What's New @ IEEE in Circuits

VOLUME 3 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2002

CONTENTS:
1. Artificial Retinas Restore Sight
2. Tunable Lasers Enable Truly Broad Broadband
3. Hugely Powerful ICs Take Up Small Space
4. High-Speed, Low Power Design Becomes Industry Trend
5. New Discovery Expands Biomed and Flash Possibilities
6. Electronic Power from Heat Becoming a Reality
7. Austin MICRO Symposium Proceedings Available
8. Legislation Proposes Deferral of Mutual Fund Capital Gains Taxes
9. Gauge Your Worth with New IEEE-USA Salary Calculator
10. IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology Released in March
11. New Bulletin in IC and Photonics Packaging

WHAT'S NEW SPECIAL - 15% OFF SELECT IEEE PRODUCTS LISTED IN THIS ISSUE!
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1. ARTIFICIAL RETINAS RESTORE SIGHT
Imagine restoring a blind person's sight electronically. Researchers at the Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center (SVEC) at the University of Houston say they have a test that shows their ceramic photodetector could do just that. The newest development is the ceramic composition of the component that SVEC's Alex Ignatiev says will be more compatible with human physiology than previous silicon-based attempts. physicsweb.org/article/news/6/1/3

2. TUNABLE LASERS ENABLE TRULY BROAD BROADBAND
Bandwidth-on-demand. That is the term being used to describe the capability of new tunable laser technology that would allow real-time network reconfiguration and truly broadband service. Despite all their technological advantages, lasers have been likened to televisions or radios that are only capable of carrying one station. Needing more than one wavelength historically required use of more than one laser. Revolutionary new tunable lasers would allow fiber-optic communications systems to carry multiple channels on different wavelengths, more like their broadcast media counterparts, providing high-quality, video teleconferences on minimal notice. www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/feb02/tuna.html

3. HUGELY POWERFUL ICS TAKE UP SMALL SPACE
The market demands maximum speed using minimum power. This demand, and advancements in ultra-large-scale-integration (ULSI), has spurred the development of circuits that use millions of transistors in increasingly minute dimensions. Beginning with a brief history of semiconductor devices and their evolution, "CMOS/BiCMOS ULSI: Low-Voltage Low-Power," by Kiat-Seng Yeo, Samir Rofail and Wang-Ling Goh, presents state-of-the-art BiCMOS low-voltage, low-power design techniques for ULSI and giga-scale integration engineering. Buy this title through IEEE Fatbrain, an IEEE members-only site offering discounts on the most popular technology titles from the leading publishers in the field. www.ieee.org/ieeefatbrain (IEEE Web Account required)

4. HIGH-SPEED, LOW POWER DESIGN BECOMES INDUSTRY TREND
The trend in digital, analog and radio-frequency IC design is toward extensive use of high-speed designs with low power draw. "Low-Power CMOS Design" edited by Anantha Chandrakasan and Robert Brodersen, offers a collection of important papers providing a comprehensive overview of low-power system design. This volume summarizes the key low-power contributions through papers written by experts in this evolving field. shop.ieee.org/store/product.asp?prodno=PC5703
***IEEE members receive a 15% discount on Wiley-IEEE Press titles***

View the complete list of Wiley-IEEE Press titles online at shop.ieee.org/store/HelpDesk/pwtitle.asp

5. NEW DISCOVERY EXPANDS BIOMED AND FLASH POSSIBILITIES
Biomedical and flash memory research and development could be affected by a recent discovery of discrete-sized, ultra-bright nanoparticles in the red, green and blue range. Understanding of the fabrication of these nanostructures could be of significant importance in the fields of microelectronics, optoelectonics and biomedicine, researchers say. www.eet.com/at/news/OEG20020207S0007

6. ELECTRONIC POWER FROM HEAT BECOMING A REALITY
Thermonics - electrical power generated from heat. It is an idea dating back at least to Edison, but just finding its stride now. Edison first observed the effect of a heated electrode "boiling" off free electrons in 1883. Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they are developing a microchip that could take the heat from a car engine, computer microprocessor or even direct sunlight and regenerate that into a usable power source. www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991862

7. AUSTIN MICRO SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS AVAILABLE
Austin, Texas, USA is among the academic and industrial leaders in high technology, specifically microarchitecture and compiler technology. This made Austin a fitting host for December's 34th annual ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Microarchitecture (MICRO-34 2001). With keynote speakers from both industry and academia, the program covered emerging research in high-performance processor microarchitecture, instruction-level parallelism, and compiler optimization. Buy the proceedings of this major forum on microtechnology at shop.ieee.org/store/product.asp?prodno=PR1369
***What's New Special - Use Code WNI for 15% Off - order instructions below***

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/

8. LEGISLATION PROPOSES DEFERRAL OF MUTUAL FUND CAPITAL GAINS TAXES
A proposal in the U.S. Congress would allow investors to defer taxes on up to US$3,000 of capital gains each year – as long as the gains were reinvested in the same fund. Investors would pay tax when the fund is sold, and married couples could defer up to US$6,000. Many investors dread paying capital gains taxes on mutual fund investments, particularly when a fund has had a losing year. To learn more about this pending Congressional bill visit ABC News: abcnews.go.com/sections/business/funds/mutual_funds_020117.html

Did you know? The IEEE Financial Advantage Program offers a portable mutual fund program to help IEEE members save for retirement. From conservative to aggressive investments, JP Morgan waives up-front sales costs for members and offers over 30 stock, bond and money market funds to bring members to their financial goals.

Members in the U.S. and Canada can read more at: www.ieee.org/services/financial/fap/programs/financial_services/mutualfunds.html

Members outside the US and Canada can invest in the Non-US Investment Fund.

Find out more at: www.ieee.org/services/financial/fap/programs/financial_services/investment.html

9. GAUGE YOUR WORTH WITH THE NEW IEEE-USA SALARY CALCULATOR
The IEEE-USA Salary Calculator for technical professionals is now available online. This easy-to-use salary comparison system allows users to find out instantly what they are worth in today's job market. By factoring in more than 70 variables, including industry, experience, education and geographic location, it's the most precise salary calculator of its kind. Updated monthly with consumer price index adjustments, the salary calculator is based on the precise formulas and solid data of the IEEE-USA Salary & Fringe Benefit Survey, 2001 Edition. A 12-month subscription is US$19.95 or US$9.95 for IEEE members. Visit: www.ieeeusa.org/careers/salarycalculator/

10. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NANOTECHNOLOGY RELEASED IN MARCH
The IEEE launches one of its newest journals, IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, in March. The archival journal, one of six new publications coming from IEEE this year, will publish new results and discussions related to understanding the physical basis and engineering applications of phenomena at the nanoscale level, across all areas of science and engineering. IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology is available individually or through IEEE's IEL or ASPP online subscription packages. www.ieee.org/products/sixnewjournals.html

IEEE members can subscribe to IEEE journals or join IEEE Societies by visiting www.ieee.org/addnewservices

11. NEW BULLETIN IN IC AND PHOTONICS PACKAGING
The IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Society (CPMT) has published a new quarterly bulletin, "CPMT Outlook," available to all technologists as a downloadable PDF file. The society covers the fields of materials, packaging, reliability and assembly of electronic and photonic devices and systems. The first six page issue has an interview with Jonathan Fahey of Forbes Magazine on technology reporting, a paper excerpt on testing strategies, guides to resources within the society, a story about the Boy Scouts' electricity and electronics merit badges, plus a call for papers and event information in these disciplines. www.cpmt.org/outlook_01q3.pdf (300Kb).

***WHAT'S NEW SPECIAL - 15% OFF SELECT IEEE PRODUCTS LISTED IN THIS ISSUE!***
As a thank you to our WHAT'S NEW @ IEEE subscribers, the IEEE is offering a 15% discount on your purchase of any of the specially noted books and conference proceedings listed in this newsletter. If ordering from the IEEE Online Catalog & Store shop.ieee.org, include the code WNI in the special instructions field at "final checkout." If ordering by phone, provide the code WNI to the customer service representative. Offer expires on 31 Dec. 2002.

Terms & Conditions: Discount applicable only to items noted in this newsletter and only to orders placed directly with the IEEE; orders placed through resellers and IEEE Fatbrain are not eligible for the What’s New 15% discount. Coupons cannot be combined with any other offer. What’s New 15% discount does not apply to IEEE Press and John Wiley & Sons Inc. partnership titles, however, IEEE members receive a 15% discount on Wiley-IEEE Press titles purchased at the Wiley Web site.

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: Lyle Smith, ieeefeedback@ieee.org

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