New Computer Simulations Help Scientists Advance Energy-Efficient Microelectronics

Researchers have developed FerroX, a new open-source, 3D simulation framework that could advance record-breaking energy efficiency in microelectronics by unveiling the microscopic origins of a physical phenomenon called negative capacitance in ferroelectric thin films.

Measuring the computer chips to identify defects using computational imaging and EUV (extreme ultra-violet) light.

Measuring computer chips to identify defects during manufacturing is crucial to improve production yield. Scientists from Delft and Utrecht investigated a novel imaging technique using EUV light—a high-energy short-wavelength radiation—to examine the 3D nanoscale structures on the chips. This technique eliminates the need to use any imaging system containing expensive EUV reflective mirrors in the measurement tool. Instead, images are reconstructed computationally from acquired diffraction data, resulting in a significant cost reduction.

How Scientists Are Accelerating Next-Gen Microelectronics

In a new Q&A, microelectronics expert and CHiPPS Director Ricardo Ruiz shares his perspective on keeping pace with Moore’s Law in the decades to come through a revolutionary technique called extreme ultraviolet lithography.

Quantum tunneling in graphene advances the age of terahertz wireless communications

Scientists from MIPT, Moscow Pedagogical State University and the University of Manchester have created a highly sensitive terahertz detector based on the effect of quantum-mechanical tunneling in graphene. The sensitivity of the device is already superior to commercially available analogs based on semiconductors and superconductors, which opens up prospects for applications of the graphene detector in wireless communications, security systems, radio astronomy, and medical diagnostics. The research results are published in a high-rank journal Nature Communications.