silicon

New method to measure how strain affects semiconductors

harminka — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:37:55 -0600

University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers and physicists have developed a method of measuring how strain affects thin films of silicon that could lay the foundation for faster flexible electronics.

Silicon's effect on sunflowers studied

harminka — Fri, 09 May 2008 02:53:23 -0500

Vibrant, showy sunflowers are revered worldwide for their beauty and versatility. While many varieties of sunflower are grown specifically for their nutritional benefits, ornamental sunflowers have become standards for commercial growers and everyday gardeners. As sunflowers' popularity grows, scientists are looking for new supplements and growing methods to enhance production and quality of this celebrated annual.

Is Graphene the New Silicon?

harminka — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:05:53 -0500

Research results from University of Maryland physicists show that graphene, a new material that combines aspects of semiconductors and metals, could be a leading candidate to replace silicon in applications ranging from high-speed computer chips to biochemical sensors.

Midnight Ride of CMS Tracking Detector

harminka — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 08:02:02 -0600

Scientists of the U.S. CMS collaboration joined colleagues around the world in announcing the successful installation of the world's largest silicon tracking detector at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. Just before midnight on Wednesday, Dec. 12, the six-ton CMS Silicon Strip Tracking Detector began a ten-mile, three-hour journey from the main CERN site to the CMS experimental facility.

Physicists contribute to state-of-the-art detector installed in Switzerland

harminka — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 06:43:06 -0600

UC Riverside scientists led by Gail Hanson, a distinguished professor of physics, are part of a collaboration of approximately 2300 international physicists who announced Dec. 19 that the world’s largest silicon tracking detector at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, had been successfully installed.

NRL generates, modulates pure spin currents in silicon

harminka — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:58:21 -0600

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have generated, modulated and electrically detected a pure spin current in silicon, the semiconductor used most widely in the electronic device industry. Magnetic contacts on the surface of an n-type silicon layer enable generation of a spin current which flows separately from a charge current. The spin orientation is electrically detected as a voltage at a second magnetic contact.

Carbon atoms Sheet acts like billiard table

harminka — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 14:28:51 -0500

UC-Riverside research shows graphene, a thin sheet of carbon atoms, has good potential to supplement or replace silicon as an electronic material

High-speed pulses of laser light on silicon

harminka — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:56:48 -0500

In the Sept. 3 issue of Optical Society of America's Optics Express, published online today, researchers announce that they have built the world's first "mode-locked silicon evanescent laser."

Unique Quantum Effect Found in Silicon Nanocrystals

harminka — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 01:54:14 -0500

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), collaborating with Innovalight, Inc., have shown that a new and important effect called Multiple Exciton Generation (MEG) occurs efficiently in silicon nanocrystals. MEG results in the formation of more than one electron per absorbed photon.

New technique may speed development of molecular electronics

harminka — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 03:32:11 -0500

Often, things can be improved by a little 'contamination.' Steel, for example is iron with a bit of carbon mixed in. To produce materials for modern electronics, small amounts of impurities are introduced into silicon – a process called doping. It is these impurities that enable electricity to flow through the semiconductor and allow designers to control the electronic properties of the material.

Scientists demonstrate electrical spin injection into silicon

harminka — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:50:33 -0500

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have efficiently injected a current of spin-polarized electrons from a ferromagnetic metal contact into silicon, producing a large electron spin polarization in the silicon. Silicon is by far the most widely used semiconductor in the device industry, and is the basis for modern electronics.

Australia weighs in to make perfect kilogram

harminka — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:19:03 -0500

Australian scientists and optical engineers will be making a perfect sphere that may one day re-define the kilogram - and tomorrow they're taking delivery of the cylinder of silicon from which it will be made.