Hasta La Gadget!

Commercialization of carbon nanotubes is one of the holy grails of next-gen computing, and IBM thinks it’s made crucial steps toward making this a reality. This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard such a claim, of course, but IBM’s considerable resources will make this particularly interesting. The specific problem it’s been tackling is placing enough semiconducting nanotubes together to be useful in commercial chips, with current attempts being more in the hundreds, rather than billions that would be required. The new approach uses ion-exchange chemistry that allows controlled placement of nanotubes at two orders of magnitude greater than before, with a density of roughly a billion per square centimeter. To achieve this, the nanotubes are mixed with a soap-like substance that makes them water-soluble. Next, a substrate comprising two oxides and a hafnium oxide “trench” is immersed in the soap-solution, which results in the nanotubes attaching to the hafnium oxide canals with a chemical bond. Simple when you think about it! IBM hopes that as the materials and method are readily accessible now, that industry players will be able to experiment with nanotube technology at a much greater scale. Though, as we’ve become accustomed, there’s no solid timescales on when this might realistically unfold.

Continue reading IBM Labs develops ‘initial step’ towards commercial fabrication of carbon nanotubes

Filed under: Science, Alt

IBM Labs develops ‘initial step’ towards commercial fabrication of carbon nanotubes originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Oct 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Premiership footballers will be weeping in envy at the way Samsung’s been spending its cash this month. After splashing $822 million on a Korean R&D center, it’s now chucking $4 billion to renovate its semiconductor factory in Austin, Texas. The cash will be used to increase production on system-on-chip products used in a wide variety of smartphones and tablets, presumably to cope with future demand. It’s not clear if this investment is in addition to the $1 billion it was raising in January to add a new SOC and OLED line to the same facility, but it’s certainly a good time to be living in Texas, right now.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs

Samsung spending $4 billion to renovate Austin chip factory originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 06:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Harnessing the power of the sun is a tricky business, but even the past few weeks have seen some interesting developments in the field. In this latest installment, researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California have figured out a way of making solar cells from any semiconductor, potentially reducing the cost of their production. You see, efficient solar cells require semiconductors to be chemically modified for the current they produce to flow in one direction. The process uses expensive materials and only works with a few types of semiconductors, but the team’s looking at using ones which aren’t normally suitable — the magic is to apply an electrical field to them. This field requires energy, but what’s consumed is said to be a tiny fraction of what the cell’s capable of producing when active, and it means chemical modification isn’t needed.

The concept of using a field to standardize the flow of juice isn’t a new one, but the team’s work on the geometrical structure of the cells has made it a reality, with a couple of working prototypes to satisfy the skeptics. More of these are on the way, as their focus has shifted to which semiconductors can offer the best efficiency at the lowest cost. And when the researchers have answered that question, there’s nothing left to do but get cracking on commercial production. For the full scientific explanation, hit up the links below.

Filed under: Science

Researchers make unsuitable parts work as solar cells, could lead to cheaper panels originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 11:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chipzilla didn’t get its position as the king of semiconductors by twiddling its thumbs, folks. It became a Valley behemoth by delivering us faster and better silicon, and its latest $4.1 billion purchase — a 15 percent stake in silicon manufacturing equipment maker ASML Holding NV — should help keep Intel atop the CPU heap. You see, Intel’s in the process of retooling its chip manufacturing process to use bigger diameter silicon wafers, which’ll make those Ivy Bridge, ValleyView and other future chips cheaper for all of us. Such retooling can take years to implement, which is likely why Intel was willing to plunk down so much cash to ensure nothing futzes with its manufacturing timetable. The company’s investment will presumably give it the clout to get ASML’s crucial lithography equipment on the fast track to completion. Hop to it, fellas, we want our CPUs at bargain-basement prices, and we want them now.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Intel to buy 15 percent of silicon fab equipment maker ASML, wants manufacturing machines made faster originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 01:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s no question that Micron has shifted its focus away from PCs in favor of producing components, shipping everything from SSDs to CMOS sensors in recent years, but the semiconductor manufacturer just took a $2.5 billion step even closer to bridging its gap between other companies in the same market, including Samsung, the chip producer’s top competitor. Under the deal, Elpida Memory, which is headquartered in Tokyo, will fall within the Idaho-based conglomerate’s growing umbrella, netting Micron a 50-percent boost in production capability. That increase did come at great expense, however — the transaction included $750 million in cash and $1.75 billion in future installments (1,750 easy payments of one million dollars?), which are set to continue through 2019. The acquisition was also paired with a 24-percent stake in Rexchip Electronics for an additional $334 million, which will complement Elpida’s investment, yielding a total 89-percent stake for Micron. While the amount does seem quite significant, investors appear to be on board, with Micron’s stock ($MU) currently up more than 4 percent since this morning. Both deals will reportedly close within the next year.

Micron scoops up Elpida Memory, 50-percent production boost for $2.5 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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