What's New @ IEEE in Circuits

VOLUME 6 NUMBER 6 JUNE 2005

CONTENTS:
1. Molecular Electronics Enigma Finally Unraveled by Canadian Team
2. Nanoelectronics Conference Submissions Deadline Looms
3. Taiwanese Chip Makers Suspected of Aiding Chinese: IEEE Spectrum Reports
4. 17th Annual Hot Chips Conference Continues Legacy At Stanford University
5. Greek Circuits and Systems Conference Seeks Paper Submissions
6. FRAM Leads Exotic Memory Technologies in the Pipeline
7. Multicore Processors Soon to Take Over Computer Industry
8. Flexible Sensors Aim to Improve Robotic Touch
9. Model Offers Better Predictions of Transistor Behavior
10. Competition Between RAM Technologies Intensifies

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1. MOLECULAR ELECTRONICS ENIGMA FINALLY UNRAVELED BY CANADIAN TEAM
After years of research, the mystery behind molecular electronics has finally been cracked by a small team of scientists from the University of Alberta, Canada, USA. The team, led by Professor Robert Wolkow, revealed that when a single molecule is situated next to a lone atom on a silicon surface, the atom acts as a pathway that transfers currents between surrounding atoms that do not share the same surface. The scientists say the transistors that the atom creates are so miniscule that, if they can be used to replace non-molecular transistors in batteries, they will be able to power them much more efficiently while consuming the smallest amount of energy imaginable. Learn more: pubs.acs.org/cen/news/83/i23/8323notw1.html

2. NANOELECTRONICS CONFERENCE SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE LOOMS
Abstract submissions to the IEEE Conference on Emerging Technologies - Nanoelectronics will be accepted through 30 June 2005. Acceptable themes include: carbon nanotubes; molecular electronics; nanomagnetics and spintronics; nanoscale modeling and simulation; nanophotonics; nanoelectronics education; and nano-entrepreneurship. The conference will be held in Singapore from 13 to 16 January 2006. For more information, visit: www.ieeecet.org

3. TAIWANESE CHIP MAKERS SUSPECTED OF AIDING CHINESE: IEEE SPECTRUM REPORTS
According to a report in this month's issue of IEEE Spectrum, Taiwanese chip manufacturers are creating a breach in the country's political and economic isolation from China. The article states that even though Taiwan's premier chip manufacturer, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,) is currently in competition with leading Chinese manufacturers, like Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), many Taiwanese technologists are increasingly eager to dip their fingers into the well of China's fast-rising economy. Adding to the turmoil of animosity between the two countries is the growing suspicion of the Taiwanese government that its own technologists are the masterminds behind such burgeoning Chinese manufacturers as United Microelectronics Corp., the world's second-ranking chip maker. IEEE Spectrum has more: www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/jun05/0605csili.html

4. 17th ANNUAL HOT CHIPS CONFERENCE CONTINUES LEGACY AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY"Hot Chips," the popular symposium leading the way for the semiconductor industry, will be held for the 17th time this August at Stanford University, California, USA. One of the primary goals of the conference, which will be sponsored by the IEEE Technical Committee on Microprocessors and Microcomputers, will be to continue its vision for the future with an emphasis on "real products" and "realizable technology," such as the latest in high-performance microprocessors and related integrated circuits. Read more: www.hotchips.org/hc17/index.htm

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

5. GREEK CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS CONFERENCE SEEKING PAPER SUBMISSIONS
Prospective participants of the 2006 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems are encouraged to submit papers and tutorials that will challenge traditional methods of looking at the way circuits and systems operate. The conference, which will be held next 21 to 24 May in Greece on the Island of Kos, an ancient geographical focal point for cultural convergence and learning, will be host to an array of forums and tutorials that will support current and future knowledge in the field. Those who plan to submit papers and tutorials can write on any circuits and systems topic, such as analog signal processing, graph theory and computing, blind signal processing, and much more. For more information, visit: www.iscas06.org

6. FRAM LEADS EXOTIC MEMORY TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PIPELINE
Ramtron International Corporation has begun production of ferroelectric random-access memory (FRAM) chips, the first of a new generation of exotic memory designed for specialized applications. The company says that unlike existing non-volatile memories, its chips can be written 100,000 times faster, can be written an unlimited number of times without wearing out, and write with very low power. FRAM makes use of ferroelectric crystal materials -- usually oxides -- that can permanently switch polarity without an external electric field, and are theoretically capable of high densities. Other exotic memory technologies under investigation include magnetic tunnel-junction RAM (MRAM), phase-change RAM (PRAM), nanowire and nanotube designs, and molecular memories. Read more: www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=163106173

7. MULTICORE PROCESSORS SOON TO TAKE OVER COMPUTER INDUSTRY
Today's single core processors are so thin they have begun to reach their processing capacity. As a result, says Linley Group president Linley Gwennap in Computer magazine, chip manufacturers are beginning to introduce multiple core processors, which are cooler-running and utilize hyperthreads -- multiple software threads executed in parallel on a single core. The multicore chips may not run as fast, but they increase overall performance since, unlike single core chips, they can divvy up the workload. Such an increase in the use of hyperthreading means that application codes will need to be rewritten, a process which Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD) technical director, John Williams, says is more difficult. According to University of Texas assistant professor Stephen Keckler, the multicore chips have everything a processor has except level-2 cache memory and memory hierarchy. Several companies have already begun making multicore chips for release over the next couple of years, including AMD, Intel, IBM, and Sun, which is developing a chip called Niagara that will have eight cores capable of handling four threads each. Computer, the lead magazine of the IEEE Computer Society, has more: www.computer.org/computer/homepage/0505/trends/index.htm

8. FLEXIBLE SENSORS AIM TO IMPROVE ROBOTIC TOUCH
Combining advanced algorithms with polymer-based tactile sensors, a team of researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA have discovered a way to improve a robot's sensitivity to touch. In an effort to close the gap between a human and robot's ability to grasp and handle objects, the researchers constructed sensors from a polymer sheet using photolithographic patterning techniques and placed a thin-metal strain flexible gauge on the surface of each sensor. By putting pressure on the sensor and converting it to digital data, the researchers were able to send this information to a computer and analyze it with a signal-processing algorithm, which quickly determined the size and shape of the object being handled by the robot. Read more: www.sciencedaily.com/print.php?url=releases/2005/05/050519141904.htm

9. MODEL OFFERS BETTER PREDICTIONS OF TRANSISTOR BEHAVIOR
Researchers at Penetrate and Philips Research have led the charge in developing a new mathematical model to explain the behavior of the MOS transistor. Dubbed the PSP model, this new approach offers better radio frequencies and more accurate circuit simulations and can be applied to a wide variety of circuits, including current-ratio based circuits used in analog to digital converters and passive mixers. The researchers say the surface potential at the boundary between the silicon and silicon dioxide in the transistor is the key variable that allows the model to get better predictions of the behavior of integrated circuits. Read more: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/ps-nmm051005.php

10. COMPETITION BETWEEN RAM TECHNOLOGIES INTENSIFIES
With the demand for more efficient and up-to-date RAM technologies soaring to all-time highs, competition between various designs is rapidly increasing. According to an article from EETimes, silicon-based memory has made far-reaching advances in mainstream markets compared to designs like magnetic tunnel-junction (MRAM) and phase-change RAM (PRAM), which have some potential but lack support from large consumer markets. Other potential competitors making leeway include nanowire and nanotube designs, which are considered by many researchers to be more efficient than current technologies. For example, the article states that a silicon nanowire-based ring oscillator, presented by Harvard University professor Charles Glibber, proved to be 20 times faster than the integrated semiconductors typically used today, while IBM revealed similar findings. To read more, visit: www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=163106173

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 platt@ieee.org
Contributing Editors: Julie Compton, Robert J. Howe, Brian Pederson, Ryan Thomas

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