The Kynix Blog

With the rapid increase in production of intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar, there is an increasing need for large-scale electrical energy storage systems to more efficiently match supply and demand for these renewable sources. Also, large-scale energy storage can increase the annual load factor (defined as the annual mean power divided by the maximum three-day mean power) by load leveling. Traditionally, pumped-hydro has been used for load leveling at large scale plants, but this is geographically limited to a small subset of locations.Flow batteries are especially attractive for these leveling and stabilization applications for electric power companies. In addition, they are also useful for electric power customers such as factories and office buildings that require increased capacities, uninterrupted supply, or backup power.And how much do you know anything about flow battery?  Flow BatteryA flow battery is a type of rechargeable battery where rechargeability is provided by two chemical components dissolved in liquids contained within the system and most commonly separated by a membrane. This technology is akin to both a fuel cell and a battery - where liquid energy sources are tapped to create electricity and are able to be recharged within the same system. One of the biggest advantages of flow batteries is that they can be almost instantly recharged by replacing the electrolyte liquid, while simultaneously recovering the spent material for re-energization. Different classes of flow cells (batteries) have been developed, including redox, hybrid and membraneless. The fundamental difference between conventional batteries and flow cells is that energy is stored as the electrode material in conventional batteries but as the electrolyte in flow cells.  A rechargeable battery to power a home from rooftop solar panelsRecently scientists have said that a rechargeable battery that could make storage of electricity from intermittent energy sources like solar and wind safe and cost-effective for both residential and commercial use. The new research builds on earlier work by members of the same team that could enable cheaper and more reliable electricity storage at the grid level. The mismatch between the availability of intermittent wind or sunshine and the variability of demand is a great obstacle to getting a large fraction of our electricity from renewable sources. This problem could be solved by a cost-effective means of storing large amounts of electrical energy for delivery over the long periods when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't shining. In the operation of the battery, electrons are picked up and released by compounds composed of inexpensive, earth-abundant elements (carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, iron and potassium) dissolved in water. The compounds are non-toxic, non-flammable, and widely available, making them safer and cheaper than other battery systems.  "This is chemistry I'd be happy to put in my basement," says Michael J. Aziz, Gene and Tracy Sykes Professor of Materials and Energy Technologies at Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and project Principal Investigator. "The non-toxicity and cheap, abundant materials placed in water solution mean that it's safe—it can't catch on fire—and that's huge when you're storing large amounts of electrical energy anywhere near people." This new rechargeable battery chemistry was discovered by post-doctoral fellow Michael Marshak and graduate student Kaixiang Lin working together with co-lead author Roy Gordon, Thomas Dudley Cabot Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science at Harvard. "We combined a common organic dye with an inexpensive food additive to increase our battery voltage by about 50 percent over our previous materials," says Gordon. The findings "deliver the first high-performance, non-flammable, non-toxic, non-corrosive, and low-cost chemicals for flow batteries." Unlike solid-electrode batteries, flow batteries store energy in liquids contained in external tanks, similar to fuel cells. The tanks (which set the energy capacity), as well as the electrochemical conversion hardware through which the fluids are pumped (which sets peak power capacity), can be sized independently. Since the amount of energy that can be stored can be arbitrarily increased by scaling up only the size of the tanks, larger amounts of energy can be stored at lower cost than traditional battery systems.  Application&BenefitsThe main benefits of flow batteries can be aggregated into a comprehensive value proposition.The main features that distinguish flow batteries are:  Long service life: The semi-permanent electrolyte combined with minimal electrode degradation allows for a high number of full charge-discharge cycles before replacement is needed. The electrodes do not undergo physical/chemical changes, so they can be optimized for catalytic and electrical properties without having to design for holding active substances. Also, convective cooling of the electrodes by the pumped electrolyte aids in heat distribution and management. No standby loss: During prolonged gaps in use, there is little self-discharge since the charge-carrying electrolyte is stored in separate tanks. Low maintenance: The charge state of each cell is the same since the same electrolyte is used for all cells, thus overcharging is not necessary to guarantee a uniform a charge. Recyclability & Safety: Waste vanadium can be reused and cross-contamination across the positive and negative electrode compartments does not affect the composition. Also, the electrolytes are relatively nontoxic. Charging characteristics: Redox flow batteries are "not affected by fluctuating power demand, repeated total discharge, or charge rates as high as the maximum discharge rates."  These actions severely reduce cycle life in other batteries. Modularity: Perhaps most important is that energy capacity can be scaled independently of the power; cell characteristics such as electrode area do not need to be changed to modify capacity. This allows for underground storage of electrolyte in freeform tanks, which has been demonstrated successfully in a 20 kW system. Ref.KY605-BP12-12-T2KY605-EB50-12-I2 

“For the living room, a sensual green with temperature and motion sensors.” In the future, you may be able to order that or something similar for your smart home. Sometime soon, new types of sensors could become a reality on your four walls.Science or fiction? More and more often, we find ourselves having to answer that question with science. That also applies to tiny new sensors that—hidden in wall paint—could make smart homes even smarter. On the one hand, they would have to be very, very small, and on the other, they would have to work without a battery. Researchers at the University of Eindhoven have already found an elegant solution. Their tiny temperature sensor gets its energy from the same radio waves that it uses to transmit its measuring results. First it receives radio waves from a special router via an antenna and stores it as energy. Starting at a certain energy level, it then measures the temperature and sends the results to the router. And it does so at exactly the same frequency that was chosen in advance for the measured temperature value. The router then uses the information to calculate the actual temperature. The walls have earsThe range of the tiny sensor, which measures just two square millimeters in size and weighs just 1.6 milligrams, is limited to 2.5 centimeters. But researchers hope to reach one meter during the next year. They are aiming for up to five meters in the future. Because the sensor also works under a coat of paint, pavement or concrete, there are only a few restrictions to its applications. For example, in smart homes or production environments, it could be “painted” onto the building’s walls with paint. And not just as a “thermometer”. The technology can also be used for sensors that measure motion, light and moisture. Right now the sensor stems from a 65-nm CMOS process. Produced in mass, the cost of production should come in at around 30 cents. Ref.KY45-LM35DTKY45-AMB2402

ABOUT KNYIX OverviewKynix Semiconductor HongKong Limited was founded in 2008, which specializes in electronic components distribution business. With an experienced research and development,sales and management team, we have gradually established an excellent reputation and credibility in our international business. As our business philosophy, honesty and ethics are always in the first place when we serve our customers. For the accurate quotation, excellent credit, reasonable price, reliable quality, fast delivery, authentic service, we have won favorable comments of our customers.After years of steady development, Kynix has established good relationships of cooperation with well-known brand agents and manufacturers in Japan, Korea and some western countries (LG,INTEL,Foxconn,etc.). Also we have stable and good supply channels. At the meanwhile, we attach great importance to relationships with  everyone in this field, and cherish every opportunity of cooperation and sharing. Company profile Company nameKynix Semiconductor HongKong LimitedYear Established2008Area of BusinessElectronic components distributionAddress of companyFlat 08,4/F Shing Yip Ind Bldg,19,19-21 Shing Yip Street Kwun Tongkowloon Hong KongProductsOptical devices, embedded systems, semiconductors, circuit protection components, passive components, connectors, sensors, etc.ServicesOffering over 60 days after-sales services  Development History   Kynix’s Advantages    ·Our Operation SystemStrong enterprise management system, high intelligent procurement system, super stable order system, strong warehouse management system, professional inspection technology of professional shipment,convenient and efficient delivering system, applicable to PC/mobile devices. We are pleasure to serve for over 9000 clients around the world. We have spend 13 years to meet the needs from our worldwide clients and satisfy them, so we know clearly about the importance of safe delivery, timely after-sales service and  intimate service.           ·Warehouse ManagementWe strictly comply with the warehouse management rules. By implementing ERP system, we master the warehouse data accurately, which fundamentally ensure the accuracy and unity of actual operation, delivery status and the backend database.  At the same time, it further improves the working efficiency and accomplishes the scientific management of the warehouse.   Corporate Culture  Kynix is constantly committed to constructing a strong corporate culture and sharing its prosperity with all of its employees. Kynix is devoted to carrying out its core corporate culture of “honesty, efficiency and reliability”, adhering to the development concept of its quality culture under the theme of human-nurturing before goods-building and earnestness, etc. Close cooperation among departments plays a key role in a company’s operation. To ensure that all of our customers can get reliable and efficient service promptly, Kynix sales department always pays high attention to each RFQ sent by our customers and proceeds it in the first place. Our purchasing department is responsible for goods purchasing and quality assurance. Every staff in Kynix is trying their best to do their jobs well, which makes our company better and better.   Customers’ Reviews With the good cooperation, Kynix won a lot of praise from our customers. Follows are some reviews from them. “Both price and goods is suitable for my design! The seller’s service is really good! Anyway, I am indeed content with shopping of this time. Recommending Kynix strongly to everyone who wants to purchase electronic components.”——Nikita Silva “About one year ago I ordered a first shipment of parts from Kynix, so I′m giving a long-therm evaluation here. Kynix in my opinion is a reputable, professional supplier with great pricing, communication, care taking/handling and reassurance that no fake-parts are sold. I am very confident in their service and I′m currently preparing another shipment of same size......”——Florian Poeschko “Great seller, the best service.Very pleasant to deal business with such company.”——Crystal Ling “I placed a trial order in Kynix Semiconductor’s website, and I received the parts.They are all good and well packaged. The service is also excellent. I think I will but again!”——Madele “This is my second order. I got an excellent service and the delivery is very fast. I am very satisfied. Thank you.”——Gustavo “I am a regular customer of Kynix Semiconductor. After years of purchasing components here, I have to say these good points about it. And these are the reason why I want to recommend Kynix if you want to buy components for your design. Items: Standard, hard-to-get and long obsolete components like - Transistors (e.g. Sanyo 2SK44, Fairchild FQPF11P06) - Diodes (e.g. Rohm 1S2473, Toshiba 1S1588) - Integrated circuits (e.g. National Semiconductors LM308)  Quotation: The quotation (pre-buy) was turned around fast, it was accurate and clear (including shipping costs). Several parts needed communication on my behalf with a sales assistant who was able to answer every question I had (e.g. is component definitely from the manufacturer I specified, can I see another picture, etc.). All my necessities we′re met and all components/manufacturers could be found. Pictures were sent for confirmation where needed and matched parts sent.  Parts: After working with the parts over the past year I can say they are all of genuine brand/manufacturer and I haven′t yet had a single defective component.  Packaging: All parts were sent in sealed soft-bags/hard batch-casings and accurately labelled (part number, manufacturer and amount). Bags can be opened and sealed again which makes them great for both storage and regular use.  Shipment: The whole shipment was packed carefully and no damage to any parts. It was delivered faster as expected and customs were taken care of hassle-free. The cost was very reasonable.  Pricing: The pricing was excellent especially with greater amounts which was why I could purchase a greater amount for surplus (In some instances several hundreds of them.) I feel really good with their good quality and excellent service. Hope this evaluation can help you!”——Pinellis Sam   Kynix’s ProspectIn 2015, Kynix Semiconductor’s annual value of production had reached $50 million. And our partners in electronics field increased to 700 in 2016. Now the Chinese version of Kynix website is moving ahead and will be launched soon. ContactIf you want to know more about Kynix Semiconductor and our products, please view our website! Or you can contact us through our email: info@kynix.com. Come and buy good products at lower price from us! 

Three fingers on a new soft robotic gripper each have specialized sensors that can estimate the size and shape of an object accurately enough to identify it from a set of multiple items.  Robots have many strong suits, but delicacy traditionally hasn't been one of them. Rigid limbs and digits make it difficult for them to grasp, hold, and manipulate a range of everyday objects without dropping or crushing them. Recently, researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have discovered that the solution may be to turn to a substance more commonly associated with new buildings and Silly Putty: silicone. At a conference this month, researchers from CSAIL Director Daniela Rus' Distributed Robotics Lab demonstrated a 3-D-printed robotic hand made out of silicone rubber that can lift and handle objects as delicate as an egg and as thin as a compact disc. Just as impressively, its three fingers have special sensors that can estimate the size and shape of an object accurately enough to identify it from a set of multiple items. "Robots are often limited in what they can do because of how hard it is to interact with objects of different sizes and materials," Rus says. "Grasping is an important step in being able to do useful tasks; with this work we set out to develop both the soft hands and the supporting control and planning systems that make dynamic grasping possible." The paper, which was co-written by Rus and graduate student Bianca Homberg, PhD candidate Robert Katzschmann, and postdoc Mehmet Dogar, will be presented at this month's International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. The hard science of soft robots The gripper, which can also pick up such items as a tennis ball, a Rubik's cube and a Beanie Baby, is part of a larger body of work out of Rus' lab at CSAIL aimed at showing the value of so-called "soft robots" made of unconventional materials such as silicone, paper, and fiber. Researchers say that soft robots have a number of advantages over "hard" robots, including the ability to handle irregularly-shaped objects, squeeze into tight spaces, and readily recover from collisions. "A robot with rigid hands will have much more trouble with tasks like picking up an object," Homberg says. "This is because it has to have a good model of the object and spend a lot of time thinking about precisely how it will perform the grasp." Soft robots represent an intriguing new alternative. However, one downside to their extra flexibility (or "compliance") is that they often have difficulty accurately measuring where an object is, or even if they have successfully picked it up at all. That's where the CSAIL team's "bend sensors" come in. When the gripper hones in an object, the fingers send back location data based on their curvature. Using this data, the robot can pick up an unknown object and compare it to the existing clusters of data points that represent past objects. With just three data points from a single grasp, the robot's algorithms can distinguish between objects as similar in size as a cup and a lemonade bottle. "As a human, if you're blindfolded and you pick something up, you can feel it and still understand what it is," says Katzschmann. "We want to develop a similar skill in robots—essentially, giving them 'sight' without them actually being able to see." The team is hopeful that, with further sensor advances, the system could eventually identify dozens of distinct objects, and be programmed to interact with them differently depending on their size, shape, and function. How it works（“We want to ... give robots‘sight’ without them actually being able to see,” says MIT grad student Robert Katzschmann. ） Researchers control the gripper via a series of pistons that push pressurized air through the silicone fingers. The pistons cause little bubbles to expand in the fingers, spurring them to stretch and bend. The hand can grip using two types of grasps: "enveloping grasps," where the object is entirely contained within the gripper, and "pinch grasps," where the object is held by the tips of the fingers. Outfitted for the popular Baxter manufacturing robot, the gripper significantly outperformed Baxter's default gripper, which was unable to pick up a CD or piece of paper and was prone to completely crushing items like a soda can. Like Rus' previous robotic arm, the fingers are made of silicone rubber, which was chosen because of its qualities of being both relatively stiff, but also flexible enough to expand with the pressure from the pistons. Meanwhile, the gripper's interface and exterior finger-molds are 3-D-printed, which means the system will work on virtually any robotic platform. In the future, Rus says the team plans to put more time into improving and adding more sensors that will allow the gripper to identify a wider variety of objects. "If we want robots in human-centered environments, they need to be more adaptive and able to interact with objects whose shape and placement are not precisely known," Rus says. "Our dream is to develop a robot that, like a human, can approach an unknown object, big or small, determine its approximate shape and size, and figure out how to interface with it in one seamless motion." Ref.KY45-TSL1401CLKY45-11242-11

(A test sample comprised of a thermal chip, a heat spreader and a microcooler demonstrates the efficiency of diamond for removing heat from hotspots in semiconductor electronics.) Powerful electronic components can get very hot. When many components are combined into a single semiconductor chip, heating can become a real problem. An overheating electronic component wastes energy and is at risk of behaving unpredictably or failing altogether. Consequently, thermal management is a vital design consideration. This becomes particularly important in devices made from gallium nitride. "Gallium nitride is capable of handling high voltages, and can enable higher power capability and very large bandwidth," says Yong Han from the A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics. "But in a gallium nitride transistor chip, the heat concentrates on tiny areas, forming several hotspots." This exacerbates the heating problem. Han and co-workers demonstrate both experimentally and numerically that a layer of diamond can spread heat and improve the thermal performance of gallium nitride devices. The researchers created a thermal test chip that contained eight tiny hotspots, each 0.45 by 0.3 millimeters in size, to generate the heat created in actual devices. They bonded this chip to a layer of high quality diamond fabricated using a technique called chemical vapor deposition. The diamond heat spreader and test chip were connected using a thermal compression bonding process. This was then connected to a microcooler, a device consisting of a series of micrometer-wide channels and a micro-jet impingement array. Water impinges on the heat source wall, and then passes through the micro-channels to remove the heat and keep the structure cool. Han and the team tried their device by generating 10–120 Watts of heating power in test chips of 100 and 200-micrometer thickness. To dissipate the heating power, the diamond heat spreading layer and microcooler helped maintain the structure at a temperature below 160 degrees Celsius. In fact, the maximum chip temperature was 27.3 per cent lower than another device using copper as the heat spreading layer, and over 40 per cent lower than in a device with no spreading layer. The experimental results were further confirmed by thermal simulations. The simulations also indicated that the performance could be improved further by increasing the thickness of the diamond layer, and that good bonding quality between the gallium nitride chip and the diamond heat spreader was crucial to obtain the best performance. "We next hope to develop a novel micro-fluid cooler of higher and more uniform cooling capability, and to achieve thermal management using a diamond layer of high thermal conductivity near an electronic gate," says Han. Ref.KY56-MJL4302AKY56-PZTA06KY56-FZT958TA  

The world's most precise clock has been fine-tuned to boost radar and GPS capabilities.The Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillator, or Sapphire Clock, has been enhanced by researchers from the University of Adelaide in South Australia to achieve near attosecond capability. The oscillator is 10-1000 times more stable than competing technology and allows users to take ultra-high precision measurements to improve the performance of electronic systems. Increased time precision is an integral part of radar technology and quantum computing, which have previously relied on the stability of quartz oscillators as well as atomic clocks such as the Hydrogen Maser. Atomic clocks are the gold-standard in time keeping for long-term stability over months and years. However, electronic systems need short-term stability over a second to control today's devices. The new Sapphire Clock has a short-term stability of better than 1x10-15, which is equivalent to only losing or gaining one second every 40 million years, 100 times better than commercial atomic clocks over a second. The original Sapphire Clock was developed by Professor Andre Luiten in 1989 in Western Australia before the team moved to South Australia to continue developing the device at the University of Adelaide. Lead researcher Martin O'Connor said the development group was in the process of modifying the device to meet the needs of various industries including defence, quantum computing and radio astronomy. The 100cm x 40cm x 40cm clock uses the natural resonance frequency of a synthetic sapphire crystal to maintain a steady oscillator signal.Associate Professor O'Connor said the machine could be reduced to 60 per cent of its size without losing much of its capability."Our technology is so far ahead of the game, it is now the time to transfer it into a commercial product," he said. "We can now tailor the oscillator to the application of our customers by reducing its size, weight and power consumption but it is still beyond current electronic systems." The Sapphire Clock, also known as a microwave oscillator, has a 5 cm cylinder-shaped crystal that is cooled to -269C. Microwave radiation is constantly propagating around the crystal with a natural resonance. The concept was first discovered by Lord Rayleigh in 1878 when he could hear someone whispering far away on the other side of the church dome at St Paul's Cathedral. The clock then uses small probes to pick up the faint resonance and amplifies it back to produce a pure frequency with near attosecond performance."An atomic clock uses an electronic transition between two energy levels of an atom as a frequency standard," Associate Professor O'Connor said."The atomic clock is what is commonly used in GPS satellites and in other quantum computing and astronomy applications but our clock is set to disrupt these current applications."  The lab-based version already has an existing customer in the Defence Science and Technology Group (DST Group) in Adelaide, but Associate Professor O'Connor said the research group was also looking for more clients and was in discussion with a number of different industry groups. The research group is taking part in the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's (CSIRO's) On Prime pre-accelerator program, which helps teams identify customer segments and build business plans. Ref.KY45-E3X-DA6KY163-TX179