Extreme ultraviolet lithography gets good news and bad news
A new detector-based testing process, confirmed by a NIST UV synchrotron, shows that EUV lithography photoresists are twice as sensitive as previously thought. This means photoresists are almost production ready, but, unfortunately, optical systems now in use are only half as effective.
Ocean temps, sea level increases 50% higher then previously thought
Using statistical techniques that “infill” information to data-spare regions, Lawrence Livermore National Lab scientists have significantly revised their findings on thermal expansion and warming. More importantly, they’ve concluded their modeling approaches are more realistic than previously conjectured.
A Factor of Four
We tend to take speed for granted, especially that of information. Ever higher rates of data transmission are fully expected, and with the petabyte becoming common , our need for faster networks clearly remains at hand.
Auroras are beautiful but not so great for GPS
The current lack of sunspots (as reported in yesterday’s R&D Daily) is good news for satellite communications. Yet electrical activity in the ionosphere still frequently disrupts global positioning gadgets. Recent efforts at predicting these disruptions—often manifested by auroras—have proved fruitful.
Marine organisms sequester carbon. But how, exactly?
We now know the mechanism for phosphorous sequestration by oceanic diatoms, thanks to recent research. Scientists are hoping we can use this pipeline to reach conclusions on what part aquatic biomass plays in the global carbon cycle.
Wearable sensor tape will tell the tale of explosive blasts
A new jet-printing project now underway at Palo Alto Research Center will hopefully result in wearable electronic sensor tape that is able to record data associated with explosive blasts. The innovation will likely build on a variety of printed electronics materials and flexible electronics for devices like x-ray detectors.
World’s largest industrial sensor brain keeps an “eye” on sewage
The largest wireless industrial network of its kind will soon be in place in the city of South Bend, Ind. The hope is that the 100-plus sensors, connected to automatic valves, will mitigate the messy results of storm runoff. The trick is make the system function under challenging conditions.
Portable diagnostic biosensors close in on market reality
A partnership between BIOIDENT Technologies and the U.S. Naval Research Lab aims to bring lab-on-a-chip bionsensors to fruition. The technology, based on printed organic semiconductor materials, will save cost and size with features such as organic photodiode readouts, microfluidics, and chemiluminescent assays.
Noise thermometer could firm up not-so-constant “constants”
Despite being known as a constant, the Kelvin suffers from inaccuracies from lab to lab because it’s been based the measurement of objects or substances. A new method from NIST based on electrical noise promises to improve metrology accuracy by a factor of five, and be consistent no matter where it is used.
Fingerprints on cartridge revealed even after it is fired Crime with firearms gets even more challenging. Research in the UK into how human skin can corrode metal surfaces has led to a way of obtaining fingerprints from spent ammunition casings. The technique works by applying an electric charge to casings coated in a fine conductive power.
Baby teeth find their way back to the laboratory In the 1960s, tens of thousands of baby teeth were collected from St. Louis-area families to study the effects of radiation from atmospheric nuclear tests. Found nearly 40 years later, the teeth are showing their scientific use again in to help link radiation exposure with cancer.
Thousands of trees sacrificed for climate understanding This experiment was bigger than most. Univ. of Michigan researchers recently girdled about 7,000 aspens grown specifically to gauge the amount of carbon dioxide the trees will absorb in the coming years. By getting a larger picture of the role trees play in carbon storage scientists can make predictions about Midwest forests that are rapidly changing.
Save time and money through constant tracking Bluetooth is common form of transmitting information over short distances, but a network of such devices, engineers at Purdue believe, could be used to create a network to track the time it take people and cars to travel from place to place. They’ve demonstrated a small network that could provide valuable information to industry.
Upwelling of acidified ocean water more than 50 years early NOAA scientists monitor flows of deep water onto continental shelves have found evidence of mass amounts of acidified water, the result, they say, of the ocean's absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This seasonal impact of acidified water has come much sooner than some scientists were expecting.
Packed with carbon nanotubes, sensors roots out biohazards Early Warning Inc., which licensed the technology from NASA, isn’t releasing a lot of details about its new sensor, but we do know it relies on millions of nanotubes generating an electric signal when in the presence of specific illness-causing hazards, whether in water or food.
An era of RF farming takes shape down under Australians are accustomed to water shortages on their arid continent, giving rise to telemetry-enabled farming practices. A combination of solar-powered pumps, remote water flow gauges and even cameras are saving huge amounts of money and conserving a precious resource.
Hyperaccumulator fern cleans up heavy metal-polluted soil China, which has nearly 300,000 mines, has had to deal with heavy metal contamination composed mostly of arsenic. A type of brake fern endemic to China could literally be a green solution—thermogravimetric experimentation shows the plant is able to hold an exceptional concentration of the element.
NASA report: humans the culprit for climate change A collaborative examination of global climate change pooled the resources of 10 institutions to show human activities have wrought changes across a wide range of natural systems. The effort, says study leader NASA, is the first to link global temperature data sets, climate model results, and observed changes in such a rigorous manner.
Underground tunnels stand in as giant waveguides Underground communications have always been hampered by limited radio range. But NIST research on weak-signal transmissions in large buildings revealed a “sweet spot” at which wavelengths travel much further in tunnels. The discovery will aid development of systems for emergency responders.
Creeping wave used to create “wireless body area network” Bioelectromagnetic experts in the UK have capitalized on the tendency for a human body’s skin to propagate certain radio wavelengths. Their antennas can be attached wirelessly to the body, gathering biometric data to be access by physicians online or by cell phone.
Lake Baikal responds to climate change A decades-long study of Lake Baikal—an effort that survived the reign of Stalin and the fall of the Soviet Union—shows that the world’s largest body of freshwater is warming, trending the way of other large lakes. Scientists previously thought the lake would be immune to warming effects.
Lab-on-a-chip technology to go searching for Martian life Remember the meteorites rumored to contain evidence of biological life. A new instrument that is accompanying a European Space Agency mission to Mars has been designed eliminate doubts about the biological, or non-biological, origins of extraterrestrial materials. The palm-size device can both heat and freeze-dry samples using a laser-enabled microfluidic sensor.
U.S. Climate Reference Network nears conclusion of major overhaul Dotting the American landscape are more than 1,000 small climatology data stations and more than 100 larger stations tracking national temperature and precipitation trends. NOAA, which oversees this system, hopes the new data will give scientists and the public a better long-term view of climate change in the U.S., and help predict changes such as drought.
Zero Shaping for Tough Tuning PID command control is a time-honored tool used by many modern industrial facilities. These days, loop tuning setups rely on optimization software to help deliver consistent results.
RF is Expanding with MIMO Technology Keithley Instruments, Cleveland, Ohio, recently announced a partnership with the Institute of Mobile Communications (IMC) at the Southwest Jiaotong Univ. in Chengdu, Sichuan, a major city in the southwest area of China.
Last Thursday, the R&D Daily made one of its occasional forays into the fast-paced world of semiconductor technology, specifically extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). According to new measurements from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the photoresists designed for use with this hotly-anticipated new technology are twice as effective is previously thought.
The discrepancy was caused by an older measurement method. Unfortunately, it’s not great news for EUV developers because it strongly indicates existing optics are only half as effective as previously thought.
However, judging from a recent conversations with technical leaders at Cymer, a major U.S. maker of radiation sources for semiconductor lithography, the rolling ball that is EUVL won’t be stopped anytime soon.
Cymer is one of just a few companies at the forefront of a race to develop a viable EUV scanner to replace existing 193 nm argon-fluoride-based devices which now dominate the semiconductor industry. Like other companies, it pushing to design a powerful light source in the about 13 nm wavelength range. So far, it has achieved 25 W of continuous power and intends to break 100 W by year’s end. And, like other companies, it must deal with the intense heat generated by such light and design robust optics which are efficient enough to achieve conversion goals.
Only with adequate conversion efficiency will developers of EUVL be in a position to deliver the performance needed when the market wants it.
It remains to be seen whether EUVL is the new standard in 2012 (the target date for widespread adoption of new scanners). But R&D Magazine will be closely following the progress of this and other technologies aimed at the next-generation of microchips; the push to keep us on the path of that oft-cited economic law of Gordon Moore will continue to surprise us.
