Mar 07
Reuters is reporting that Intel has been in rather unlikely discussions that could pave the way for the processor giant producing chips to Apple specifications. More »
Feb 21
It’s 2013 and white hat hackers like Adam Laurie are still breaking into ID chips that are supposed to be secure. How come? Partly it’s the way of the world, because no man-made NFC or RFID security barrier can ever be truly impervious. But in practical terms, a chip’s vulnerability often stems from the fact that it can be taken apart and probed at a hacker’s leisure. The secure element doesn’t necessarily need to have power running through it or to be in the midst of near-field communication in order to yield up its cryptographic key to a clever intruder who has sufficient time and sufficient desire to breach the security of a smartphone, bank card or national border.
Which brings us to the latest device in NXP‘s SmartMX2 range — a piece of technology that is claimed to work very differently and that is expected to hit the market next year. Instead of a traditional key stored in the secure element’s memory, every single copy of this chip carries a unique fingerprint within the physical structure of its transistors. This fingerprint (aka Physically Unclonable Function, or PUF) is a byproduct of tiny errors in the fabrication process — something chip makers usually try to minimize. But NXP has found a way to amplify these flaws in a controlled way and use them for identification, and it’d take a mightily well-equipped criminal (or fare dodger, or Scrabble cheater) to reverse engineer that.
Feb 13
USC battery wields silicon nanowires to hold triple the energy, charge in 10 minutes
Posted in: Today's Chili 
There’s no shortage of attempts to build a better battery, usually with a few caveats. USC may have ticked all the right checkboxes with its latest discovery, however. Its use of porous, flexible silicon nanowires for the anodes in a lithium-ion battery delivers the high capacity, fast recharging and low costs that come with silicon, but without the fragility of earlier attempts relying on simpler silicon plates. In practice, the battery could deliver the best of all worlds. Triple the capacity of today’s batteries? Full recharges in 10 minutes? More than 2,000 charging cycles? Check. It all sounds a bit fantastical, but USC does see real-world use on the horizon. Researchers estimate that there should be products with silicon-equipped lithium-ion packs inside of two to three years, which isn’t long to wait if the invention saves us from constantly hunting for the nearest wall outlet.
Filed under: Science
Via: Gizmodo
Source: USC
Jan 25
University of Michigan makes silicon from liquid metal, aims for low-cost chips
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Forming silicon normally requires extreme temperatures of more than 2,000F, with the expensive energy to match. The University of Michigan has developed a technique involving liquid metal that could shed most of the heat — and cost. By coating a liquid gallium electrode with silicon tetrachloride, researchers can generate pure silicon crystals through the gallium’s electrons at a comparatively cool 180F. While the crystals are currently small, bigger examples are at least theoretically possible with new metals or other refinements. Any eventual commercial success could lead to much easier, and likely cheaper, manufacturing for processors and solar cells; given that silicon still forms the backbone of most technology, real-world use can’t come quickly enough.
Via: Phys.org
Source: University of Michigan
Dec 27
On the 19th of February, 2013, a new entry into the always-excellent documentary series AMERICAN EXPERIENCE will take on the information age: Silicon Valley. This made-for-tv documentary entry into the series will take on rural Santa Clara County’s transformation into the “hub of ingenuity” of the modern age, also known as Silicon Valley by the whole entire planet. This film will begin back and the beginning: the creation of Fairchild Semiconductor and the rise to prominence of none other than Robert Noyce.
This movie will show how Fairchild Semiconductor made the integrated circuit which pushed the United States forward as the top superpower in both space exploration and personal computers – and the revolution therein. Back in 1957 is when this documentary begins, and straight forward through one of the most powerful of those directly influenced by Noyce, Steve Jobs, and the mobile age it will go.
This documentary follows Noyce and the “Traitorous Eight” who founded Fairchild Semiconductor: Gordon Moore, Sheldon Roberts, Eugene Kleiner, Victor Grinich, Julius Blank, Jean Hoerni and Jay Last. This documentary is directed by Randall MacLowry and will be making its first appearance on television in February 2013 (on the 19th, as mentioned previously). You’ll find that October 4th, 1957, will be much more significant in your mind from your first viewing forward.
“On October 4, 1957, the young founders of the newly minted start-up heard some startling news: the Soviet Union had just launched the first artificial satellite into orbit around the earth. With the United States scrambling to catch up, the timing couldn’t have been better for the upstarts at Fairchild. Eisenhower quickly launched NASA and the nation’s new obsession with technology provided the opportunity of a lifetime. In less than two years, Noyce would co-create a groundbreaking invention that would help put men on the moon. But Noyce’s innovation — the integrated circuit — would have an impact far beyond the Apollo program. The integrated circuit, also known as the microchip, would re-shape the future, making possible the invention of smart phones and digital video recorders, pacemakers and microwaves possible, and launching the world into the Information Age.”
Have a peek at the trailer above and make sure you tune in when the time comes. Let us know if you plan on picking up this epic journey on your antiquated television set or if you’re going to go mobile and see how easy it is to get this documentary about the future here in the past!
[via TechCrunch]
American Experience “Silicon Valley” special hitting PBS in 2013 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 18
Scientists at the Tufts School of Engineering and at the University of Illinois have created simple electronic devices that harmlessly dissolve after a set period of time. The scientists call their invention transient electronics, devices which could have a huge impact on medical devices and on the environment in general. Future computers could melt in your mouth and in your hand. Or anywhere else for that matter.
The devices were made using silicon components that are only “tens of nanometers thick.” These components are then encased in sheets of silk protein. This silk casing can be tweaked to determine the lifespan of the device, and the scientists say the range could be anywhere from minutes to years. Here’s a short video showing how these circuits could dissolve in water.
This breakthrough could lead to medical devices that can be safely left in a patient’s body (and eventually decompose) as well as consumer devices that eventually dissolve instead of piling up in landfills.
Oct 04
Fraunhofer black silicon could catch more energy from infrared light, go green with sulfur
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Generating solar power from the infrared spectrum, or even nearby frequencies, has proven difficult in spite of a quarter of the Sun’s energy passing through those wavelengths. The Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications may have jumped that hurdle to efficiency through sulfur — one of the very materials that solar energy often helps eliminate. By irradiating ordinary silicon through femtosecond-level laser pulses within a sulfuric atmosphere, the technique melds sulfur with silicon and makes it easier for infrared light electrons to build into the frenzy needed for conducting electricity. The black-tinted silicon that results from the process is still in the early stages and needs improvements to automation and refinement to become a real product, but there’s every intention of making that happen: Fraunhofer plans a spinoff to market finished laser systems for solar cell builders who want their own black silicon. If all goes well, the darker shade of solar panels could lead to a brighter future for clean energy.
Fraunhofer black silicon could catch more energy from infrared light, go green with sulfur originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 05:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sep 30
New process for nanotube semiconductors could be graphene’s ticket to primetime (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
In many ways, graphene is one of technology’s sickest jokes. The tantalizing promise of cheap to produce, efficient to run materials, that could turn the next page in gadget history has always remained frustratingly out of reach. Now, a new process for creating semiconductors grown on graphene could see the super material commercialized in the next five years. Developed at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the patented process “bombs” graphene with gallium, which forms droplets, and naturally arranges itself to match graphene’s famous hexagonal pattern. Then, arsenic is added to the mix, which enters the droplets and crystallizes at the bottom, creating a stalk. After a few minutes of this process the droplets are raised by the desired height. The new process also does away with the need for a (relatively) thick substrate to grow the nanowire on, making it cheaper, more flexible and transparent. The inventors state that this could be used in flexible and efficient solar cells and light emitting diodes. We say forward the revolution.
New process for nanotube semiconductors could be graphene’s ticket to primetime (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Sep 2012 12:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sep 20
Researchers create working quantum bit in silicon, pave way for PCs of the future
Posted in: Today's Chili 
If you’ve been paying attention, you know the quantum computing revolution is coming — and so far the world has a mini quantum network, not to mention the $10,000 D-Wave One, to show for it. Researchers from the University of Melbourne and University College, London, have now developed the “first working quantum bit based on a single atom of silicon.” By measuring and manipulating the magnetic orientation, or spin, of an electron bound to a phosphorus atom embedded in a silicon chip, the scientists were able to both read and write information, forming a qubit, the basic unit of data for quantum computing.
The team used a silicon transistor, which detects the electron’s spin and captures its energy when the spin’s direction is “up.” Once the electron is in the transistor, scientists can change its spin state any way they choose, effectively “writing” information and giving them control of the quantum bit. The next step will be combing two qubits into a logic step, with the ultimate goal being a full-fledged quantum computer capable of crunching numbers, cracking encryption codes and modeling molecules that would put even supercomputers to shame. But, you know, baby steps.
Researchers create working quantum bit in silicon, pave way for PCs of the future originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 00:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sep 18
The iPhone 5 brings a lot to the table, but a lot of its changes lie under the hood away from prying eyes. Or, at least, away from those eyes until Friday when it’ll get opened up by a host of folks, including iFixit.com’s perennial new Apple hardware tear-down. The iPhone 5 has already given up maybe its greatest secret, however: A custom-designed A6 system-on-a-chip that represents the fulfillment of an acquisition made almost half a decade ago.
The A6, unlike its predecessors the A5 and A4, isn’t simply a rebranded ARM design with minor tweaks. Instead, as Anand Shimpi of AnandTech discovered, it’s Apple’s own creation, based on an ARM blueprint — which it also licensed in addition to specific generic processors — but bearing much more of Apple’s own direct input. In other words, Apple is finally emerging as a chipmaker in its own right, and this could have a huge impact on device performance and consumer-facing features in its smartphones and tablets going forward.
I discussed the changes in a call with iFixit co-founder and IEEE Consumer Electronics Society member Kyle Wiens, who was excited about the new direction and its potential implications for users and Apple hardware.
“We’ve been wondering for a long time whatever came of Apple’s acquisition of P.A. Semi, so this is many, many years of strategy and development for Apple finally bearing fruit,” he explained. “And the critical thing here I think is probably power savings. Apple really knows, and has known for a long time, that cutting power [demands] was the most important thing. And I think Apple has been even more focused on that than even ARM has been.”
Battery has long been one of the iPhone’s major advantages over competition from Android handset makers, but the new iPhone 5 had a lot of new sources of power draw to contend with, as well as a slimmer profile within which to put the battery. There’s a new, larger screen, as well as LTE connectivity and software features like Passbook that use always-on location monitoring to serve up geo-fenced feature offerings. That combination of requirements is likely what drove Apple to move into its own design, allowing it to push the envelope on processor power consumption. And now that it’s moved into custom chip design, Wiens definitely sees that approach spreading to other areas of its mobile business.
“I think this is a long-term strategy, and that they’ve been at this for a long time,” he said. “I think they realized when they released the iPhone that this was a new form factor and that they were going to have to have a long-term processor strategy for it, and that ARM was a nice framework, but that this was going to take them in direction that was different from what processors had historically been designed for.” In other words, Apple has long known that a new kind of computing required an entirely new kind of chip, and only now is it really beginning to fulfill that vision.
Wiens points out that if you look at the iPhone 5′s highlights, there’s only really one place power savings could come from, and that’s the processor. Apple’s approach then not only provides the immediate benefit of making a more powerful device smaller and lighter without sacrificing battery performance, but also gives it a considerable future proprietary advantage to hold over the competition, especially if it keeps improving on its initial chip design, which seems likely, given it has the talent not only of P.A. Semi, but also of Intrinsity, an ARM processor design company it picked up in 2010.
Apple has always been about creating the perfect union between hardware and software in order to deliver the best possible user experience. Its emergence as a mobile chip designer in its own right only means that integration will become even more seamless in future devices, pushing the boundaries not only of what those gadgets can do, but also of the energy cost of doing them.
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