Category Technology/Electronics

New Material Paves the Way to On-Chip Energy Harvesting

The cover art indicates that from the multiple choices of elements and alloys available, the group IV GeSn semiconductors has the possibility to bring energy harvesting on Si chip. Credit: ACS Applied Energy Materials

Researchers from Germany, Italy, and the UK have achieved a major advance in the development of materials suitable for on-chip energy harvesting. By composing an alloy made of silicon, germanium and tin, they were able to create a thermoelectric material, promising to transform the waste heat of computer processors back into electricity.

With all elements coming from the 4th main group of the periodic table, these new semiconductor alloy can be easily integrated into the CMOS process of chip production...

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Novel Smart Solar-Powered Freezer Truck Unveiled in Hong Kong

A research team led by Prof. Eric Cheng, Professor of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at PolyU has developed a novel freezer truck that supports a solar-powered freezer system and features vehicle-connected power storage and sharing technology.

The transport sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Hong Kong, accounting for 19% of total emissions. Supporting the development of green transport can help reduce air pollutant emissions. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is committed to promoting research into green technologies to support Hong Kong’s goal of reducing the City’s total carbon emissions from the 2005 level by half before 2035 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2050.

A research team led by Prof...

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‘World Record’ for Data Transmission Speed

Aston University researchers break ‘world record’ again for data transmission speed
ini Pratiwi, Mingming Tan, Ian Phillips, Aleksandr Donodin, Ruben Luis, Wladek Forysiak, Ben Puttnam

Aston University researchers are part of a team that has sent data at a record rate of 402 terabits per second using commercially available optical fibre.

This beats their previous record, announced in March 2024, of 301 terabits or 301,000,000 megabits per second, using a single, standard optical fibre.

“If compared to the internet connection speed recommendations of Netflix, of 3 Mbit/s or higher, for a watching a HD movie, this speed is over 100 million times faster.

The speed was achieved by using a wider spectrum, using six bands rather than the previous four, which increased capacity for data sharing. Normally just one or two bands are used.

The international research ...

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Wireless Receiver Blocks Interference for Better Mobile Device Performance

A cellphone has a blue shield which blocks red interference.
Caption: A new receiver can block up to four times more interference than some similar devices.
Credits:Image: MIT News; iStock

The growing prevalence of high-speed wireless communication devices, from 5G mobile phones to sensors for autonomous vehicles, is leading to increasingly crowded airwaves. This makes the ability to block interfering signals that can hamper device performance an even more important — and more challenging — problem.

With these and other emerging applications in mind, MIT researchers demonstrated a new millimeter-wave multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless receiver architecture that can handle stronger spatial interference than previous designs. MIMO systems have multiple antennas, enabling them to transmit and receive signals from different directions...

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