What's New @ IEEE in Circuits

February 2006 Volume 7, Number 2

IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Re-Engineering Iraq: An "IEEE Spectrum" Exclusive Report
2. Japan to Host Cool Chips IX Conference
3. New Gallium Arsenide Semiconductor Could Change Industry Standards
4. Call for Papers: Intelligent Sensors
5. New Proceedings Address Advancements in Integrated Circuits
6. IEEE Virtual Museum Launches Nanotechnology Exhibit
7. Microchip Laser Modulator A Breakthrough in Circuit Design
8. Dream Jobs 2006: "IEEE Spectrum" Reports
9. Technique Takes a Step Closer to Developing Quantum Computer
10. 3-D Nanostructures Created With Photolithography
11. IEEE Members Receive Discount at April's Embedded Systems Conference
12. Wiley-IEEE Press Titles 20% off Through March
13. Solid-State Circuit Advancements Covered in Latest Proceedings

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1. RE-ENGINEERING IRAQ: AN "IEEE SPECTRUM" EXCLUSIVE REPORT
U.S. and Iraqi officials have spent billions on restoring Iraq's electrical system -- so why is Baghdad getting just 6 hours of electricity a day? To answer that question, "IEEE Spectrum" executive editor Glenn Zorpette traveled to Iraq to see and write about the technical and social issues involved in restoring Iraq's electrical and communications systems. His exclusive report, available in this month's issue, examines the bureaucracies, geopolitics, violence, fear, corruption and illegal energy black market which have plagued this massive undertaking. Read more: spectrum.ieee.org/feb06/2831

2. JAPAN TO HOST COOL CHIPS IX CONFERENCE
Targeted at the architecture, design and implementation of chips, the Cool Chips IX 2006 conference will be held in Yokohama, Japan on 19 to 21 April. Now in its eighth year, the Cool Chips IX conference continues its tradition of presenting advancements of low-power and high-speed chips. This year's conference emphasizes low power-high performance processors, novel architectures and schemes, and Cool software. The conference is sponsored by IEEE. For details, or to register to attend: www.coolchips.org/

3. NEW GALLIUM ARSENIDE SEMICONDUCTOR COULD CHANGE INDUSTRY STANDARDS
Texas-based Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. has developed the first gallium arsenide (GaAs) metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET). Sumit Sadana, Freescale's chief technology officer, told the press the device has the potential to change the way semiconductors are designed. Until now, the semiconductor industry used silicon-bases MOSFET technology for radio and analog frequency applications. But Freescale's GaAs device is faster than silicon versions, generating less noise and conducting electrons up to twenty times faster. The device does away with previous conductors’ oxide-semiconductor interface defect issues. To help get the technology on the market as quickly as possible, Freescale is partnering with communications, wireless, and optoelectric companies. Read more: www.eet.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=177105076

4. CALL FOR PAPERS: INTELLIGENT SENSORS
The editors of "IEEE Sensors Journal" need paper submissions for a special issue on intelligent sensors. The issue will focus on accuracy, adaptability, reliability, recalibration, information processing, data fusion and integration. Authors are encouraged to submit papers on all aspects of modeling, design, development, implementation, characterization, operation and application of intelligent sensors and sensor networks. The deadline for submission is 15 June. For details, visit: www.ewh.ieee.org/tc/sensors/SJ/CallForPapers/Special_Issue_IntelligentSensors_CFP6.pdf

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5. NEW PROCEEDINGS ADDRESS ADVANCEMENTS IN INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
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 IEEE 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 the printed version of these proceedings, visit ShopIEEE: shop.ieee.org/ieeestore/Product.aspx?product_no=CH37701

6. IEEE VIRTUAL MUSEUM LAUNCHES NANOTECHNOLOGY EXHIBIT
This month, the IEEE Virtual Museum unveils an exhibit on nanotechnology. Viewed as the most progressive tool of the future, nanotechnology, or molecule-sized machines, is predicted to reshape the environment, and diseases, and greatly expand our technological horizons. The exhibit investigates its 30-year history, impact on today's world, and speculates on where the nanotechnological revolution may take us in the future. Visit: www.ieee-virtual-museum.org

7. MICROCHIP LASER MODULATOR A BREAKTHROUGH IN CIRCUIT DESIGN
A new silicon chip allows the modulation of laser light, allowing information to be encoded in the beam, according to the chip's developers at the University of Texas at Austin. The new chip is made of silicon "photonic crystals" whose complex internal structure slowed light enough that a small electric current could modulate the pattern of light transmission, the researchers said, using 10 times less power than normal silicon modulators. Its developers say the breakthrough has great implications for computing because light can move thousands of times faster through solid materials than electrons, and can carry more information at once, while requiring less energy. Read more: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060124223037.htm

8. DREAM JOBS 2006: "IEEE SPECTRUM" REPORTS
Theme-park-ride designer, artwork restorer, myth debunker... just a few of the ten "dream jobs" profiled in this month's issue of "IEEE Spectrum." To read about these 10 technologists whose careers (and skills) have taken them to unusual places, visit: spectrum.ieee.org/feb06/2815

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
"The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible."
~ Arthur C. Clarke

9. TECHNIQUE TAKES A STEP CLOSER TO DEVELOPING QUANTUM COMPUTER
By creating semiconductor islands smaller than 10 nanometers in scale, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh believe they have gotten closer to developing a quantum computer. The islands, made from germanium and situated on the surface of silicon with two-nanometer precision, have the ability to confine single electrons. Due to their ability to spin in both directions at once, these electrons can be used as a quantum bit in a quantum computer, which differs from the grouping of electrons found in conventional computer technology. The researchers are planning to conduct electronic and optical measurements on these materials to prove the single electron technique and to study the relationship between the spins of nearby electrons. Read more: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-01/uop-taq011906.php

10. 3-D NANOSTRUCTURES CREATED WITH PHOTOLITHOGRAPHY
Materials known as "block copolymers" will spontaneously assemble into intricate three-dimensional shapes when deposited onto surface patterns created with photolithography, according to an international team of scientists affiliated with the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center. The three-dimensional nanoscale structures could have potential applications ranging from semiconductor manufacturing to catalysis and chemical separation, researchers say, and are stable, well defined and nearly defect-free over large areas. Developers say block copolymers -- long chains of two alternating types of molecules -- are randomly mixed at high temperatures, but when cooled down spontaneously assemble into alternating layers of molecules. Read more: www.eet.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=177105441

11. IEEE MEMBERS RECEIVE DISCOUNT AT APRIL'S EMBEDDED SYSTEMS CONFERENCE
IEEE Members who register by 7 March will receive 10% off registration fees for the Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley 2006. The Conference takes place 3 to 7 April in San Jose, California, USA. To register, use discount code UX2 at: www.embedded.com/esc/sv

12. WILEY-IEEE PRESS TITLES 20% OFF THROUGH MARCH
Through March, John Wiley & Sons is offering 20% off all IEEE Press titles. IEEE Press, the largest IEEE book publishing division, is a leading source of technological information and publisher of books in both print and online format. Titles currently available include "Stiquito Controlled!: Making a Truly Autonomous Robot" and "Fundamentals of Telecommunications, 2nd Edition." Visit: www.wiley.com/promo/ieee

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13. SOLID-STATE CIRCUIT ADVANCEMENTS COVERED IN LATEST PROCEEDINGS
What is the future of memory technology for the mobile era? This and other integral questions are addressed in the proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Asian Solid-State Circuits conference. The conference featured three plenary talks and panel discussions. A variety of topics were covered, including the T-engine and the advancements that it has enabled. Institutions with subscriptions to IEEE online collections may have access to these proceedings, depending on their access rights: shop.ieee.org/ieeestore/Product.aspx?product_no=EX1071C

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WHAT'S NEW @ IEEE IN CIRCUITS
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Managing Editor: John Platt j.platt@ieee.org

Contributing Editors: Diana Fuksin, Robert J. Howe, Brian Pedersen, Ryan Thomas

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