
mechanics , an electron can occupy all of those positions at once .
materials like graphene may be too flat and hard to stretch to
Imagine the power of a computer that could calculate all of those
serve in flexible , wearable devices . " Wavy " borophene might be
positions simultaneously .
better .
A whole field of applied physics , called spintronics , focuses on
When grown on silver , the two-dimensional form of boron , which
how to harness and measure electron spin and build spin
is called borophene , takes on corrugations . The metallic material
equivalents of electronic gates and circuits .
may be suitable for use in stretchable , bendable electronics .
Bioengineers ' sweat sensor monitors glucose
The scientists observed examples of naturally undulating , metallic
Researchers are sweating the small stuff in their efforts to develop a wearable device that can monitor an individual ' s glucose level via perspiration on the skin . They have
borophene , an atom-thick layer of boron , and suggested that transferring it onto an elastic surface would preserve the material ' s stretchability along with its useful electronic properties .
demonstrated the capabilities of a biosensor they designed to
Ultra-thin ferroelectric material for next-generation
reliably detect and quantify glucose in human sweat .
electronics
Melting of frozen electrons visualized
Ferroelectric materials can switch between different states of
It allows electrons to move freely and turns the insulator into a
electrical polarization in response to an external electric field . This
metal and possibly later into a superconductor .
flexibility means they show promise for many applications , for
The melting of electrons . In the blue areas , the electrons ( red dots ) are stuck to the atoms in the lattice ( green circles ), meaning that there is no current . In the red areas , dopant atoms ( black circles ) are added , giving the electrons room to move and making them behave like a liquid . The researchers expect that once the whole area is molten , the material is a high-temperature
example in electronic devices and computer memory . Current ferroelectric materials are highly valued for their thermal and chemical stability and rapid electro-mechanical responses , but creating a material that is scalable down to the tiny sizes needed for technologies like silicon-based semiconductors ( Si-based
CMOS ) has proven challenging .