The Smallest Laser

What is the biggest constraint in creating tiny lasers? Pump power. Yes sir, all lasers require a certain amount of pump power from an outside source to begin emitting a coherent beam of light and the smaller a laser is, the greater the pump power needed to reach this state. The laser cavity consists of a tiny metal rod enclosed by a ring of metal-coated, quantum wells of semiconductor material. A team of researchers from the University of California has developed a technique that uses quantum electrodynamic effects in coaxial nanocavities to lower the amount of pump power needed. This allowed them to build the world’s smallest room-temperature, continuous wave laser. The whole device is only half a micron in diameter (human hair has on average a thickness of 50 micron).

The nanolaser design appears to be scalable – meaning that they could be shrunk to even smaller sizes – an important feature that would make it possible to harvest laser light from even smaller structures. Applications for such lasers could include tiny biochemical sensors or high-resolution displays, but the researchers are still working out the theory behind how these tiny lasers operate. They would also like to find a way to pump the lasers electrically instead of optically.


Source: Elektor.

New Memory Cell with four states

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics have created a memory element with four states. The element consists of a sandwich of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials. Using a short electric pulse it is possible to change the electrical and magnetic properties of the element. The new technique allows placing information in four instead of just two states of a memory element, increasing storage density.

The multiferroic sandwich was created by steaming an extremely accurately structured ferromagnetic lanthan strontium manganate (LSMO) layer on a base. The thickness of this layer is just under 30 nm. On top of that, a layer of ferroelectric lead zirconate titanite (PZT) only three nanometres thick and with a very regular structure was deposited; a top layer of ferromagnetic cobalt finished the sandwich.


Source: Elektor.

A Malware in Your BIOS Keeps the US Department of Defense Awake

Rakshasa is malware buried deep inside the firmware of an Intel motherboard granting backdoor access to any outside party who knows what to look for. Rakshasa can replace the original boot firmware at time of manufacturing and is extremely difficult to detect. Security expert Jonathan Brossard demonstrated his code at the Black Hat convention in Las Vegas in July. His aim is to raise awareness about the dangers of non open source firmware. You could be buying a computer -or any hardware for that matter- with a backdoor already installed.

And that is exactly what is keeping some people at the US Department of Defense up at night.

The military is increasingly dependent on information technology and it uses commercial components to build its devices. But most hardware is manufactured outside US borders. The DoD fears that backdoors or malicious software might be pre-installed on chips allowing an adversary to listen in on communications or disable the chip all together. If the chips at the core of the US defense system would turn against it, the system would be seriously crippled. We’re talking sci-fi movie scenario kind of crippled.



Read full article at TechTheFuture.

Smart Li-Ion Batteries

Smart Li-Ion Batteries the Size of a Credit Card


Accutronics has launched two new lithium-ion batteries in its Intellion series of credit card sized batteries. Designed to provide a high level of functionality and safety the CC2300 and CC3800 batteries allow integration of smart lithium ion battery into handheld portable products with minimal effort and cost.

The batteries feature an active electronic protection system that prevents them from being overcharged, over discharged or short circuited and to ensure that the battery will remain safe if externally abused. In addition, they have an impedance tracking fuel gauge that constantly tracks battery status, providing information such as remaining battery capacity, state of charge, run time to empty, battery voltage and temperature.

The new batteries fulfill the requirements of IEC 62133 and UN 38.3 to ensure compliance with international safety and transportation standards and they are excepted from Dangerous Goods regulations. Comprehensive technical back-up and accessories are available to help OEM designers integrate the batteries into their systems.


Source: Elektor.

Funneling the Solar Energy

Energy Funnels Boost Solar Cell Performance: MIT engineers propose a new way of harnessing photons for electricity, with the potential for capturing a wider spectrum of solar energy.

The quest to harness a broader spectrum of sunlight’s energy to produce electricity has taken a radically new turn, with the proposal of a “solar energy funnel” that takes advantage of materials under elastic strain.
In this case, the “funnel” is a metaphor: Electrons and their counterparts, holes — which are split off from atoms by the energy of photons — are driven to the center of the structure by electronic forces, not by gravity as in a household funnel. And yet, as it happens, the material actually does assume the shape of a funnel: It is a stretched sheet of vanishingly thin material, poked down at its center by a microscopic needle that indents the surface and produces a curved, funnel-like shape. ...
Strain — defined as the pushing or pulling of a material into a different shape — can be either elastic or inelastic. Xiaofeng Qian, a postdoc in MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering who was a co-author of the paper, explains that elastic strain corresponds to stretched atomic bonds, while inelastic, or plastic, strain corresponds to broken or switched atomic bonds. A spring that is stretched and released is an example of elastic strain, whereas a piece of crumpled tinfoil is a case of plastic strain.
The new solar-funnel work uses precisely controlled elastic strain to govern electrons’ potential in the material. The MIT team used computer modeling to determine the effects of the strain on a thin layer of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a material that can form a film just a single molecule (about six angstroms) thick. ...

“We’re trying to use elastic strains to produce unprecedented properties,” says Ju Li, an MIT professor and corresponding author of a paper describing the new solar-funnel concept that was published in the journal Nature Photonics.

Article: Strain-engineered artificial atom as a broad-spectrum solar energy funnel.



Source: MIT News.

Microchip’s Free MPLAB® XC32++ Compiler

Free C++ Compiler Enables Maximum Code Re-use, is Standards Compliant for Commercial Applications, Includes Dinkumware® Libraries, Has No Time or Memory Limits


Microchip Technology has announced a free C++ compiler with unlimited code generation capabilities: MPLAB XC32++ Compiler (Free version), which supports all their 32-bit PIC32 microcontrollers. The compiler enables designers to develop and re-use C++ or mixed C/C++ projects in the MPLAB XC32 environment and makes all of Microchip’s C language extensions available. It is compatible with most C++98 and C++2003 ANSI standards. The compiler also includes Dinkumware standard C, C++ and template libraries.

The free version of the MPLAB XC32++ Compiler is available for download now. It has no time or memory limits, and it can be used in commercial applications. Users who need best-in-class optimisation or a network server license can opt for one of the paid versions: MPLAB XC32++ PRO Workstation Licence or MPLAB XC32++ PRO Network Server Licence. Existing licensees of Microchip’s MPLAB XC32 compilers can add the XC32++ option at an additional charge. The MPLAB XC32++ PRO Workstation License ($1,445, part # SW006023-3) and MPLAB XC32++ PRO Network Server License ($1,845, part # SW006023-3N) are also available. Existing licensees of Microchip’s MPLAB XC32 compilers can add the XC32++ option at $595 or $695, for a workstation or network-server license, respectively.

“With the Free MPLAB XC32++, Microchip is offering a completely free C/C++ compiler solution with unlimited code generation,” said Derek Carlson, Microchip’s vice president of Development Tools. “Our optimizing C++ compiler includes the industry-recognized Dinkumware libraries. This combination is ideal for a broad range of applications, from the industrial to the academic environments.”


Get Your Free MPLAB® XC32++ Compiler Software.



Source: Microchip Technology.

Communication with neutrinos

A group of scientists led by researchers from the University of Rochester and North Carolina State University have for the first time sent a message using a beam of neutrinos – nearly massless particles that travel at almost the speed of light. The message was sent through 240 meters of stone and said simply, "Neutrino."


"Using neutrinos, it would be possible to communicate between any two points on Earth without using satellites or cables," said Dan Stancil, professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State and lead author of a paper describing the research. "Neutrino communication systems would be much more complicated than today's systems, but may have important strategic uses."
Many have theorized about the possible uses of neutrinos in communication because of one particularly valuable property: they can penetrate almost anything they encounter. If this technology could be applied to submarines, for instance, then they could conceivably communicate over long distances through water, which is difficult, if not impossible, with present technology. And if we wanted to communicate with something in outer space that was on the far side of a moon or a planet, our message could travel straight through without impediment.
"Of course, our current technology takes massive amounts of high-tech equipment to communicate a message using neutrinos, so this isn't practical now," said Kevin McFarland, a University of Rochester physics professor who was involved in the experiment. "But the first step toward someday using neutrinos for communication in a practical application is a demonstration using today's technology."
The team of scientists that demonstrated that it was possible performed their test at the Fermi National Accelerator Lab (or Fermilab, for short), outside of Chicago. The group has submitted its findings to the journal Modern Physics Letters A. At Fermilab the researchers had access to two crucial components. The first is one of the world's most powerful particle accelerators, which creates high-intensity beams of neutrinos by accelerating protons around a 2.5-mile-circumference track and then colliding them with a carbon target. The second is a multi-ton detector called MINERvA, located in a cavern 100 meters underground. The fact that such a substantial setup is necessary to communicate using neutrinos means that much work will need to be done before the technology can be incorporated into a readily usable form. The communication test was done during a two-hour period when the accelerator was running at half its full intensity due to an upcoming scheduled downtime. Regular MINERvA interaction data was collected at the same time the communication test was being carried out.
Today, most communication is carried out by sending and receiving electromagnetic waves. That is how our radios, cell phones, and televisions operate. But electromagnetic waves don't pass easily through most types of matter. They get blocked by water and mountains and many other liquids and solids. Neutrinos, on the other hand, regularly pass through entire planets without being disturbed. Because of their neutral electric charge and almost non-existent mass, neutrinos are not subject to magnetic attractions and are not significantly altered by gravity, so they are virtually free of impediments to their motion.
The message that the scientists sent using neutrinos was translated into binary code. In other words, the word "neutrino" was represented by a series of 1's and 0's, with the 1's corresponding to a group of neutrinos being fired and the 0's corresponding to no neutrinos being fired. The neutrinos were fired in large groups because they are so evasive that even with a multi-ton detector, only about one in ten billion neutrinos are detected. After the neutrinos were detected, a computer on the other end translated the binary code back into English, and the word "neutrino" was successfully received.
"Neutrinos have been an amazing tool to help us learn about the workings of both the nucleus and the universe," said Deborah Harris, Minerva project manager, "but neutrino communication has a long way to go before it will be as effective."
Minerva is an international collaboration of nuclear and particle physicists from 21 institutions that study neutrino behavior using a detector located at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago. This is the first neutrino experiment in the world to use a high-intensity beam to study neutrino reactions with nuclei of five different target materials, creating the first side-by-side comparison of interactions. This will help complete the picture of neutrinos and allow data to be more clearly interpreted in current and future experiments.

Picture 1: Communication with neutrinos


A neutrino (English pronunciation: /njuːˈtriːnoʊ/, Italian pronunciation: [neuˈtriːno]) is an electrically neutral, weakly interacting elementary subatomic particle with a half-integer spin, chirality and a disputed but small non-zero mass. It is able to pass through ordinary matter almost unaffected. The neutrino (meaning "small neutral one" in Italian) is denoted by the Greek letter ν (nu).
Neutrinos do not carry electric charge, which means that they are not affected by the electromagnetic forces that act on charged particles such as electrons and protons. Neutrinos are affected only by the weak sub-atomic force, of much shorter range than electromagnetism, and gravity, which is relatively weak on the subatomic scale, and are therefore able to travel great distances through matter without being affected by it.
Neutrinos are created as a result of certain types of radioactive decay, or nuclear reactions such as those that take place in the Sun, in nuclear reactors, or when cosmic rays hit atoms. There are three types, or "flavors", of neutrinos: electron neutrinos, muon neutrinos and tau neutrinos. Each type also has a corresponding antiparticle, called an antineutrino with an opposite chirality.
Most neutrinos passing through the Earth emanate from the Sun. About 65 billion (6.5×1010) solar neutrinos per second pass through every square centimeter perpendicular to the direction of the Sun in the region of the Earth.
In September 2011, neutrinos apparently moving faster than light were detected (see OPERA neutrino anomaly). Since then the experiment has undergone extensive critique and efforts to replicate the results because confirming the results would change our understanding of the theory of relativity.



Source: PhysOrg.com.

Altera SDK for OpenCL

Industry’s First FPGA Support for OpenCL – Eases the Adoption of FPGAs for Accelerating Heterogeneous Systems


Open Computing Language or OpenCL is an open, royalty-free standard for cross-platform, parallel programming of hardware accelerators, including CPUs, GPGPUs and FPGAs. The Altera SDK for OpenCL offers a unified, high-level design flow for hardware and software development that automates the time-consuming tasks required in typical hardware-design language (HDL) flows. The OpenCL tool flow automatically converts OpenCL kernel functions into custom FPGA hardware accelerators, adds interface IPs, builds interconnect logic and generates the FPGA programming file. The SDK includes libraries that link to OpenCL API calls within a host program running on the CPU. By automatically handling these steps, designers are able to focus their development efforts on defining and iterating their algorithms rather than designing hardware.

The portability of the OpenCL code enables users to migrate their designs to different FPGAs or SoC FPGAs as their application requirements evolve. With SoC FPGAs, the CPU host is embedded into the FPGA, providing a single-chip solution that delivers significantly higher bandwidth and lower latency between the CPU host and the FPGA compared to using two discrete devices.

The Altera SDK for OpenCL enables programmers to leverage the massively parallel, fine-grained architectures featured in FPGAs to accelerate parallel computation. Unlike CPUs and GPGPUs, where parallel threads are executed across an array of cores, FPGAs allow kernel functions to be transformed into dedicated, deeply pipelined hardware circuits that are multithreaded using the concept of pipeline parallelism. Each of these pipelines can be replicated many times to provide even more parallelism by allowing multiple threads to execute in parallel. The result is an FPGA-based solution that can deliver >5X performance/Watt compared to alternative hardware implementations.


Source: Altera.

All-Paper Li-Ion Battery

Researchers develop All-Paper Li-Ion Battery

Researchers from the Laboratoire de Génie des Procédés Papetiers (LGP2) in Grenoble, in collaboration with the Politechnico di Torino, have developed a new Li-ion paper-based battery in which the polymer electrodes have been replaced by paper electrodes.
The toxic solvent has been removed and the fluorinated binder has been replaced by cellulose fibers and microfibrils.
Using a simple filtration in aqueous medium procedure, the fibers are destructured at the nanometric scale, thus forming a 3D network which provides both mechanical resistance and good contact between the conducting particles. The demonstrator is in the maturation process, supported by GRAVIT and the researchers are seeking industrial partners for further development and commercialization.