4mm diameter elastomer fibres are a promising substrate for electronics in clothing, according to Nottingham Trent University, which is investigating washable stretchable medical wearables. To make the electronic fibre, a long thin flexible PCB is helically wound along, and bonded to, the elastomer core, with its components facing inwards. “The basic idea has been around for centuries – it’s the ...
Tag Archives: electronics
Viewpoint: Could global politics reignite the spark for UK electronics?
Colin Tucker, chairman of Novocomms, thinks a rise in global political uncertainty and a new administration in Downing Street, could provide opportunities for the UK electronics industry. Back in the days when I was a young engineer, the UK boasted names such as Plessy, AEI, English Electric and of course GEC, all of whom were globally respected names, employing hundreds ...
Embedded World: Infineon TC4x MCUs cleared for AI safety
Infineon has had its forthcoming TC4x automotive microcontrollers cleared for safe AI processing by the Fraunhofer Institute for Cognitive Systems (IKS). “Embedded AI is becoming increasingly important for safety-critical real-time applications,” said Infineon. “However, this also creates new requirements and standards that must be considered during the complete product lifecycle.” The TC4x family includes ‘PPU’ (parallel processing unit), an AI-accelerator ...
ISSCC: Steerable ultrasound energy beam powers on-brain electronics
Implants that push into the surface of the brain to gain electrical access to neurons have to be connected to the outside world somehow. Thin umbilical cables to the scull tend to be the answer. These cables need to be very flexible as the brain is fixed within the skull, but rather ‘floats’ in liquid (cerebrospinal fluid – ‘CSF’) within ...
TT Electronics opens power and control R&D Facility in Rochdale
The power and control business of TT Electronics had opened its research, development and manufacturing facility in Rochdale, near Manchester UK, to work on products for “mission-critical aerospace and defence technology”, it said. “TT’s recent acquisitions of the Power Supply business from Excelitas, Torotel and Ferranti Power and Control have enhanced our customer portfolio as well as significantly strengthening our ...
Infineon opens quantum computer and AI lab
Infineon has opened a quantum electronics and AI-based power analysis laboratory. Established near Munich, its objectives are to develop and test support ICs for ion trap quantum computers, and to develop AI algorithms for the early detection of variances in power systems. ~20 researchers will be employed, and the lab has a cryostat for research down to 4K (-269°C). One ...
Fuji joins 3d printed electronics alliance
Fuji Corporation has joined 3d printed electronics association JAMES (Jetted Additively Manufactured Electronics Sources), which describes itself as establishing a collaborative community that brings together professionals and enthusiasts from various fields to drive additive manufacturing development in 3D printed electronics. The addition of Fuji “will allow both companies to work together on upcoming projects, share insights, and develop new ideas ...
Imagination Technologies recruits engineers in Manchester
Imagination Technologies has opened an office in Manchester, adding to existing sites in Cambridge, and Bristol, and its Kings Langley headquarters. “At the beginning of 2022 we set a recruitment goal to match our growth as a company, and to enable acceleration in new areas such as RISC-V CPU,” said Imagination CEO Simon Beresford-Wylie. “Manchester has been dubbed the UK’s Silicon ...
DNA reveals another electronic property
Japanese researchers have added another tool to the toolbox for DNA molecular electronics. Not yet possible in any useful sense, DNA has the potential to be the backbone for molecular electronic circuits – electronics at the smallest scale – and towards this scientist are hunting through its structure and testing modifications to find useful non-linear electrical characteristics and switching behaviours. ...
Non-magnetic 2-d materials yield designer magnetic properties for spintronics
Scientists in Australia have opened the door to self-assembling controllable nano-scale electronic and spintronic devices by discovering how magnetism arises in 2-d ‘kagome’ metal-organic frameworks. Kagome materials have repeating pattern of hexagons and smaller triangles, with the hexagons touching at their tips (images below). The word is Japanese, relating to a basket weaving pattern. In this case, the metal-organic is ...