The Kynix Blog

Last March, the AI program AlphaGo beat Korean Go champion LEE Se-Dol at the Asian board game. "The game was quite tight, but AlphaGo used 1200 CPUs and 56,000 watts per hour, while Lee used only 20 W. If a hardware that mimics the human brain structure is developed, we can operate artificial intelligence with less power," points out Professor YU Woo Jong.In collaboration with Sungkyunkwan University, researchers from the Center for Integrated Nanostructure Physics within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), have devised a new memory device inspired by the neuron connections of the human brain.The research, published in Nature Communications, highlights the devise's highly reliable performance, long retention time and endurance. Moreover, its stretchability and flexibility makes it a promising tool for next-gen soft electronics attached to clothes or body.The brain is able to learn and memorise thanks to a huge number of connections between neurons. The information you memorise is transmitted through synapses from one neuron to the next as an electro-chemical signal.Inspired by these connections, IBS scientists constructed a memory called two-terminal tunnelling random access memory (TRAM), where two electrodes, referred to as drain and source, resemble the two communicating neurons of the synapse.While mainstream mobile electronics, like digital cameras and mobile phones use the so-called three-terminal flash memory, the advantage of two-terminal memories like TRAM is that two-terminal memories do not need a thick and rigid oxide layer."Flash memory is still more reliable and has better performance, but TRAM is more flexible and can be scalable," explains Professor Yu.TRAM is made up of a stack of one-atom-thick or a few atom-thick 2D crystal layers: One layer of the semiconductor molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with two electrodes (drain and source), an insulating layer of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and a graphene layer.In simple terms, memory is created (logical-0), read and erased (logical-1) by the flowing of charges through these layers. TRAM stores data by keeping electrons on its graphene layer. By applying different voltages between the electrodes, electrons flow from the drain to the graphene layer tunnelling through the insulating h-BN layer.The graphene layer becomes negatively charged and memory is written and stored and vice versa, when positive charges are introduced in the graphene layer, memory is erased.IBS scientists carefully selected the thickness of the insulating h-BN layer as they found that a thickness of 7.5 nm allows the electrons to tunnel from the drain electrode to the graphene layer without leakages and without losing flexibility.Flexibility and stretchability are indeed two key features of TRAM. When TRAM was fabricated on flexible plastic (PET) and stretachable silicone materials (PDMS), it could be strained up to 0.5% and 20%, respectively.In the future, TRAM can be useful to save data from flexible or wearable smartphones, eye cameras, smart surgical gloves, and body-attachable biomedical devices.Last but not least, TRAM has better performance than other types of two-terminal memories known as phase-change random-access memory (PRAM) and resistive random-access memory (RRAM).Reference:MT16JTF51264AZ-1G6M1MD2202-D192MD2203-D576

cientists have created a material that could make reading biological signals, from heartbeats to brainwaves, much more sensitive. Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are designed to measure signals created by electrical impulses in the body, such as heartbeats or brainwaves. However, they are currently only able to measure certain signals.Now researchers led by a team from Imperial College London have created a material that measures signals in a different way to traditional OECTs that they believe could be used in complementary circuits, paving the way for new biological sensor technologies.Semiconducting materials can conduct electronic signals, carried by either electrons or their positively charged counterparts, called holes. Holes in this sense are the absence of electrons - the spaces within atoms that can be filled by them.Electrons can be passed between atoms but so can holes. Materials that use primarily hole-driven transport are called 'p-type' materials, and those that use primarily electron-driven transport are called, and 'n-type' materials.An 'ambipolar' material is the combination of both types, allowing the transport of holes and electrons within the same material, leading to potentially more sensitive devices. However, it has not previously been possible to create ambipolar materials that work in the body.The current most sensitive OECTs use a material where only holes are transported. Electron transport in these devices however has not been possible, since n-type materials readily break down in water-based environments like the human body.But in research published today in Nature Communications, the team have demonstrated the first ambipolar OECT that can conduct electrons as well as holes with high stability in water-based solutions.The team overcame the seemingly inherent instability of n-type materials in water by designing new structures that prevent electrons from engaging in side-reactions, which would otherwise degrade the device.These new devices can detect positively charged sodium and potassium ions, important for neuron activities in the body, particularly in the brain. In the future, the team hope to be able to create materials tuned to detect particular ions, allowing ion-specific signals to be detected.Lead author Alexander Giovannitti, a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Iain McCulloch, from the Department of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics at Imperial said:"Proving that an n-type organic electrochemical transistor can operate in water paves the way for new sensor electronics with improved sensitivity. "It will also allow new applications, particularly in the sensing of biologically important positive ions, which are not feasible with current devices. For example, these materials might be able to detect abnormalities in sodium and potassium ion concentrations in the brain, responsible for neuron diseases such as epilepsy." Reference:2N3811DMA204020RDMMT5551S-7-F 

when University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers announced in the journal Nature Communications that they had developed transparent sensors for use in imaging the brain, researchers around the world took notice. Then the requests came flooding in. “So many research groups started asking us for these devices that we couldn’t keep up,” says Zhenqiang (Jack) Ma, the Lynn H. Matthias Professor and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in electrical and computer engineering at UW–Madison.Ma’s group is a world leader in developing revolutionary flexible electronic devices. The see-through, implantable micro-electrode arrays were light years beyond anything ever created.Although he and collaborator Justin Williams, the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in biomedical engineering and neurological surgery at UW–Madison, patented the technology through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, they saw its potential for advancements in research.“That little step has already resulted in an explosion of research in this field,” says Williams. “We didn’t want to keep this technology in our lab. We wanted to share it and expand the boundaries of its applications.”As a result, in a paper published in the journal Nature Protocols, the researchers have described in great detail how to fabricate and use transparent graphene neural electrode arrays in applications in electrophysiology, fluorescent microscopy, optical coherence tomography, and optogenetics. “We described how to do these things so we can start working on the next generation,” says Ma.Now, not only are the UW–Madison researchers looking at ways to improve and build upon the technology, they also are seeking to expand its applications from neuroscience into areas such as research of stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, cardiac conditions, and many others. And they hope other researchers do the same.“We didn’t want to keep this technology in our lab. We wanted to share it and expand the boundaries of its applications.”“This paper is a gateway for other groups to explore the huge potential from here,” says Ma. “Our technology demonstrates one of the key in vivo applications of graphene. We expect more revolutionary research will follow in this interdisciplinary field.”Funding for the initial research came from the Reliable Neural-Interface Technology program at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Other authors on the Nature Protocols paper include Dong-Wook Park, Sarah Brodnick, Jared Ness, Lisa Krugner-Higby, Solomon Mikael, Joseph Novello, Hyungsoo Kim, Dong-Hyun Baek, Jihye Bong, Kyle Swanson and Wendell Lake of UW–Madison; Farid Atry, Seth Frye and Ramin Pashaie of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Amelia Sandberg of Medtronic PLC Neuromodulation; Thomas Richner of the University of Washington; and Sanitta Thongpang of Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand.Reference:ISL29120IROZ-T7ADJD-J823TCS3200D-TR Like this Article? Register to receive updates here 

Application of LED lights is now common in various types of commercial settings. Irrespective of the type of business you own, you will find usage of commercial LED light within the premise. Reason for this is that such lights are of environment friendly type and give appealing look at different settings. Along with this, LED type of lights gives plenty of benefits and applications in different settings, about which experts have discussed here. In Various Mining EndeavorsToday, most of the mining industries are employing LED area light bulbs in wide range of settings because of their ability to provide outstanding strength, exceptional safety and longevity. Even people will find illuminating caverns comprise of LED lights used mainly in spotlights mounted on helmets and almost in every place, where they require usage of lights. Usage in Hospitality SectorHospitality industry is also a key area, where you will find LED lighting types of projects are making their headways. Majority of people have found significant decrease in the overall utility costs. Along with providing plenty of decorative lighting options to users and enhanced life spans, LED bulbs very hardly require replacements leading to reduction in maintenance costs. Application in City SettingsReplacement of only one traffic light with LED equivalent plays significant role to save the city's costing by about 93 percent of the energy consumed previously. Similarly, city authorities may replace lights displaying exit signs and down lights of vehicles with the help of LED down light options available in the market.  In fact, if you consider about commercial signage, you will find that it leads to about 2 percent of the total electrical consumption in different areas of United States every year. On the other side, by using of LEDs, one can expect to save money with a decrease of 80 percent in actual use. Savings obtained in terms of expenditure of energy for any small city may rise quickly to up to the range of six figures. Pay off associated with investments in cost saving yet affordable LED lights require only a period of about 2 to 3 years. Easy Replacement is PossibleBiggest benefit associated with LED bulbs is that design of those products fits perfectly in almost every possible type of light fixtures available in the market. Whether you own canned lighting type of business, traditional lamps or panels of fluorescent lights, you will expect to save many bucks by accommodating a single type of LED bulb. Reference:EB-251LRW5SM-GZHZ-1ABC02LSM670-H2K1-1

Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited today announced the launch of the 4 Mbit ReRAM MB85AS4MT, the world's largest density mass-produced ReRAM product. This is the first ReRAM product to be jointly developed with Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd.The MB85AS4MT is an SPI-interface ReRAM product that operates with a wide range of power supply voltage, from 1.65V to 3.6V. It features an extremely small average current in read operations of 0.2mA at a maximum operating frequency of 5MHz.It is optimal for battery operated wearable devices and medical devices such as hearing aids, which require high density, low power consumption electronic components.Up to this point, Fujitsu Semiconductor has contributed to resolving issues for clients with a need for specifications with greater performance than conventional non-volatile memory, such as EEPROM and serial flash memory, by providing FRAM products, which have such features as high read/write endurance and low power consumption. By adding the new 4 Mbit ReRAM MB85AS4MT to its lineup, Fujitsu Semiconductor can now further expand the options it offers to meet the diversifying needs of its customers.This product features the ability to operate with a wide range of power supply voltage, from 1.65V to 3.6V, can be operated at a maximum of 5MHz through an SPI interface, and uses extremely small average current during read operations (0.2mA operating at 5MHz). It offers the industry's lowest power consumption for read operations in non-volatile memory.The package is a 209mil 8 pin small outline package (SOP), pin-compatible with other non-volatile memory products such as EEPROM. Fujitsu Semiconductor has mounted a 4 Mbit memory density, exceeding the maximum density of serial interface EEPROM, in a miniature 8-pin SOP package size.Fujitsu Semiconductor expects that the MB85AS4MT, featuring high density and low power consumption, will be used in battery-operated wearable devices, medical devices such as hearing aids, and IoT devices such as meters and sensors.Going forward, Fujitsu Semiconductor will continue to provide products and solutions aimed at improving the value and convenience of customers' applications.Reference:GP1S036PKGS-00GXP1-RRB-3R0232-50PKGS-25SXAP1-R 

LED technology has evolved as very efficient solution for all our lighting needs in our homes, offices, parking lots, industries, streets and many other areas. However the application of LED as LED Industrial light, LED flood light and LED parking light is the biggest revolution as it has cut down the energy requirement significantly and offered a very durable lighting option that can last for years without needing replacement. The use of LED in industries and streets offers a very high quality lighting solution at reasonable cost. In fact, the lifetime cost of LED turns out to be much lesser than the HID lighting, which is gradually being replaced by LED. One of the main reasons for lesser lifetime cost is the long life of LED with very low power consumption. LED lighting offers a very promising solution for our future as the cost of LED will continue to drop as it has in the last few years because of the improving manufacturing techniques providing more efficient and cost effective production of LED for industries. LED light systems, like LED flood light systems offer many advantages over traditional lighting. Some of them are as follows: 1.    Extremely low power consumption2.    Long Life of Lights leading to excellent life for overall system3.    Excellent ability of color rendering according to the application 4.    Higher initial cost but better lifetime cost as compared to any other option.LED industrial light not only offers a very efficient alternative but also an environment friendly options that will help us cut down on the critical carbon emissions leading to a better future for the upcoming generations. The main reasons that make LED Industrial Lighting a perfect solution are as follows:Long Life: In terms of life expectancy, LED lighting turns out to be 20 times better as compared to the incandescent bulbs. The average life of LEDs is about 60,000 hours whereas a normal incandescent bulb lasts for about merely 1500 hours on an average. When compared to fluorescent bulbs. LEDs last 10 longer which is still a significant difference.Low Power Consumption: When it comes to power, LEDs offer a very efficient option with extremely less power consumption. It is estimated that by using LEDs in US, about 348 terawatt hours of electricity can be saved which costs huge amount of $30 billion. Better Distribution of Light: LED Lighting offers much better focusing properties which results in better distribution of light in the desired direction as compared to other sources of light which throws the light in every direction resulting into wastage of energy. Reference:ASMT-UYBG-NACJ8XRCWHT-L1-0000-004E6LCWW5AM-KXKY-4U8X