University Electronics

The next generation of aircraft could be thinner and lighter, says Bristol University, thanks to the development of a new imaging technique. It could, according to the university, detect damage previously invisible to acoustic imaging systems. The key, apparently, is “imaging of acoustic nonlinearity”.  This is sensitive to physical properties such as material microstructure and mechanical damage. The researchers at the University ...

The final barrier preventing energy suppliers making the switch from AC power grids to DC systems could now be removed, thanks to research carried out at the University of Birmingham.

Research at the University of Southampton is concerned with turning the moon into “a giant particle detector”. It’s a bid to better understand the origin of Ultra-High-Energy (UHE) cosmic rays. According to Southampton: The origin of UHE cosmic rays is one of the great mysteries in astrophysics. Nobody knows where these extremely rare cosmic rays come from or how they ...

Research at the University of Surrey suggests that graphene-treated nanowires could have a role to play in touchscreen technology. It may, says the university, significantly reduce production costs and allow more affordable, flexible displays. Researchers from both the University of Surrey and AMBER, the materials science centre based at Trinity College Dublin, have apparently demonstrated how graphene-treated nanowires can be ...

A potential challenger to graphene has been discovered by researchers from the University of Southampton’s Optoelectronics Research Centre, writes Richard Wilson.

As part of the University of Sheffield’s Festival of the Mind, the city will host themed events on robot technology. As well as a series of lectures and a couple of exhibitions, there will be live public demonstrations of advanced robots in action. Specifically, there will be a series of five lectures taking place between the 19th and the 25th ...

Raytheon and Newcastle University are to work together to enhance the performance of SiC electronic devices, specifically for Raytheon’s own SiC CMOS process, writes David Manners.

New graphene research could, says the University of Manchester, pave the way for devices with ultra-high frequencies, such as electronic or photovoltaic sensors. Researchers, led by University of Manchester Nobel laureate Sir Kostya Novoselov, have found that sandwiching layers of graphene with white graphene could produce designer materials capable of creating high-frequency electronic devices. They carefully aligned two graphene electrodes ...

The University of Bristol will receive a high resolution imaging and spectroscopy system – the first of its kind in the UK, claims the university – courtesy of a £1.87m grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The NanoESCA is an Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) Photo Electron Emission Microscopy (PEEM) system with “state-of-the-art resolution” for real-space and ...

Graphene research is not restricted to Manchester and Cambridge in the UK – researchers at the University of Surrey (and Trinity College Dublin) have been investigating its use for sensors. It seems ordinary rubber bands can be turned into strain sensors by infusing them with graphene flakes. Bands around wrist, chest and neck have been used to measure pulse and ...