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World firsts for Flash memories

What is claimed as the world’s first 32Gbytes 48-layer BiCS FLASH device with a three-dimensional (3D) stacked cell structure has been developed and launched by the Toshiba Corporation. It features triple-level cell (TLC) technology which is a type of solid-st...

By Paul Whytock | 18-08-2015

Conquering the 44 zettabyte data mountain

The amount of data that will be swirling around planet Earth is set to explode during the final years of this decade and will reach the biblical proportion of around 44zettabytes (ZB). To put that in perspective 1zettabyte is the data equivalent of 250 billion...

By Paul Whytock | 12-08-2015

Mobile Phones & Male Fertility: Unveiling the Connection

In the age of constant connectivity, our mobile phones have become almost an extension of ourselves. But have you ever stopped to consider the potential health implications of keeping your phone in your trouser pocket? The question may sound peculiar, but a gr...

By Paul Whytock | 10-08-2015

Resistive RAM Instability Problems Solved Making 28nm Embedded Apps a Reality

The problems of filament instability in resistive RAM (RRAM) technology have been cracked in a joint effort by Japanese electronics conglomerate Panasonic and research centre Imec. The two organizations say this paves the way to making 28nm embedded applicatio...

By Paul Whytock | 28-07-2015

Linear Quadratic Estimation: Navigating a Way Through the Urban Canyons

How can an 85-year-old Hungarian help car navigate the crowded streets of London, Shanghai or New York? It turns out that a talented gentleman's work in mathematics is becoming increasingly important in many different areas of transportation and navigation. Th...

By Nick Pummell | 23-07-2015

Arsenic Phosphorus (BAP): Could This be the Poison Pill for Graphene?

The straight answer to that is an unequivocal no. But black arsenic phosphorus (BAP) could provide an extremely interesting alternative when it comes to producing infinitesimally thin layers of atoms that could be used in transistors. However, graphene has alr...

By Paul Whytock | 16-07-2015

Automotive MCU Product Line Dedicated to Simplifying & Accelerating Software Developement

Today’s high-end cars contain more lines of software code than modern jet fighters, with luxury models running up to 100 million lines of code compared to a mere 6 million in jumbo-sized passenger aircraft. Moreover, the amount of in-car software can only incr...

By Paul Whytock | 08-07-2015

Specifying High-Speed Data Connectors: 5 Things You Should Know

The increasing need for speed in high-end consumer electronics such as gaming and entertainment systems shows little sign of slowing down. Faster and faster computer and smartphone processing rates mean data exchange is accelerating. Maintaining signal integri...

By Marco Enge | 07-07-2015

Electric Cars. 130 Years On and Still Stuck in Second Gear

Expensive to buy and run, lack of range, slow charging from inadequate networks and environmentally not the saviours of the planet we are led to believe. These are just some of the reasons why sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are still plodding along in the sl...

By Paul Whytock | 02-07-2015

Collaboration proliferation: June's Top Five Technical Joint Ventures

Unlike national newspapers, corporate collaborations and technical joint ventures (JVs) don’t have a silly summer season. In fact, where national media can sometimes struggle for hard news during the balmy sunshine months, it seems that the electronics busines...

By Paul Whytock | 24-06-2015

Chocolate vs Electronics? When It Comes to Beating Strokes My Money's on Both

As a committed consumer of dark Swiss chocolate, research saying that downing a daily helping could reduce the risk of cardiac disease and increase stroke prevention came as very good news to me. Researchers at the University of Aberdeen have concluded that ea...

By Paul Whytock | 17-06-2015

Will Intel's Expensive Push Into Programmable Logic be a Buck to Far?

Financially Intel is no slouch, with its market capitalisation of close to $148 billion, but the amount it’s paid to get its hands on Altera’s programmable logic expertise is serious stuff. You’ve got to want something very badly to splash out close to $17 bil...

By Paul Whytock | 10-06-2015

Demystifying Medical Power Supplies: MOP, MOPP and MOOP

Electrical safety for medical devices is governed by IEC/EN 60601-1, which details measures to guard against electric shock. Since the introduction of the 3rd edition of the standard, this situation has become a lot more complicated. Here’s a quick guide which...

By Philip Lechner | 02-06-2015

Californian companies to collaborate on developing integrated GaN and Silicon devices

Hot on the heels of its recent tie-up with the Large Hadron Collider people at Cern, Switzerland, Integrated Device Technology (IDT) has announced its latest collaboration. The Californian chip company is teaming up with Efficient Power Conversion (EPC), a lea...

By Paul Whytock | 27-05-2015