Kyocera joins imec's program on advanced silicon solar cell technology
Leuven, Belgium (SPX) Sep 26, 2014 -
Belgian nanoelectronics research centre imec and Kyocera Corporation have announced that Kyocera, the Japanese high-tech electronics company and manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) cells, modules and systems, has joined imec's industrial affiliation program (IIAP) to advance next-generation crystalline silicon solar cells.
This multi-partner R and D program aims at increasing the efficiency ...
more
Future flexible electronics based on carbon nanotubes
Washington DC (SPX) Sep 26, 2014 -
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and Northwestern University have demonstrated a new method to improve the reliability and performance of transistors and circuits based on carbon nanotubes (CNT), a semiconductor material that has long been considered by scientists as one of the most promising successors to silicon for smaller, faster and cheaper electronic devices.
The re ...
more
Fracking's environmental impacts scrutinised
Manchester, UK (SPX) Sep 26, 2014 -
Greenhouse gas emissions from the production and use of shale gas would be comparable to conventional natural gas, but the controversial energy source actually faired better than renewables on some environmental impacts, according to new research.
The UK holds enough shale gas to supply its entire gas demand for 470 years, promising to solve the country's energy crisis and end its reliance ...
more
Blackout? Robots to the Rescue
Houghton MI (SPX) Sep 26, 2014 -
Big disasters almost always result in big power failures. Not only do they take down the TV and fridge, they also wreak havoc with key infrastructure like cell towers. That can delay search and rescue operations at a time when minutes count.
Now, a team led by Nina Mahmoudian of Michigan Technological University has developed a tabletop model of a robot team that can bring power to places ...
more
New discovery could pave the way for spin-based computing
Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Sep 26, 2014 -
Electricity and magnetism rule our digital world. Semiconductors process electrical information, while magnetic materials enable long-term data storage.
A University of Pittsburgh research team has discovered a way to fuse these two distinct properties in a single material, paving the way for new ultrahigh density storage and computing architectures.
While phones and laptops rely on ...
more
Marcellus drilling boom may have led to too many hotel rooms
University Park PA (SPX) Sep 26, 2014 -
Drilling in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale region led to a rapid increase in both the number of hotels and hotel industry jobs, but Penn State researchers report that the faltering occupancy rate may signal that there are now too many hotel rooms.
"Demand is still high in many of the counties in the Marcellus Shale region, but the occupancy rate is starting to come down," said Daniel Mount ...
more
Oxides Discovered by CCNY Team Could Advance Memory Devices
New York NY (SPX) Sep 26, 2014 -
The quest for the ultimate memory device for computing may have just taken an encouraging step forward. Researchers at The City College of New York led by chemist Stephen O'Brien have discovered new complex oxides that exhibit both magnetic and ferroelectric properties.
Combining both properties is very exciting scientifically for the coupling that can occur between them and for the device ...
more
