What's New @ IEEE in Circuits

VOLUME 5 NUMBER 1 JANUARY 2004

CONTENTS:

1. Company Studies Ambient Energy as Power Source in Wireless Environments
2. What Are Technology's Winners, Losers And Holy Grails For 2004?
3. New Wiley Title Helps Novice and Pro Understand CMOS Electronics
4. New Jitter-Analysis Step Forward in High-Speed Digital Data Transfer
5. Photonics Industry Consortium Formed to Shepherd Growth in Europe
6. IEEE Inducts 260 New Fellows For 2004
7. Physicists Discover Superconductivity in Second Pyrochlore Structure
8. Improved Search Tools Highlight Upgrade To IEEE Xplore
9. Nanotech 2004 Program Contains Mind-boggling Array of Nano Topics
10. StandardsAfrica Opens Portal To Technical Standards
11. VSLI Proceedings Offer Conference Record, Important Tech Info
12. Backscatter: Designing Junk
13. IEEE Powered by Volunteers: The CICC Case Study

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1. COMPANY STUDIES AMBIENT ENERGY AS POWER SOURCE IN WIRELESS ENVIRONMENTS
A Vermont company is examining ambient mechanical energy inside buildings as the focus for its research into "energy-harvesting" to power wireless nodes. The U.S. government's Defense Department has granted MicroStrain Inc. US$700,000 for the research. If successful, the work could solve the problem of how to generate power for wireless sensor nodes in many applications. Read more about this research at: eetimes.com/at/news/OEG20031230S0004

2. WHAT ARE TECHNOLOGY'S WINNERS, LOSERS AND HOLY GRAILS FOR 2004?
A revolutionary data and voice network spanning the remote Canadian province of Alberta is among 2004's upcoming technology "winners," according to the editors of IEEE Spectrum magazine. The January issue of IEEE Spectrum picks "Winners, Losers and Holy Grails" in the categories of communications, electric power, semiconductors, transportation, computers and biotechnology. The results may surprise you. Read more at: www.spectrum.ieee.org

3. NEW WILEY TITLE HELPS NOVICE AND PRO UNDERSTAND CMOS ELECTRONICS
Problems with testing, design, or reliability affect the financial as well as the engineering bottom line. The new Wiley-IEEE Press book "CMOS Electronics: How it Works, How it Fails" by Jaume Segura and Charles F. Hawkins offers important circuit theory and design knowledge for those at various points in the design and application process. It was written to help identify and solve problems in CMOS manufacturing environments. To order, visit: www.wiley.com/remtitleinternational.cgi?isbn=0471476692
***IEEE members: Receive a 15% discount on any Wiley-IEEE Press titles. Use code 18493 at checkout***

4. NEW JITTER-ANALYSIS STEP FORWARD IN HIGH-SPEED DIGITAL DATA TRANSFER
A new jitter-subcomponent-analysis function added to a leading wide-bandwidth sampling oscilloscope from Agilent Technologies accurately separates random and deterministic jitter and their subcomponents from 50-Mbps to 40-Gbps data streams. As data transfer standards increase, design engineers find jitter to be one of the biggest challenges they face. This new function will provide greater accuracy for engineers testing digital designs built on CEI (Common Electrical I/O), XFP (10-Gbit, small-form-factor, pluggable) Fibre Channel, Gigabit Ethernet, Advanced TCA (Telecom Computing Architecture), and PCI Express standards. Read more at: news.morningstar.com/news/BW/M12/D10/20031210005289.html

5. PHOTONICS INDUSTRY CONSORTIUM FORMED TO SHEPHERD GROWTH IN EUROPE
Five European companies have formed the core of a photonics consortium they hope will grow their continent's optoelectronics industry.Aixtron, Osram Opto Semiconductors, Cambridge Display Technology, Philips Lighting and Sagem plan to bring together 75-100 fabrication equipment suppliers, components manufacturers and the users of photonics components and systems. Also, the companies are designing a roadmap to share with governmental authorities to help provide for their research and development needs in the future. To find out about what types of organizations are envisioned for this consortium and to read the entire article, visit: http://www.compoundsemiconductor.net/articles/news/8/1/1/1

6. IEEE INDUCTS 260 NEW FELLOWS FOR 2004
The IEEE Fellow Committee has named 260 IEEE Senior Members to Fellow grade for 2004. An IEEE Fellow is a member of unusual distinction in the profession. This recognition is conferred only by invitation of the Board of Directors upon a person of outstanding and extraordinary qualifications and experience in IEEE designated fields, who has made important individual contributions to one or more of these fields. No more than one-tenth of one percent of the total Institute membership may be advanced to Fellow grade in any given year. To meet the new class of IEEE Fellows, visit: www.ieee.org/fellows

7. PHYSICISTS DISCOVER SUPERCONDUCTIVITY IN SECOND PYROCHLORE STRUCTURE
Physicists in Japan have unearthed their second superconductor with a so-called pyrochlore structure. The new superconductor is made of potassium, osmium and oxygen. A team headed by Zenji Hiroi at the University of Tokyo built on its discovery two years ago of the first pyrochlore superconductor to arrive at their latest conclusion. The researchers will continue to study the single crystal of the material to better understand its superconductivity potential. To learn more, visit: physicsweb.org/article/news/7/12/7

8. IMPROVED SEARCH TOOLS HIGHLIGHT UPGRADE TO IEEE XPLORE
New search tools are among the enhancements now available to researchers using the IEEE Xplore? online interface. IEEE Xplore powers online subscriptions for IEEE members, as well as institutional online collections like the IEEE/IEE Electronic Library (IEL). Enhanced search features form the core new functionality of IEEE Xplore 1.6. Search terms are now highlighted in all search results, and secondary searches may now be conducted within the results of primary searches. Also, a new dynamic subscription icon instantly identifies papers to which subscribers already have full-text access, and which papers are available outside of their subscription. For more about these and other enhancements to IEEE Xplore 1.6, visit: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/ReleaseNotes.jsp

9. NANOTECH 2004 PROGRAM CONTAINS IMPRESSIVE ARRAY OF NANO TOPICS
Nanotech 2004 -- the Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show -- is set for 7 to 11 March 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. This event will feature an array of topics on nearly every imaginable sub-category of nanotechnology, including: carbon nanotubes, nano optics fundamentals, nanotechnology in imaging, health sciences, drug development, computational technology and more. Six keynote addresses by nanotechnology leaders feature prominently in the four days of sessions. For the complete program, or to register to attend, go to: www.nanotech2004.com/

ISSCC FOCUSES ON EMBEDDED SYSTEMS - Read highlights of papers scheduled for the foremost global forum for presentation and discussion of new developments in the integrated circuit industry the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, San Francisco, 15 to 19 February 2004: http://www.ieee.org/organizations/pubs/newsletters/sscs/jan04/isscc.html

Don't miss the next conference you need for your career. IEEE sponsors more than 300 technical conferences and workshops each year, highlighting the latest technological advances. Find events through the IEEE ConferenceSearch Web site at: www.ieee.org/conferencesearch/

10. STANDARDSAFRICA OPENS PORTAL TO TECHNICAL STANDARDS
The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) has launched StandardsAfrica™, a Web portal for its African standards community. The portal supports those who want to learn about, participate in and access technical standards, especially in the fields of IT, telecommunications, and power and energy. It also serves the needs of IEEE-SA volunteers who help create standards, as well as its members, customers and international partners. Access StandardsAfrica at: www.standardsafrica.net/

11. VSLI PROCEEDINGS OFFER CONFERENCE RECORD, IMPORTANT TECH INFO
As new products appear that reflect the convergence communication, computing, and consumer markets and that are made possibly by the advancement of VSLI technology, the 2003 International Symposium on VSLI Technology, Systems and Applications convened in Australia. IEEE has just published the proceedings of this important gathering. Read about exploratory devices, emerging technologies, circuit architecture and more in this comprehensive record of this international event. Find out more, or purchase the proceedings from the IEEE Online Catalog & Store: shop.ieee.org/store/product.asp?prodno=TH8672
***IEEE members save up to 60% off the list price for conference proceedings titles***

12. BACKSCATTER: DESIGNING JUNK
When products become obsolete, is it because they haven't kept pace with technological innovation, or because they were, in fact, designed to expire to make room for a new fleet of sleeker, more stylish replacements? If you've got a box somewhere in your house or garage filled with discarded, obsolete gadgets and gizmos, you're not alone. In his latest Backscatter column, Donald Christiansen looks at "e-waste." In IEEE-USA Today's Engineer: www.todaysengineer.org/dec03/backscatter.asp

13. IEEE POWERED BY VOLUNTEERS: THE CICC CASE STUDY
Want to volunteer to help fill important roles at IEEE but don't know how? The January issue of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Newsletter includes interviews with volunteers for the Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (CICC) let readers know how to get started, what the jobs are and why volunteers find this work satisfying. www.ieee.org/organizations/pubs/newsletters/sscs/jan04/volunteer.html

WHAT'S NEW @ IEEE IN CIRCUITS is a monthly, opt-in email update designed to provide you with the latest news regarding IEEE activities, industry trends, career development tips, and new IEEE product releases. We welcome your feedback on this service.

Managing Editor: John Platt j.platt@ieee.org
Editor: Peggy Gallos

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