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(Researchers made a major breakthrough in smart printed electronics. ) 2D transistors make displays so cheap that they would be literally disposable. Then wine labels could show when the contents is at the optimal drinking temperature. Researchers from AMBER and TU Delft, Netherlands have fabricated printed transistors consisting entirely of 2-dimensional nanomaterials for the first time. These 2D materials combine exciting electronic properties with the potential for low-cost production. This breakthrough could unlock the potential for applications such as food packaging that displays a digital countdown to warn you of spoiling, wine labels that alert you when your white wine is at its optimum temperature, or even a window pane that shows the day’s forecast. This discovery opens the path for industry, such as ICT and pharmaceutical, to cheaply print a host of electronic devices from solar cells to LEDs with applications from interactive smart food and drug labels to next-generation banknote security and e-passports. Printed electronic circuitry will allow consumer products to gather, process, display and transmit information: for example, milk cartons could send messages to your phone warning that the milk is about to go out-of-date. 2D nanomaterials can compete with the materials currently used for printed electronics. Compared to other materials employed in this field, they have the capability to yield more cost effective and higher performance printed devices. However, while the last decade has underlined the potential of 2D materials for a range of electronic applications, only the first steps have been taken to demonstrate their worth in printed electronics. Nanosheets for two-dimensional transistorsResearchers now show that conducting, semiconducting and insulating 2D nanomaterials can be combined together in complex devices. It was critically important to focus on printing transistors as they are the electric switches at the heart of modern computing. This work opens the way to print a whole host of devices solely from 2D nanosheets. Standard printing techniques were used to combine graphene nanosheets as the electrodes with two other nanomaterials, tungsten diselenide and boron nitride as the channel and separator (two important parts of two-dimensional transistors) to form an all-printed, all-nanosheet, working transistor. Carbon-based molecules with limitationsPrintable electronics have developed over the last thirty years based mainly on printable carbon-based molecules. While these molecules can easily be turned into printable inks, such materials are somewhat unstable and have well-known performance limitations. There have been many attempts to surpass these obstacles using alternative materials, such as carbon nanotubes or inorganic nanoparticles, but these materials have also shown limitations in either performance or in manufacturability. While the performance of printed 2D devices cannot yet compare with advanced transistors, the team believe there is a wide scope to improve performance beyond the current state-of-the-art for printed transistors. The ability to print 2D nanomaterials is based on Prof. Coleman’s (AMBER) scalable method of producing 2D nanomaterials, including graphene, boron nitride, and tungsten diselenide nanosheets, in liquids, a method he has licensed to Samsung and Thomas Swan. These nanosheets are flat nanoparticles that are a few nanometres thick but hundreds of nanometres wide. Critically, nanosheets made from different materials have electronic properties that can be conducting, insulating or semiconducting and so include all the building blocks of electronics. Liquid processing is especially advantageous in that it yields large quantities of high quality 2D materials in a form that is easy to process into inks. Prof. Coleman’s publication provides the potential to print circuitry at extremely low cost which will facilitate a range of applications from animated posters to smart labels. Ref.KY56-C4706KY56-2SA1860 

Printed organic photodetectors and large-area image sensors company, Isorg, has announced that its first large-sized high-resolution (500dpi) flexible plastic fingerprint sensor, co-developed with FlexEnable, won the 2017 Best of Sensors Expo – Silver Applications Award. The high-resolution, ultra-thin, 500dpi flexible image sensor (sensitive from visible to near infrared) offers system integrators advantages in performance and compactness. Its ability to conform to three-dimensional shapes sets it apart from conventional image sensors. The device provides dual detection: fingerprinting as well as vein matching. Due to its large-area sensing and high-resolution image quality, the device is highly suited to biometric applications from fingerprint scanners and smartcards to mobile phones, where accuracy and robustness as well as cost-competiveness are key. Several biometric solution providers have sampled the flexible image sensor, verifying its readiness for deployment in products and compliance with FBI Image Quality Standards (IQS). “Isorg is very honoured to have received an international award for our groundbreaking high-resolution flexible image sensor technology whilst attending the most important global trade event dedicated to sensor innovations,” said Emmanuel Guerineau, General Manager and CFO at Isorg. “We are delighted to have collaborated with FlexEnable to produce the world’s first printed electronics image sensor that overcomes the limitations of traditional sensors. Biometric solution providers will be able to take advantage of the key differentiating factors that our technology brings, such as customised formats in large and small sizes, and easy integration. We see these opening up new opportunities across multiple applications.” Isorg is planning to launch high-volume production of the flexible image sensor at its new plant in Limoges, France, in order to support its large-scale commercialisation in the global biometrics market. The global biometrics hardware market is expected to grow from $3.9bn (approximately £2.99bn) in 2016 to $6.2bn (approximately £4.76bn) by 2021, according to the Yole Développement report on ‘Sensors for Biometry and Recognition 2016′. Central to the 500dpi flexible image sensor is an Organic Photodiode (OPD), a printed structure developed by Isorg that converts light into current – responsible for capturing the fingerprint. Isorg also developed the readout electronics, the forensics quality processing software and the optics to enable seamless integration in products. FlexEnable, a specialist in developing and industrialising flexible organic electronics, developed the Organic TFT backplane technology, an alternative to amorphous silicon. This partnership between the two companies began in Q4 2013. “We are delighted that the large area flexible fingerprint sensor we developed with Isorg has been recognised with such a prestigious award. Thanks to being thin, light and glass-free, the sensor can be conformed to almost any surface to enable new form factors and use cases not possible with conventional fingerprint sensors,” said Paul Cain, Strategy Director at FlexEnable. Designed on a large area (3x3.2”; 7.62x8.13cm) plastic substrate, the flexible image sensor is ultra-thin (300µ), therefore remarkably lightweight, compact and highly resistant to shock. Sensors Expo and Conference, held in San Jose, California, is the largest gathering of engineers and engineering professionals involved in sensors and sensing-related technologies. For over 30 years, it has welcomed more than 6,400 professionals from across the US and over 40 countries to explore today’s sensor technologies and find the solutions to tomorrow’s sensing challenges. The Best of Sensors Expo Awards are announced in conjunction with Sensors Online, a leading resource and authority on sensing, communication and control. The awards are designed to spotlight the advances in both innovations and real-world applications of sensors. Ref.NOIL2SM1300A-GDCMT9V022IA7ATCMT9V011

（The new device is smaller than a thumbnail with a size of 0.1 x 4mm, and could be integrated into everyday electronic devices like smartphones.） Integrated circuits, so called chips, are used in everyday electronic equipment like mobile phones and computers. It is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece of semiconductor material, normally silicon. But this material has some limitations when it comes to processing data. To overcome these limitations and improve data processing, researchers are developing optical circuits made of chalcogenide glass. This special type of glass is used for ultrafast telecommunication networks, transferring information at the speed of light. Integrating these glass optical circuits into silicon chips could lead to a more advanced communications system, processing data a hundred times faster. Can these two materials be combined? The answer is yes! In a collaboration with physicists in the University of Sydney's Australian Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology (AINST), the Australian National University (ANU) and RMIT University, the CUDOS research group around PhD candidate Blair Morrison and senior researcher Dr Alvaro Casas Bedoya created compact, mass manufacturable optical circuits with enhanced functionalities by combining nonlinear glasses with silicon-based material. "In the last few years the group at the University of Sydney has repeatedly demonstrated exciting functionalities, such as broadband microwave devices that enhance radar, using these novel chalcogenide glasses," Blair Morrison said from the University of Sydney CUDOS node. "Now we have shown it is possible to combine this material with the current industry standard platform for photonic integration, silicon," he said. "We integrated a novel nonlinear glass into an industrially scalable CMOS compatible platform. We maintained the key advantages of both the silicon and the glass, and made a functional and efficient ultra-compact optical circuit," said Dr Alvaro Casas Bedoya who is the lead photonics nanofabrication manager for CUDOS. "A wealth of new opportunities will be created, and this takes us one step closer to moving our research from the lab into industrial applications," said Blair Morrison. CUDOS Director and ARC Laureate Fellow Professor Benjamin Eggleton from the University of Sydney said this new approach will one day allow the industry to miniaturise the photonics functionalities from devices that are the size of a laptop to the size of a smartphone and even smaller, allowing for deployment in real world applications. "This is exciting, because this is a platform which is more compatible with existing semiconductor manufacturing and will allow us to integrate multiple functionalities on a single silicon chip, with active and passive components, such as detectors and modulators, required for advanced applications," said Professor Eggleton who supervised the project. The multi-university research team went through the whole manufacturing process: The fabrication of these devices uses silicon wafers from a semiconductor foundry in Belgium, a dedicated facility in ANU's Laser Physics Centre for the glass deposition, lithography in the RMIT University's School of Engineering and are then characterised and tested in the University of Sydney's AINST. To showcase the potential of the new approach, the CUDOS researchers further demonstrated a compact novel laser based on the light-sound interactions, the first time in an integrated optical circuit. "The breakthrough here is this realisation that we can actually interface, we can integrate that glass onto silicon and we can interface from silicon to the glass very efficiently -- we can harness the best of both worlds," Professor Eggleton said. Professor Susan Pond, the Director of AINST, emphasized that this project is one of AINST flagship activities that deals with harnessing interactions between photons and phonon at the nanoscale. This work links fundamental research in light matter interactions at the nanoscale with an end user perspective and strong coupling to industry. Ref.KY32-LMX6502SQKY32-LN2300KY32-LN3251MPW

A spintronic device measuring just 375 nm across has been used to recognize human speech. The device is a spintronic oscillator, which behaves much like a neuron in the brain. Created by physicists in France, Japan and the US, the system is described as the first neuromorphic computer that is based on a nanoscale device.Neuromorphic computers try to emulate the human brain. As well as having the potential to be faster and more energy efficient than conventional computers, they could also excel at learning how to perform certain tasks – rather than being pre-programmed to do so. A spintronic oscillator comprises a non-magnetic layer of material sandwiched between two ferromagnetic layers – with each ferromagnetic layer being magnetized in a different direction. A voltage is applied to the device, causing a spin-polarized current to flow from one magnetic layer, across the non-magnetic layer, and into the second magnetic layer. This exerts a torque on the second magnetic layer, causing its magnetization to precess at microwave frequencies. This precession is monitored in terms of an oscillating voltage that develops across the device. Nonlinear response A minimum current is required for these oscillations to occur. As the current rises above this threshold, the amplitude of the oscillating voltage increases as the square root of the current. This current threshold and nonlinear response is similar to the behaviour of neurons, which is one reason why spintronic oscillators show promise for making neuromorphic computers.The speech-recognition system was created by Julie Grollier and colleagues at Université Paris-Sud and Université Paris-Saclay, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tsukuba and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland.The process begins with a spoken word being captured by a microphone, digitized and then pre-processed to create an electrical current. This current is then fed into a spintronic oscillator, creating an oscillating voltage that is then analysed by a computer running a machine-learning program. State-of-the-art performance The team looked at how the system is able to recognize the numbers 0–9 when spoken by several different people. When the input signals were pre-processed using a "nonlinear cochlear filter" – the standard in such applications – the system achieved a recognition rate of 99.6%. Writing in Nature, the team describes this as a "state-of-the-art" performance that is normally achieved using much more complicated systems. As well as being sub-micron in size, the oscillators can be made using the same fabrication methods as conventional computer chips. This, says the team, could allow one hundred million oscillators to fit on a thumb-sized chip. The researchers also point out that unlike other nanoscale oscillators, spintronic oscillators offer low noise operation, high stability and low energy consumption. Source: Hamish Johnston, the editor of physicsworld.comRef.ECS-2200B-500P122-156.25M

When designing a custom lighting solution, there are many different goals to take into consideration. One of the most essential may be reducing the power supply needs of the system. Doing so can provide further benefits, such as improving reliability and expected shelf life, and reducing space and size constraints. Benefits often come with tradeoffs; traditionally, when you reduce power you may need to reduce brightness at the same time. The good news is that this doesn’t always have to be the case. GLOBAL LIGHTING TECHNOLOGIES have compiled a list of five smart ways that you can reduce power without sacrificing LED brightness. 1. LED efficiencyHow do you do more with less? It's all about efficiency, and choosing more efficient LEDs can make a world of difference. Choosing a more efficient LED may seem like a more expensive option, but keep in mind that it’s not just about the cost of the LED - what you should really be considering is the cost per Lumen of output. A more efficient LED is actually more cost-effective, while simultaneously helping reduce power needs. 2. Lightguide material efficiencyAny light which is absorbed by the lightguide material is light that the actual display is losing. Therefore, switching to a material with a higher transmissivity to improve efficiency and it will aid in the retention of more light. 3. LED driver circuitBy utilising a highly efficient LED driver circuit, you can prevent power loss and improve the end result. This is often overlooked, as many engineers design circuits which use resistors to reduce voltage and match current to the LEDs. You can prevent those power losses from occurring by using custom designed LED driver chips and circuits with improved efficiency. 4. Lightguide extraction efficiencyAnother area where efficiency can be improved is with extraction, and by doing so more light is able to reach the user’s target area. In turn, power can also be reduced. Our innovative extraction technology offers higher efficiency and overall improved extraction, helping to achieve this goal. 5. LightguidesThe job of a lightguide is to take the light from the LED and spread it out uniformly over the surface being illuminated. With the right design and technology, a custom lightguide can actually conserve most of the initial LED efficiency while greatly increasing uniformity of the display, offering the best of both worlds. Ref.KY32-HV9921N3KY32-MIC2287CBD5KY32-LNK456DG

The simplest semiconductor component, the diode, has an astonishing number of applications that are enabled by a number of practical and unique types of diodes that are vital in modern electronics.Now let's get start to learn about diodes.   Applications of Diodes While only two pin semiconductor devices, there are a number of applications of diodes that are vital in modern electronics. Diodes are known for only allowing current to move in one direction through the component.   This lets a diode acts as a one-way valve, keeping signals where they need to be or routing them around components. While diodes only let current move in one direction, each type of diode acts differently, making a number of useful applications for diodes.   Some of the typical applications of diodes include:   ·  Rectifying a voltage, such as turning AC into DC voltages ·  Isolating signals from a supply ·  Voltage Reference ·  Controlling the size of a signal ·  Mixing signals ·  Detection signals ·  Lighting ·Lasers diodes   Power Conversion One significant application of diodes is to convert AC power to DC power. A single diode or four diodes can be used to transform 110V household power to DC by forming a half-way (single diodes) or a full-wave (four diodes) rectifier. A diode does this by allowing only half of the AC waveform to travel through it. When this voltage pulse is used to charge a capacitor, the output voltage appears to be a steady DC voltage with a small voltage ripple.   Using a full wave rectifier makes this process even more efficient by routing the AC pulses so both the positive and negative halves of the input sine wave are seen as only positive pulses, effectively doubling the frequency of the input pulses to the capacitor which helps keep it charged and deliver a more stable voltage. Diodes and capacitors can also be used to create a number of types of voltage multipliers to take a small AC voltage and multiply it to create very high voltage outputs. Both AC and DC outputs are possible using the right configuration of capacitors and diodes.   Demodulation of Signals The most common use for diodes is to remove the negative component of an AC signal so it can be worked with easier with electronics. Since the negative portion of an AC waveform is usually identical to the positive half, very little information is effectively lost in this process. Signal demodulation is commonly used in radios as part of the filtering system to help extract the radio signal from the carrier wave.   Over-Voltage Protections Diodes also function well as protection devices for sensitive electronic components. When used as voltage protection devices, the diodes are non-conducting under normal operating conditions but immediately short any high voltage spike to ground where it cannot harm an integrated circuit. Specialized diodes called transient voltage suppressors are designed specifically for over-voltage protection and can handle very large power spikes for short time periods, typical characteristics of a voltage spike or electric shock, which would normally damage components and shorten the life of an electronic product.   Current Steering The basic application of diodes is to steer current and make sure it only flows in the proper direction. One area where the current steering capability of diodes is used to good effect is in switching from power from a power supply to running from a battery. When a device is plugged in and charging, for example, a cell phone or uninterruptible power supply, the device should be drawing power only from the external power supply and not the battery and while the device is plugged in the battery should be drawing power and recharging. As soon as the power source is removed, the battery should power the device so no interruption in noticed by the user.   Ref. MN3306 MURB1520 SBG1030L-T-F