Tag Archives: microelectronics

New Twist on Ancient Math Problem Could Improve Medicine, Microelectronics

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A hidden facet of a math problem that goes back to timeworn Sanskrit manuscripts has just been exposed by nanotechnology researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Connecticut.

It turns out we’ve been missing a version of the famous “packing problem,” and its new guise could have implications for cancer treatment, secure wireless networks, microelectronics and demolitions, the researchers say.

Called the “filling problem,” it seeks the best way to cover the inside of an object with a particular shape, such as filling a triangle with discs of varying sizes. Unlike the traditional packing problem, the discs can overlap. It also differs from the “covering problem” because the discs can’t extend beyond the triangle’s boundaries. (more…)

Read More

Innovation Served on a Napkin: How GTRI Moved a Simple Idea From Inspiration to Fabrication

A ground-breaking innovation, birthed in a sudden flash of insight, is the stuff of legend. Air conditioning, Kevlar, the DNA-replicating process known as PCR (polymerase chain reaction) — each was the product of a Eureka! moment. The list may soon be longer by one, thanks to a wandering mind and a napkin.

When Jud Ready attended an academic conference on materials science in Boston in 2003, he didn’t plan on coming home with the idea for a three-dimensional solar cell, but that’s what happened. (more…)

Read More

IBM Honors the 25th Anniversary of High-Temperature Superconductivity

*IBM scientists, J. Georg Bednorz and K. Alex Muller, discovered the first successful high-temperature superconductor using a breakthrough ceramic material*

ZURICH – 18 Apr 2011: Twenty-five years ago IBM scientists, J. Georg Bednorz and K. Alex Muller altered the landscape of physics when they observed superconductivity in an oxide material at a temperature 50 percent higher(1), (-238 deg C, -397 deg F) than what was previously known. This discovery opened an entirely new chapter in the field of physics and earned them the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1987.

Their now seminal paper titled, “Possible High Tc Superconductivity in the Ba – La – Cu – O System”(2) was received by the peer-reviewed journal Zeitschrift fur Physik B on 17 April 1986. (more…)

Read More

2011 Common Platform Technology Forum to Feature Leading-Edge Manufacturing Solutions from IBM, Samsung and GLOBALFOUNDRIES

*Daylong event January 18 will highlight technology delivery at 32/28nm and beyond* 

SANTA CLARA, Calif., – 02 Dec 2010: IBM Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd., and GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced the 2011 Common Platform Technology Forum will be held Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California’s Silicon Valley. This free, daylong event will feature the Common Platform’s innovative collaboration to deliver semiconductor manufacturing solutions that address the challenges of the 32/28nm technology generation and beyond.  (more…)

Read More

Made in IBM Labs: New Chip Technology Paves the Way to a Faster Internet

*Helps networks to keep pace with exploding number of internet users — from people to machines*

ARMONK, N.Y., – 09 Nov 2010: IBM today announced a new chip-making technology that can be used to create advanced semiconductors that can keep pace with the exploding number of internet-connected devices and the tidal wave of data they are generating.

The Cu-32 Custom Logic offering employs unique IBM technology — designed by IBM Research — to dramatically increase the memory capacity and processing speeds of chips used in fiber-optic and wireless networks, and in such gear as routers and switches. The technology can help manufacturers and network operators handle the data deluge driven by consumers’ appetites for smart phones and other Web-connected devices. (more…)

Read More

IBM Reports 2010 Third-Quarter Results

ARMONK, N.Y. – 18 Oct 2010:

  • Diluted earnings per share of $2.82, up 18 percent;
  • 31 consecutive quarters of EPS growth, 13 of last 15 at double digits;
  • Full-year 2010 EPS expectations raised to at least $11.40;
  • Net income of $3.6 billion, up 12 percent;
  • Net margin of 14.8 percent, up 1.1 points;
  • Revenue of $24.3 billion, up 3 percent as reported, 4 percent adjusting for currency;
  • Growth markets revenue up 16 percent, 13 percent adjusting for currency;
  • BRIC countries revenue up 29 percent, 26 percent adjusting for currency;
  • Business analytics revenue up 14 percent;
  • Systems and Technology revenue up 10 percent, 11 percent adjusting for currency;
  • System z mainframe revenue up 15 percent; MIPS up 54 percent;
  • Software revenue excluding divested PLM operations, up 4 percent, 6 percent adjusting for currency; up 1 percent including divested PLM operations;
  • Services revenue up 2 percent, as reported and adjusting for currency;
  • Services backlog of $134 billion, up $5 billion quarter to quarter, down $2 billion adjusting for currency, and flat year over year. (more…)

Read More