- Electric magnitudes
With electric magnitudes we can solve, for example, electric circuits, which we've been doing throughout the year:
In electric circuits we can find electric magnitudes such as voltage, intensity, power, resistance and energy.
miércoles, 31 de julio de 2013
- Impact of technology on the environment:
Technology has damaged our environment due to improvements in human society. This video wants to describe and show the positive effects of green, clean technology on the environment:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y2Kr4Co7TQ*
*Manuel, I know this is a link but the blog wouldn't let me upload the video and show it on the post. I thought it was quite good, so I decided to do this.
Technology has damaged our environment due to improvements in human society. This video wants to describe and show the positive effects of green, clean technology on the environment:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y2Kr4Co7TQ*
*Manuel, I know this is a link but the blog wouldn't let me upload the video and show it on the post. I thought it was quite good, so I decided to do this.
domingo, 14 de julio de 2013
- News (bipolar transistor)
- IGBT laser annealing
The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) market is constantly growing because of significant advantages IGBTs offer compared to other transistor devices such as high voltage capability, low ON-resistance, ease of drive, fast switching speeds, robustness, etc.
One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing demand in automotive and industrial applications, including renewable energy, communications, medical, lighting and transportation.
IGBTs are manufactured on mechanically thinned wafers with a typical thickness of 100 µm or less. In order to establish a field stop and/or emitter layer on the rear side of the wafer, deep-implanted doping elements (like phosphorous or boron) have to be activated through a high-temperature annealing process towards the end of the FEOL process chain. Very often, the sensitive devices on the wafer front side are protected by an attached tape. Due to low damage temperatures of the tape, the heat-sensitivity of the front side devices, as well as a non-uniform heat distribution in the processing chamber, conventional oven activation is characterized by low activation levels and rates. ROFIN’s laser annealing process has been developed to overcome these issues and to provide significantly higher process stability and yield at competitive costs/wafer levels. Laser annealing deep-activates the dopants and simultaneously prevents damage to the wafer front side and the protection tape. The laser allows for precise depth control of the field stop and/or emitter layer activation in the range of up to 2 µm. With activation rates exceeding 90%, ROFIN’s IGBT laser annealing solution is far superior to conventional methods.
- IGBT laser annealing
The Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) market is constantly growing because of significant advantages IGBTs offer compared to other transistor devices such as high voltage capability, low ON-resistance, ease of drive, fast switching speeds, robustness, etc.
One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the increasing demand in automotive and industrial applications, including renewable energy, communications, medical, lighting and transportation.
IGBTs are manufactured on mechanically thinned wafers with a typical thickness of 100 µm or less. In order to establish a field stop and/or emitter layer on the rear side of the wafer, deep-implanted doping elements (like phosphorous or boron) have to be activated through a high-temperature annealing process towards the end of the FEOL process chain. Very often, the sensitive devices on the wafer front side are protected by an attached tape. Due to low damage temperatures of the tape, the heat-sensitivity of the front side devices, as well as a non-uniform heat distribution in the processing chamber, conventional oven activation is characterized by low activation levels and rates. ROFIN’s laser annealing process has been developed to overcome these issues and to provide significantly higher process stability and yield at competitive costs/wafer levels. Laser annealing deep-activates the dopants and simultaneously prevents damage to the wafer front side and the protection tape. The laser allows for precise depth control of the field stop and/or emitter layer activation in the range of up to 2 µm. With activation rates exceeding 90%, ROFIN’s IGBT laser annealing solution is far superior to conventional methods.
- News (integrated circuits)
A photonic integrated circuit or PIC is a device that integrates a number of photonic functions and is analogous to an electronic integrated circuit. PIC is a breakthrough technology as it uses photons as a data carrier rather than electrons. As light travels at a high speed, photonic integrated technology is extensively used for transferring huge amount of data at high speed. Hence, PIC technology based products are largely used in optical fiber communication.
The photonic integrated circuit market is growing at a phenomenal rate due to the significant improvements in power consumption, system size, reliability, and cost. The development in silicon photonic technology has helped in enabling large scale manufacturing of PIC products at low cost.
Also, most players are developing monolithically integrated InP (Indium Phosphide) based photonic integrated circuits that can integrate more than 600 components in a single chip. Thus, there is increasing competition as players are trying to produce PIC based products at low cost.
Currently, North America is the largest market for PIC based products owing to the increasing applications of optical fibers in datacenters and WAN. North America holds more than 40% share of the overall PIC market; however, Asia-Pacific is expected to emerge as a market leader in the coming years growing at a CAGR of about 35% due to the prolific growth in datacenters and access network in the region. Europe ranks second in the market for PIC products. Currently, Asia-Pacific is the largest player in access network applications of optical fiber communication.
Some of the major players in the photonic integrated circuit market include Agilent Technologies, Aifotec AG, Alcatel-Lucent, Avago Technologies, Infinera Corporation, Ciena Corporation, NeoPhotonics Corporation, Emcore Corporation, Finisar Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, Intel Corporation, JDS Uniphase Corporation, Enablence Technologies, KAIAM Corporation, Luxtera, CyOptics, Oclaro, OneChip Photonics, and TE Connectivity.
This report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology, Porter’s five force model analysis and detailed profiles of top industry players. The report also includes a review of micro and macro factors essential for the existing market players and new entrants along with detailed value chain analysis.
A photonic integrated circuit or PIC is a device that integrates a number of photonic functions and is analogous to an electronic integrated circuit. PIC is a breakthrough technology as it uses photons as a data carrier rather than electrons. As light travels at a high speed, photonic integrated technology is extensively used for transferring huge amount of data at high speed. Hence, PIC technology based products are largely used in optical fiber communication.
The photonic integrated circuit market is growing at a phenomenal rate due to the significant improvements in power consumption, system size, reliability, and cost. The development in silicon photonic technology has helped in enabling large scale manufacturing of PIC products at low cost.
Also, most players are developing monolithically integrated InP (Indium Phosphide) based photonic integrated circuits that can integrate more than 600 components in a single chip. Thus, there is increasing competition as players are trying to produce PIC based products at low cost.
Currently, North America is the largest market for PIC based products owing to the increasing applications of optical fibers in datacenters and WAN. North America holds more than 40% share of the overall PIC market; however, Asia-Pacific is expected to emerge as a market leader in the coming years growing at a CAGR of about 35% due to the prolific growth in datacenters and access network in the region. Europe ranks second in the market for PIC products. Currently, Asia-Pacific is the largest player in access network applications of optical fiber communication.
Some of the major players in the photonic integrated circuit market include Agilent Technologies, Aifotec AG, Alcatel-Lucent, Avago Technologies, Infinera Corporation, Ciena Corporation, NeoPhotonics Corporation, Emcore Corporation, Finisar Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, Intel Corporation, JDS Uniphase Corporation, Enablence Technologies, KAIAM Corporation, Luxtera, CyOptics, Oclaro, OneChip Photonics, and TE Connectivity.
This report is a complete study of current trends in the market, industry growth drivers, and restraints. It provides market projections for the coming years. It includes analysis of recent developments in technology, Porter’s five force model analysis and detailed profiles of top industry players. The report also includes a review of micro and macro factors essential for the existing market players and new entrants along with detailed value chain analysis.
- News (robotics)
- Will Robots Lead to 75% Unemployment?
Humans have a remarkable ability to make life easier through invention. Examples include toilet paper over leaves, cars over a horse and buggy, and drones over piloted planes. However, as is the case with weapons, many advances come with unforeseen and unpleasant consequences, and one such area may be the rise in robotics.
The idea of having a robot to do menial tasks sounds great on the surface -- who doesn't want his or her own personal helper? But some experts warn that those advances could cause unemployment to reach 75%. Still, other experts argue that robots will actually lead to job creation.
- Will Robots Lead to 75% Unemployment?
Humans have a remarkable ability to make life easier through invention. Examples include toilet paper over leaves, cars over a horse and buggy, and drones over piloted planes. However, as is the case with weapons, many advances come with unforeseen and unpleasant consequences, and one such area may be the rise in robotics.
The idea of having a robot to do menial tasks sounds great on the surface -- who doesn't want his or her own personal helper? But some experts warn that those advances could cause unemployment to reach 75%. Still, other experts argue that robots will actually lead to job creation.
- News (semiconductor diode)
Researchers from the Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have successfully integrated an LED and a power transistor on the same gallium nitride (GaN) chip. This innovation could open the door to a new generation of LED technology that is less expensive to manufacture, significantly more efficient, and which enables new functionalities and applications far beyond illumination.
At the heart of today’s light-emitting diode (LED) lighting systems are chips made from GaN, a semiconductor material. For the LED to function, many external components--such as inductors, capacitors, silicon interconnects, and wires--must be installed on or integrated into the chip. The large size of the chip, with all of these necessary components, complicates the design and performance of LED lighting products. Additionally, the process of assembling these complex LED lighting systems can be slow, manually intensive, and expensive.
In a new study led by T. Paul Chow, professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE) at Rensselaer, the researchers sought to solve this challenge by developing a chip with components all made from GaN. This type of monolithically integrated chip simplifies LED device manufacturing, with fewer assembly steps and less required automation. Additionally, LED devices made with monolithically integrated chips will have fewer parts to malfunction, higher energy efficiency and cost effectiveness, and greater lighting design flexibility.
Chow and the research team grew a GaN LED structure directly on top of a GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) structure. They used several basic techniques to interconnect the two regions, creating what they are calling the first monolithic integration of a HEMT and an LED on the same GaN-based chip. The device, grown on a sapphire substrate, demonstrated light output and light density comparable to standard GaN LED devices. Chow said the study is an important step toward the creation of a new class of optoelectronic device called a light emitting integrated circuit (LEIC).
“Just as the integration of many silicon devices in a single chip, integrated circuits, has enabled powerful compact computers and a wide range of smart device technology, the LEIC will play a pivotal role in cost-effective monolithic integration of electronics and LED technology for new smart lighting applications and more efficient LED lighting systems,” Chow said.
“This new study, and the device we have created, is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Smart Lighting ERC Director Robert Karlicek, a co-author of the study and ECSE professor at Rensselaer. “LEICs will result in even higher energy efficiency of LED lighting systems. But what will be even more exciting are the new devices, new applications, and new breakthroughs enabled by LEICs--they will truly usher in the era of smart lighting.”
Researchers from the Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have successfully integrated an LED and a power transistor on the same gallium nitride (GaN) chip. This innovation could open the door to a new generation of LED technology that is less expensive to manufacture, significantly more efficient, and which enables new functionalities and applications far beyond illumination.
At the heart of today’s light-emitting diode (LED) lighting systems are chips made from GaN, a semiconductor material. For the LED to function, many external components--such as inductors, capacitors, silicon interconnects, and wires--must be installed on or integrated into the chip. The large size of the chip, with all of these necessary components, complicates the design and performance of LED lighting products. Additionally, the process of assembling these complex LED lighting systems can be slow, manually intensive, and expensive.
In a new study led by T. Paul Chow, professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering (ECSE) at Rensselaer, the researchers sought to solve this challenge by developing a chip with components all made from GaN. This type of monolithically integrated chip simplifies LED device manufacturing, with fewer assembly steps and less required automation. Additionally, LED devices made with monolithically integrated chips will have fewer parts to malfunction, higher energy efficiency and cost effectiveness, and greater lighting design flexibility.
Chow and the research team grew a GaN LED structure directly on top of a GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) structure. They used several basic techniques to interconnect the two regions, creating what they are calling the first monolithic integration of a HEMT and an LED on the same GaN-based chip. The device, grown on a sapphire substrate, demonstrated light output and light density comparable to standard GaN LED devices. Chow said the study is an important step toward the creation of a new class of optoelectronic device called a light emitting integrated circuit (LEIC).
“Just as the integration of many silicon devices in a single chip, integrated circuits, has enabled powerful compact computers and a wide range of smart device technology, the LEIC will play a pivotal role in cost-effective monolithic integration of electronics and LED technology for new smart lighting applications and more efficient LED lighting systems,” Chow said.
“This new study, and the device we have created, is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Smart Lighting ERC Director Robert Karlicek, a co-author of the study and ECSE professor at Rensselaer. “LEICs will result in even higher energy efficiency of LED lighting systems. But what will be even more exciting are the new devices, new applications, and new breakthroughs enabled by LEICs--they will truly usher in the era of smart lighting.”
- Care of the environment against technological impact
Technology provides an understanding, and an appreciation for the world around us.
Most modern technological processes produce unwanted byproducts in addition to the desired products, which is known as industrial waste and pollution. While most material waste is re-used in the industrial process, many forms are released into the environment, with negative environmental side effects, such as pollution and lack of sustainability. Different social and political systems establish different balances between the value they place on additional goods versus the disvalues of waste products and pollution. Some technologies are designed specifically with the environment in mind, but most are designed first for economic or ergonomic effects. Historically, the value of a clean environment and more efficient productive processes has been the result of an increase in the wealth of society, because once people are able to provide for their basic needs, they are able to focus on less-tangible goods such as clean air and water.
The effects of technology on the environment are both obvious and subtle. The more obvious effects include the depletion of nonrenewable natural resources (such as petroleum, coal, ores), and the added pollution of air, water, and land. The more subtle effects include debates over long-term effects (e.g., global warming, deforestation, natural habitat destruction, coastal wetland loss.)
Each wave of technology creates a set of waste previously unknown by humans: toxic waste, radioactive waste, electronic waste.
One of the main problems is the lack of an effective way to remove these pollutants on a large scale expediently. In nature, organisms "recycle" the wastes of other organisms, for example, plants produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis, oxygen-breathing organisms use oxygen to metabolize food, producing carbon dioxide as a by-product, which plants use in a process to make sugar, with oxygen as a waste in the first place. No such mechanism exists for the removal of technological wastes.
Technology can either be efficient and respectful with the environment, or efficient and dirty (or even not efficient), a problem which leads to the destruction of our planet.
News
-GMOs: Researchers debate the healthy safety of genetically modified foods
Seventy percent of items in American grocery stores contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) – ingredients that have been scientifically engineered in laboratories to enhance certain traits such as insect, disease and water resistance.
“Genetic engineering is a recent technique that involves being able to take genetic material from one organism and put it into another when the two wouldn’t normally be cross-compatible,” said Margaret Smith, associate director for the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station.
There are four major genetically modified crops: corn, soy bean, cotton and canola. According to Smith, this type of technology can be useful.
“We're facing increasing stresses from more erratic weather and new and different pests that move in,” Smith said. “I think in that regard we're going to need every possible tool we can get to help make our crops as productive as they possibly can be.”
GMOs have only been on the market since 1995, but they’ve recently sparked a national debate over the potential impact they could have on the environment – and our health.
Dr. Michael Wald, of Integrated Medicine of Mount Kisco in New York, said more research needs to be done in order to prove that genetically engineered foods are safe to eat.
“The studies that have been done on different animals – and also reports from farmers – seem to suggest health issues, including intestinal problems, inflammation of the colon…and problems with the kidneys, the liver, the lungs,” Wald said.
Smith also agreed that research is key when it comes to assessing the safety of GMOs.
“None of the products out there have shown any evidence, over the 15 plus years they’ve been (on the) market, of human health concerns,” Smith said. “So, I find that reassuring in terms of food safety. That doesn’t say that new products shouldn’t be looked at very carefully.”
The Food and Drug Administration has approved over 40 seeds and plants for genetic modifications – but the agency leaves the safety assessments up to the companies. However, more and more Americans are asking for GMO products to be labeled - and for the right to know what exactly they are eating.
“If people are not confident in genetically modified foods at this point, they simply should avoid them or purchase less of them,” Wald said. “That will send a direct message to the manufacturers, the big companies that are producing these seeds.”
Technology provides an understanding, and an appreciation for the world around us.
Most modern technological processes produce unwanted byproducts in addition to the desired products, which is known as industrial waste and pollution. While most material waste is re-used in the industrial process, many forms are released into the environment, with negative environmental side effects, such as pollution and lack of sustainability. Different social and political systems establish different balances between the value they place on additional goods versus the disvalues of waste products and pollution. Some technologies are designed specifically with the environment in mind, but most are designed first for economic or ergonomic effects. Historically, the value of a clean environment and more efficient productive processes has been the result of an increase in the wealth of society, because once people are able to provide for their basic needs, they are able to focus on less-tangible goods such as clean air and water.
The effects of technology on the environment are both obvious and subtle. The more obvious effects include the depletion of nonrenewable natural resources (such as petroleum, coal, ores), and the added pollution of air, water, and land. The more subtle effects include debates over long-term effects (e.g., global warming, deforestation, natural habitat destruction, coastal wetland loss.)
Each wave of technology creates a set of waste previously unknown by humans: toxic waste, radioactive waste, electronic waste.
One of the main problems is the lack of an effective way to remove these pollutants on a large scale expediently. In nature, organisms "recycle" the wastes of other organisms, for example, plants produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis, oxygen-breathing organisms use oxygen to metabolize food, producing carbon dioxide as a by-product, which plants use in a process to make sugar, with oxygen as a waste in the first place. No such mechanism exists for the removal of technological wastes.
Technology can either be efficient and respectful with the environment, or efficient and dirty (or even not efficient), a problem which leads to the destruction of our planet.
News
-GMOs: Researchers debate the healthy safety of genetically modified foods
Seventy percent of items in American grocery stores contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) – ingredients that have been scientifically engineered in laboratories to enhance certain traits such as insect, disease and water resistance.
“Genetic engineering is a recent technique that involves being able to take genetic material from one organism and put it into another when the two wouldn’t normally be cross-compatible,” said Margaret Smith, associate director for the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station.
There are four major genetically modified crops: corn, soy bean, cotton and canola. According to Smith, this type of technology can be useful.
“We're facing increasing stresses from more erratic weather and new and different pests that move in,” Smith said. “I think in that regard we're going to need every possible tool we can get to help make our crops as productive as they possibly can be.”
GMOs have only been on the market since 1995, but they’ve recently sparked a national debate over the potential impact they could have on the environment – and our health.
Dr. Michael Wald, of Integrated Medicine of Mount Kisco in New York, said more research needs to be done in order to prove that genetically engineered foods are safe to eat.
“The studies that have been done on different animals – and also reports from farmers – seem to suggest health issues, including intestinal problems, inflammation of the colon…and problems with the kidneys, the liver, the lungs,” Wald said.
Smith also agreed that research is key when it comes to assessing the safety of GMOs.
“None of the products out there have shown any evidence, over the 15 plus years they’ve been (on the) market, of human health concerns,” Smith said. “So, I find that reassuring in terms of food safety. That doesn’t say that new products shouldn’t be looked at very carefully.”
The Food and Drug Administration has approved over 40 seeds and plants for genetic modifications – but the agency leaves the safety assessments up to the companies. However, more and more Americans are asking for GMO products to be labeled - and for the right to know what exactly they are eating.
“If people are not confident in genetically modified foods at this point, they simply should avoid them or purchase less of them,” Wald said. “That will send a direct message to the manufacturers, the big companies that are producing these seeds.”
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