What's New @ IEEE in Circuits

January 2006 Volume 7, Number 1

IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Journal Examines Methods of Avoiding Circuit Contamination
2. Addressing the Reliability of Medical Electronics
3. Cell Microprocessor One of Technology's 2006 Winners
4. New Biosensor Seeks Out Cancer Proteins
5. German Manufacturer Stakes Out Return to Analog Signal Processing
6. Digital Television to Impact Media Industry and Beyond
7. Nanostructured Surfaces Found to Interface Better with Living Cells
8. Firm Announces Further Results in Thought-Controlled Circuits
9. Call for 2006 IEEE Education Award Nominations
10. New Proceedings Address Advancements in Integrated Circuits

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1. JOURNAL EXAMINES METHODS OF AVOIDING CIRCUIT CONTAMINATION
Several papers about preventing contamination during circuit manufacture appear in the latest issue of "IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability" (vol. 5, no. 4). The table of contents and abstracts for all papers in this issue can be found in the IEEE Xplore digital library, where IEEE Members may also access the full text of the articles as a benefit of membership. Visit: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=33275

2. ADDRESSING THE RELIABILITY OF MEDICAL ELECTRONICS
The previous issue of "IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability" (v. 5, no. 3) covers several important reliability aspects of electronic devices used for medical diagnostics and therapeutics. The myriad of reliability issues encountered by the medical electronics community make this special issue extremely broad in its scope. IEEE members have full-text access to papers from "IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability" through the IEEE Xplore digital library: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=32989

3. CELL MICROPROCESSOR ONE OF TECHNOLOGY'S 2006 WINNERS
This month, "IEEE Spectrum" magazine presents its third annual picks of the best and worst projects in technology. Winners include the Cell microprocessor and advances in LCD development, while losers include music-playing cell phones and Britain's national ID card. Also in this issue, the editors present seven more technologies that could eventually be winners or losers, and ask readers to give them the thumbs up or down. Visit: www.spectrum.ieee.org/jan06/featurearticles

Meanwhile, IEEE-USA's Today's Engineer forecasts technologies which may have an impact in 2006: www.todaysengineer.org/2006/Jan/forecast.asp

4. NEW BIOSENSOR SEEKS OUT CANCER PROTEINS
Using gyroscope technology, researchers at the University of Newcastle are developing a tiny biosensor which could detect cancer proteins in humans. The sensor -- disc-shaped and measuring in at one-tenth of a millimeter -- is coated with patterns of DNA and set to vibrate in two modes. Once inserted into a person, cancer proteins -- as little as a single protein -- will be drawn to the corresponding patches of DNA on the disc. When a protein attaches itself, the disc's weight shifts, the vibration changes, and the information is relayed back to a handheld device. The researchers say that if successful, the discs could be altered to search for various types of bacteria. The communication ability of the discs could be linked to hospital networks and even over mobile phone lines, to give doctors a head start in diagnosing patients' treatments. Read more: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4564604.stm

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
"The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterwards." ~ Arthur Koestler

5. GERMAN MANUFACTURER STAKES OUT RETURN TO ANALOG SIGNAL PROCESSING
Munich semiconductor firm Aspien GmbH plans to eschew conventional digital signal processors (DSPs) and digital function blocks in favor of proprietary -- and much simpler -- analog equivalents, which the company claims can outperform the digital blocks by up to several orders of magnitude in speed, size and power consumption. Aspien, founded in June as a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich, claims its scalable architecture allows chips to be formed to address applications with extremely low power consumption and at speeds at 40Gbit per second or faster. The company's initial efforts involve analog signal processing architecture for forward error correction (FEC). Read more: www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175801036

6. DIGITAL TELEVISION TO IMPACT MEDIA INDUSTRY AND BEYOND
The first-ever comprehensive collection of digital television (DTV) tutorial papers has been published in the January 2006 issue of "Proceedings of the IEEE" (v. 94, no. 1). With contributions from international experts on DTV, the issue offers insight into the growing impact of digital television in two overview papers and in three special sections, which describe in detail each of the primary emerging DTV Systems that technically dominate North America, Europe and Japan. The table of contents and abstracts for all papers in this issue can be found in the IEEE Xplore digital library, where subscribers may also access the full text of the articles: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=33232

7. NANOSTRUCTURED SURFACES FOUND TO INTERFACE BETTER WITH LIVING CELLS
A team of scientists are working together to create microelectromechanical devices that can interface with biological systems through the use of nanostructured surfaces. The development signals a breakthrough in helping to link living cells with electronics for prosthetics, speed up medical diagnostics, and other applications, according to Abu Samah Zuruzi, a materials engineer at Intel Assembly Technology Development in Chandler, Arizona, USA. Zuruzi and his colleagues at the University of California at Santa Barbara created a method to produce spongy films of titanium dioxide -- roughly 25 to 750 nanometers thick covered with pores about 50 to 200 nanometers wide. Cells were found to attach to these surfaces as much as four to five times faster than conventional silicon dioxide or silicon nitride surfaces. To achieve the effect, the titanium films were rinsed in hydrogen peroxide at 80 degrees Celsius and then dried. Read more: www.physorg.com/news9544.html

8. FIRM ANNOUNCES FURTHER RESULTS IN THOUGHT-CONTROLLED CIRCUITS
Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems says it has confirmed the company's BrainGate System can detect neural activity in the motor cortex and that this activity can be modulated by a person with a spinal cord injury. BrianGate is an implantable microelectrode array that combined with a digital signal processing system to allow individuals to exercise control over electronic systems using thought alone. It employs as a sensor a silicon chip with one hundred electrodes designed to detect the electrical activity of neurons. A small wire connects the sensor to a "pedestal" connector attached to the skull, which then connects to computers, signal processors and monitors. According to the company, two participants with spinal cord injuries have been able to use the system to control a computer interface. At the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience earlier this month, Cyberkenetics said it found many neural (brain) signals -- including signal patterns related to shoulder, arm, wrist and hand movement -- can be detected, transmitted and analyzed by the system. Read more: www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175800371

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9. CALL FOR 2006 IEEE EDUCATION AWARD NOMINATIONS
The IEEE Educational Activities Board seeks nominations for seven awards that recognize IEEE members, pre-university educators and employers of members who have made noteworthy contributions to education. The deadline for all nominations is 30 April. For award descriptions, honorarium details, and nomination packets, visit: www.ieee.org/portal/cms_docs/education/EABAwards/index.htm

10. NEW PROCEEDINGS ADDRESS ADVANCEMENTS IN INTEGRATED CICRUITS
What will it take for automotive radar systems to be available on cars that can be afforded by the masses? The proceedings of the 2005 Compound Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Symposium address this question as well as many others. Now available through the IEEE Xplore digital library, the proceedings cover a variety of the latest circuit technological innovations including high-speed data converters, power amplifiers, and low-power datacom. Institutions with subscriptions to IEEE online collections may have access to these proceedings, depending on their access rights: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentCon.jsp?punumber=10254

For more information, or to purchase the printed version of these proceedings, visit ShopIEEE: shop.ieee.org/ieeestore/Product.aspx?product_no=CH37701

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Managing Editor: John Platt j.platt@ieee.org
Contributing Editors: Julie Compton, Diana Fuksin, Robert J. Howe, Brian Pedersen, Ryan Thomas

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