What's New @ IEEE in Circuits

April 2006 Volume 7, Number 4

IN THIS ISSUE:
1. IEEE Journal Showcases Research from Recent VLSI Conference
2. Circuits & Communications Conference Coming to China
3. New Technique Blends Optical Fibers with Silicon/Germanium Devices
4. Brain Cells on A Chip May Signal New Order of Computing
5. The Physiome and Beyond: Understanding High-Level Biology
6. Recruit A Colleague, Earn Credit Toward IEEE Dues
7. Quantum Dot Light Sources Power Ultra-High Resolution Scanners
8. Nano-Networks Conference Seeks Paper Submissions
9. Top 10 Tech Cars: "IEEE Spectrum" Reports
10. Kilocore Chips to Reinvent Media Applications
11. Join an IEEE Society for Half the Price
12. In Brief: Recent Additions to IEEE Xplore Digital Library

DID YOU KNOW?
IEEE members can access "IEEE Potentials" magazine online:
ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=45

1. IEEE JOURNAL SHOWCASES RESEARCH FROM RECENT VLSI CONFERENCE
This month's Special Issue of the "IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits" (v. 41, no. 4) includes highlights from last year's Symposium on VLSI Circuits. Topics covered include a self-tuning DVS processor using delay-error detection and correction, a low leakage SRAM macro with replica cell biasing scheme, and several others. The table of contents and abstracts for all papers may be found in the IEEE Xplore digital library, where subscribers may also access the full-text of the issue: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=33823

2. CIRCUITS & COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE COMING TO CHINA
China will be home to this year's IEEE International Conference of Communications, Circuits, and Systems (ICCCAS). Taking place on 25 to 28 June, the conference will include special sessions, technical programs, and a speech titled "Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Status, Potential and Roadmap". For more information or to register to attend: icccas06.uestc.edu.cn/06/index.php

3. NEW TECHNIQUE BLENDS OPTICAL FIBERS WITH SILICON/GERMANIUM DEVICES
A team of researchers from Penn State University and the University of Southhampton have created a new way to combine optical fibers and silicon/germanium devices by producing semiconductor devices that include a transistor inside microstructured optical fibers. While the optical fiber sends data, the semiconductor device provides active control of the light, including generating and sensing light, amplifying signals, and manipulating wavelengths. According to the team, the fusion of the two technologies will alleviate the challenge of exchanging information between optics and electronics quickly and efficiently. Read more: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060317111238.htm

4. BRAIN CELLS ON A CHIP MAY SIGNAL NEW ORDER OF COMPUTING
A new breed of "neuro-chip" in which living brain cells and silicon circuits are coupled together may eventually drive sophisticated neural prostheses, or organic computers that crunch numbers using living neurons, according to European researchers who developed the technology. The neuro-chip consists of more than 16,000 electronic transistors and hundreds of capacitors packed onto a silicon chip a millimeter square using special proteins found in the brain to glue brain cells, according to researchers. The proteins also link the ionic channels of the neurons and semiconductor material in a way that neural electrical signals could be passed to the silicon chip, researchers say. According to the European team, electrical signals from neurons were recorded using the chip's transistors, while the chip's capacitors were used to stimulate the neurons. Read more: www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060327_neuro_chips.html

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother." ~ Albert Einstein

5. THE PHYSIOME AND BEYOND: UNDERSTANDING HIGH-LEVEL BIOLOGY
"Physics, chemistry, advanced mathematics and engineering science are all needed to design relevant biological and physiological models," write the editors of this month's issue of "Proceedings of the IEEE" (v. 94, no. 4). The papers in this special issue are intended to survey the major perspectives on integrative physiology, and to show that "tissue, organ and system functions are as important as molecular and cell functions in defining a more global picture of living systems and, eventually, of patients." The issue is now available through the IEEE Xplore digital library, where subscribers may access the full text of the issue. Read more: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=33919

6. RECRUIT A COLLEAGUE, EARN CREDIT TOWARD IEEE DUES
Did you know that you can earn credit toward your 2007 IEEE dues when you refer a colleague to join IEEE? Through the IEEE Member-Get-A-Member program, current IEEE Members can receive a US$5 credit towards next year's dues for every new member that they recruit. New members joining between now and the end of August pay half-year rates, and receive membership through the remainder of 2006. For the rules of the IEEE Member-Get-A-Member program, plus tips on recruitment, visit: www.ieee.org/mgm

IEEE Student Members: Take advantage of the IEEE Student-Get-A-Student program: www.ieee.org/sgs

7. QUANTUM DOT LIGHT SOURCES POWER ULTRA-HIGH RESOLUTION SCANNERS
Quantum-dot-based super-luminescent diodes may provide high-bandwidth, high-power light sources for optical coherence tomography (OCT), according to researchers from the United Kingdom, and Denmark. The devices consist of self-assembled indium-arsenide quantum dots within indium-gallium-arsenide quantum wells, with barrier layers made of gallium arsenide, which the researchers call a dot-in-well (DWELL) structure. The powerful light source is important to OCT, researchers say, which can obtain non-invasive, ultra-high-resolution two- or three-dimensional cross-sectional images of living tissue, including information such as blood flow and tissue morphology (commercial OCT systems are routinely used in ophthalmic clinics for examinations). Read more: newsroom.spie.org/x2227.xml

AN ESSENTIAL MEMBER BENEFIT
Get the IEEE Personal Email Alias
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8. NEW TECHNIQUE BLENDS OPTICAL FIBERS WITH SILICON/GERMANIUM DEVICES
A team of researchers from Penn State University and the University of Southhampton have created a new way to combine optical fibers and silicon/germanium devices by producing semiconductor devices that include a transistor inside microstructured optical fibers. While the optical fiber sends data, the semiconductor device provides active control of the light, including generating and sensing light, amplifying signals, and manipulating wavelengths. According to the team, the fusion of the two technologies will alleviate the challenge of exchanging information between optics and electronics quickly and efficiently. Read more: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060317111238.htm

9. TOP 10 TECH CARS: "IEEE SPECTRUM" REPORTS
"IEEE Spectrum" has issued its fourth annual list of the top ten tech cars. The article focuses on production cars now in showrooms or soon to be available, but this year also singles out three concept cars for special mention. Cars on this year's list include the 2006 Chrysler Heritage Edition, whose headlights automatically switch to low beams when the car detects approaching vehicles and the 2007 Mercedes-Benz E 320 Bluetec, which will have the cleanest diesel engine on the planet. Read more: www.spectrum.ieee.org/apr06/3173

10. KILOCORE CHIPS TO REINVENT MEDIA APPLICATIONS
According to its developers, a new chip will have over 1,000 processors on it, and the ability to adapt to new software on the fly. Born out of a deal between Rapport Inc., a silicon valley-based company, and IBM, the Kilocore chips will target media applications, most notably in cellphones, where streaming and digital video have become a lucrative part of the industry. Each chip will run at 125 MHz handling 8 bits of data, which is fifty times more efficient than current chips. To demonstrate the power of the chip, Rapport processed a stream of videos at a computing conference in California at the beginning of April. Compared to the ARM 7 chip, which can process 3.3 images a second while consuming half a watt of power, the new Kilocore chip converted 30 frames a second while consuming only 100 milliwatts, about one-fifth the power. According to a recent New York Times article, however, the only caveat to such a chip is that software developers will have to recode many of their programs in order to use it, a move many in the industry are reluctant to do. Read more: www.primidi.com/2006/04/04.html

11. JOIN AN IEEE SOCIETY FOR HALF THE PRICE
With the year almost half gone, dues on society memberships and publications have been cut in half. The 39 IEEE societies focus on a broad range of subjects, and together produce 122 publications. Individual memberships and subscriptions become active when paid for and continue through the remainder of 2006. To add societies or publications to existing memberships, visit: www.ieee.org/addservices

12. IN BRIEF: RECENT ADDITIONS TO IEEE XPLORE DIGITAL LIBRARY

"IEEE Circuits & Devices Magazine" (v. 22, no. 2)
ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=33898

"IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability" (v. 6, no. 1)
ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=33920

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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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