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There's progress in better chip performance and lower cost. But system-level attention needs more focus to reduce the costs of supporting drivers, thermal management, optics, and package housings. Solid-state LED [...]

Leading-edge technologies coming together promise to revolutionize healthcare by focusing on the patient, reducing costs, accelerating diagnostics and therapeutics, and improving delivery. The convergence of four pervasive technologies--ubiquitous sensing, wireless [...]

Processing, assembly, packaging, and testing disciplines are being honed to meet the demands of new materials and performance requirements across a very wide spectrum of applications. Microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) designers are [...]

INNOVATIVE ICs, SENSORS, AND SOFTWARE ALGORITHMS ARE FUELING STATE-OF-THE-ART IMPLANTS, PROSTHETICS, AND DRUG DELIVERY AND MANAGEMENT. Advances in electronic hardware and software are allowing us to live longer. They're driving [...]

The use of solid-state LED light bulbs catching on, driven by better performance and lower costs. This is particularly obvious in the commercial and industrial sectors as well as in [...]

As the use of electronics in all sectors of society grows, so does the need for more efficient, higher-level, and more cost-effective power sources. This in turn is spearheading the [...]

Factory and plant process automation are being re-invented thanks to advances in wireless sensor communications for industrial applications. These innovations are empowering automation engineers to blend old manufacturing know-how with [...]

Electronic medical implant technology is getting better and safer, promising a larger market for commercialization soon and giving patients greater hope for improved treatment. Prodded by consumer and regulatory concerns [...]

Smatter, cheaper, and yes, smaller microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors and actuators have taken the consumer electronics sector by storm. They've infiltrated conventional consumer products across the board, from smart mobile [...]

Today, the spotlight beams down brighter than ever on LEDs to provide more energy-efficient, lower-cost illumination. Underscoring that urgency, the International Energy Agency says that lighting accounts for about 19% [...]

There's a revolution in medical imaging. The technology is moving into areas that were unheard of not long ago, driven by rapid advances in DSPs, FPGAs, analog front ends (AFEs), [...]

AFTER SEVERAL YEARS of trying to perfect the technology of 3D IC packaging, the stage is now set for fruitful results. In fact, several IC industry experts predict that this [...]

A 'SYSTEM-LEVEL' APPROACH is galvanizing the technology of microelectromechanical-system (MEMS) devices into a boundless number of applications that are poised to emerge. It involves the integration of MEMS-based sensors, actuators, [...]

As consumer demands for 'smaller' and 'faster' intensify, mammoth challenges emerge when it comes to beating the heat generated by ever-denser printed-circuit boards (PCBs). As stacked-up microprocessors and logic elements [...]

The wait may finally be over for engineers in the industrial sector looking for truly efficient, less costly machine-vision systems. A series of technological advances--high-performance and smart image sensing cameras, [...]

The long-term prognosis for medical diagnostics, treatments, and therapies looks healthier than ever judging from the latest wave of microelectronic sensors and sensory implants. They give healthcare providers greater levels [...]

The picture is getting brighter for solid-state LED lighting, applications spreading worldwide for indoor and outdoor illumination, automotive interiors, backlighting for TVs and monitors, mobile phones and other consumer electronics, [...]

Semiconductor IC technology is forming the bedrock of portable and affordable medical equipment, much of it for personal use at home, at a local clinic, or even while traveling. Driving [...]

A never-ending parade of refinements to IC packaging gives engineers more choices than ever to meet their design requirements. With more radical approaches lurking on the horizon, that mix will [...]

Electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technologies are on a roll. Major automotive manufacturers around the world have unveiled or are on the verge of unveiling many such [...]

The population is aging and medical costs are soaring, creating a greater need for home-based healthcare solutions. These pressures have led to an increase in the number of healthcare devices [...]

Microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) devices have matured into commodity market components whose use is growing in many familiar applications, such as consumer, automotive, medical, and environmental electronics. Yet many MEMS device manufacturers [...]

The lighting is on the wall: Solid state is threatening to dismantle the dominion of incandescent and compact fluorescent light (CFL) sources. Illumination applications based on solid-state lighting are slowly […]

A quiet revolution is sweeping through automotive in-vehicle, vehicle-to-vehicle, and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications and networking. Companies as well as standards organizations continue to successfully tackle major design challenges, such as the […]

Rising healthcare costs, a stretched-thin number of medical providers, longer life expectancies, and a growing number of elderly and disabled patients are transforming the face of medical care. Decentralization--moving healthcare […]

The automobile and electronics industries are struggling mightily through this economic tumult. Straddling these two giants, however, is a shining beacon--auto electronics. At last year's Convergence Conference, a panel of […]

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology continues to buck the industry's current economic struggles, carving out lucrative applications in numerous display and lighting applications. And indications show that active-matrix (AM) OLEDs […]

The latest generation of CMOS and charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensors features wider spectral bandwidths, higher sensitivity levels, lower noise operation, and smaller form factors. Better fabrication processes help lower […]

What's that rumbling? It's the ever-loudening boom expected to stand the silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) microphone market on its collective ears. Forecasters say the market explosion will really unfold after […]

Picture this: A heart patient is experiencing fluid buildup in the lungs--an early sign of heart failure. But, an implantable sensory medical device in the patient emits a signal to […]

Of all the leading display technologies, none has generated more excitement as the display technology of the future than organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). OLEDs possess all of the positive attributes […]

In the never-ending battle to add more end-user value, the focus among automotive component and car manufacturers has turned to improving safety and control for vehicles. Driver assistance, collision prediction […]

Text, blog, or twitter hands-free while driving. Access your car's iPod media player to change tracks and adjust the volume without lifting a finger. Even host a three-way telephone call […]

The push is on for IC packages in smaller form factors, not only length- and width-wise, but also height-wise. Hence, the term '3D ICs.' Smaller form factors require greater density, […]

Demand for devices that can sense motion, orientation, and location is surging, and it runs the gamut from the hottest video games to critical medical technology. With accelerometers and gyroscopes […]

Advances in robotics technology are completely transforming today's hospital operating rooms. With robot control and assistance, surgery for any kind of injury or ailment is faster, more accurate, and less […]

You see them in blockbuster movies and high-tech TV shows--biometric systems that rely on fingerprints, facial recognition, and other physical and behavioral data to provide identification. But these technologies have […]

As IC device dimensions shrink and heat management and dissipation become tougher-than-ever challenges, one simply cannot overestimate the importance of sensing IC temperature. In particular, temperature sensing has become ubiquitous, […]

Intelligent video's expanding presence in all sorts of applications is driven by several factors: the shift from analog to digital sensing; improved wired and wireless networking; and more sophisticated software. […]

For many years, engineers successfully integrated optics and electronics by using a standard silicon CMOS process for small-bandwidth structures like photodetectors. Advances in performance and integration densities continue to energize […]

Planning to design a portable streaming-video product? Be prepared, because several design challenges stand in the way. The wide selection of hardware and software that's available may seem like an […]

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), home healthcare is the fastest-growing segment of the medical device industry. Longer life spans, an increasing number of patients with chronic […]

How much can one package take? As consumer electronics design features scale down to 45-nm and even 32-nm nodes, IC makers are pushed to the limits to shoehorn more functionality […]

These days, drivers and passengers want--and tend to expect--all of the technological comforts of home out on the road. But consumer demand for traditional in-vehicle infotainment systems like CD players […]