Tag: Electronics

Students explore career opportunities in semiconductors

“I want to tell you that you don’t have to be just one thing,” said Katie Eckermann ’03, MEng ’04, director of business development at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) at a networking event for students considering careers in hard technologies. “There is a huge wealth of different jobs and roles within the semiconductor industry.” Eckermann […]

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Pushing material boundaries for better electronics

Undergrads, take note: The lessons you learn in those intro classes could be the key to making your next big discovery. At least, that’s been the case for MIT’s Jeehwan Kim. A recently tenured faculty member in MIT’s departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, Kim has made numerous discoveries about the nanostructure […]

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“Imagine it, build it” at MIT

MIT class 2.679 (Electronics for Mechanical Systems II) offers a sort of alchemy that transforms students from consumers of knowledge to explorers and innovators, and equips them with a range of important new tools at their disposal, students say. “Topics which could otherwise feel intimidating are well-scoped each week so that students come out knowing […]

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Boosting student engagement and workforce development in microelectronics

The Northeast Microelectronics Internship Program (NMIP), an initiative of MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL) to connect first- and second-year college students to careers in semiconductor and microelectronics industries, recently received a $75,000 grant to expand its reach and impact. The funding is part of $9.2 million in grants awarded by the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) […]

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Three Lincoln Laboratory inventions named IEEE Milestones

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) designated three historical MIT Lincoln Laboratory technologies as IEEE Milestones. The technologies are the Mode S air traffic control (ATC) radar beacon system, 193-nanometer (nm) photolithography, and the semiconductor laser. The latter recognition is shared by Lincoln Laboratory, General Electric, and IBM. As the world’s largest technical […]

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Startup accelerates progress toward light-speed computing

Our ability to cram ever-smaller transistors onto a chip has enabled today’s age of ubiquitous computing. But that approach is finally running into limits, with some experts declaring an end to Moore’s Law and a related principle, known as Dennard’s Scaling. Those developments couldn’t be coming at a worse time. Demand for computing power has […]

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Study unlocks nanoscale secrets for designing next-generation solar cells

Perovskites, a broad class of compounds with a particular kind of crystal structure, have long been seen as a promising alternative or supplement to today’s silicon or cadmium telluride solar panels. They could be far more lightweight and inexpensive, and could be coated onto virtually any substrate, including paper or flexible plastic that could be […]

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MIT engineers 3D print the electromagnets at the heart of many electronics

Imagine being able to build an entire dialysis machine using nothing more than a 3D printer. This could not only reduce costs and eliminate manufacturing waste, but since this machine could be produced outside a factory, people with limited resources or those who live in remote areas may be able to access this medical device […]

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Researchers harness 2D magnetic materials for energy-efficient computing

Experimental computer memories and processors built from magnetic materials use far less energy than traditional silicon-based devices. Two-dimensional magnetic materials, composed of layers that are only a few atoms thick, have incredible properties that could allow magnetic-based devices to achieve unprecedented speed, efficiency, and scalability. While many hurdles must be overcome until these so-called van […]

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This tiny, tamper-proof ID tag can authenticate almost anything

A few years ago, MIT researchers invented a cryptographic ID tag that is several times smaller and significantly cheaper than the traditional radio frequency tags (RFIDs) that are often affixed to products to verify their authenticity. This tiny tag, which offers improved security over RFIDs, utilizes terahertz waves, which are smaller and travel much faster […]

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This tiny, tamper-proof ID tag can authenticate almost anything

A few years ago, MIT researchers invented a cryptographic ID tag that is several times smaller and significantly cheaper than the traditional radio frequency tags (RFIDs) that are often affixed to products to verify their authenticity. This tiny tag, which offers improved security over RFIDs, utilizes terahertz waves, which are smaller and travel much faster […]

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New MIT.nano equipment to accelerate innovation in “tough tech” sectors

A new set of advanced nanofabrication equipment will make MIT.nano one of the world’s most advanced research facilities in microelectronics and related technologies, unlocking new opportunities for experimentation and widening the path for promising inventions to become impactful new products. The equipment, provided by Applied Materials, will significantly expand MIT.nano’s nanofabrication capabilities, making them compatible […]

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MIT, Applied Materials, and the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub to bring 200mm advanced research capabilities to MIT.nano

The following is a joint announcement from MIT and Applied Materials, Inc. MIT and Applied Materials, Inc., announced an agreement today that, together with a grant to MIT from the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub, commits more than $40 million of estimated private and public investment to add advanced nano-fabrication equipment and capabilities to MIT.nano, […]

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Self-powered sensor automatically harvests magnetic energy

MIT researchers have developed a battery-free, self-powered sensor that can harvest energy from its environment. Because it requires no battery that must be recharged or replaced, and because it requires no special wiring, such a sensor could be embedded in a hard-to-reach place, like inside the inner workings of a ship’s engine. There, it could […]

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Researchers 3D print components for a portable mass spectrometer

Mass spectrometers, devices that identify chemical substances, are widely used in applications like crime scene analysis, toxicology testing, and geological surveying. But these machines are bulky, expensive, and easy to damage, which limits where they can be effectively deployed. Using additive manufacturing, MIT researchers produced a mass filter, which is the core component of a […]

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Engineers develop a vibrating, ingestible capsule that might help treat obesity

When you eat a large meal, your stomach sends signals to your brain that create a feeling of fullness, which helps you realize it’s time to stop eating. A stomach full of liquid can also send these messages, which is why dieters are often advised to drink a glass of water before eating. MIT engineers […]

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Last-Minute Gift Alert: This Audio Gear Will Still Arrive Before Christmas

Listen, buddy, we’ve no time to waste here. Christmas draws ever closer, and while you’re listening to Vince Guaraldi, eating pizza, and playing Baldur’s Gate 3 on the couch, gifting opportunities are drying up by the minute. Planning to get that absolutely perfect nonstick pan from [redacted] for your dad? Sorry, bro, it’s too late—the […]

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Family Split at LG, a South Korean Giant, Tests Corporate Succession

When Koo Bon-moo, chairman of South Korean conglomerate LG, died in 2018, there wasn’t much question, at least publicly, of who would next preside over the company. LG, a $10 billion corporate empire, is governed by the principle of male primogeniture. Succession was effectively settled 14 years earlier when Mr. Koo and his wife adopted […]

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Closing the design-to-manufacturing gap for optical devices

Photolithography involves manipulating light to precisely etch features onto a surface, and is commonly used to fabricate computer chips and optical devices like lenses. But tiny deviations during the manufacturing process often cause these devices to fall short of their designers’ intentions. To help close this design-to-manufacturing gap, researchers from MIT and the Chinese University […]

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Researchers safely integrate fragile 2D materials into devices

Two-dimensional materials, which are only a few atoms thick, can exhibit some incredible properties, such as the ability to carry electric charge extremely efficiently, which could boost the performance of next-generation electronic devices. But integrating 2D materials into devices and systems like computer chips is notoriously difficult. These ultrathin structures can be damaged by conventional […]

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Physicists trap electrons in a 3D crystal for the first time

Electrons move through a conducting material like commuters at the height of Manhattan rush hour. The charged particles may jostle and bump against each other, but for the most part they’re unconcerned with other electrons as they hurtle forward, each with their own energy. But when a material’s electrons are trapped together, they can settle […]

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New techniques efficiently accelerate sparse tensors for massive AI models

Researchers from MIT and NVIDIA have developed two techniques that accelerate the processing of sparse tensors, a type of data structure that’s used for high-performance computing tasks. The complementary techniques could result in significant improvements to the performance and energy-efficiency of systems like the massive machine-learning models that drive generative artificial intelligence. Tensors are data […]

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Accelerating AI tasks while preserving data security

With the proliferation of computationally intensive machine-learning applications, such as chatbots that perform real-time language translation, device manufacturers often incorporate specialized hardware components to rapidly move and process the massive amounts of data these systems demand. Choosing the best design for these components, known as deep neural network accelerators, is challenging because they can have […]

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This Pokéball-Sized Sampler Is the Perfect Gift for People Convinced They’re a DJ

Image courtesy of Artiphon Many of the great DJs started by just choppin’ shit up. From DJ Shadow and J Dilla to The Avalanches, a ton of incredible musicians made their breakthroughs by mastering the art of sampling and looping, creating hard-hitting beats and groovy melodies by combining great moments lifted from other places. Since […]

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From a five-layer graphene sandwich, a rare electronic state emerges

Ordinary pencil lead holds extraordinary properties when shaved down to layers as thin as an atom. A single, atom-thin sheet of graphite, known as graphene, is just a tiny fraction of the width of a human hair. Under a microscope, the material resembles a chicken-wire of carbon atoms linked in a hexagonal lattice. Despite its […]

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Finger-shaped sensor enables more dexterous robots

Imagine grasping a heavy object, like a pipe wrench, with one hand. You would likely grab the wrench using your entire fingers, not just your fingertips. Sensory receptors in your skin, which run along the entire length of each finger, would send information to your brain about the tool you are grasping. In a robotic […]

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Internships fabricate a microelectronics future

Nestled among the diverse labs and prototyping facilities at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the Microelectronics Laboratory (ML) whirs away. Technicians in the ML fabricate advanced integrated circuits, which end up in systems that peer into the cosmos, observe weather from space, and power quantum computers — to name just a few uses. The ML is one […]

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System combines light and electrons to unlock faster, greener computing

Computing is at an inflection point. Moore’s Law, which predicts that the number of transistors on an electronic chip will double each year, is slowing down due to the physical limits of fitting more transistors on affordable microchips. These increases in computer power are slowing down as the demand grows for high-performance computers that can […]

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Smart pill can track key biological markers in real-time

Researchers from MIT, Boston University, and elsewhere report a smart pill the size of a blueberry that could be a game changer in the diagnosis and treatment of bowel diseases. That’s because it is the first technology compatible with ingestion that can automatically detect — and report on in real time — key biological molecules […]

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Device offers long-distance, low-power underwater communication

MIT researchers have demonstrated the first system for ultra-low-power underwater networking and communication, which can transmit signals across kilometer-scale distances. This technique, which the researchers began developing several years ago, uses about one-millionth the power that existing underwater communication methods use. By expanding their battery-free system’s communication range, the researchers have made the technology more […]

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