Mobility of the future… Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, in collaboration with project partners, have succeeded in developing a novel industrial manufacturing process, one that makes it possible to use low-cost FR4 circuit board substrates in power electronics, for example in electric motors. Compared to conventional power electronics made of ceramics, the so-called hybrid printed circuit boards are not only much more versatile, but also up to 20 times cheaper. This could close a gap in…
The right connection… Many devices whose availability and reliability are essential are now electronically controlled. It is simply inconceivable what the consequences would be of the failure of a respirator or a vehicle assistance system. In particular, the soldered joints between the microelectronic components are of special importance. Scientists at Fraunhofer IKTS develop material models based on real measurement data for a wide variety of solder alloys in a uniquely wide temperature range. This makes virtual electronics design more accurate,…
Energy storage is one of the key issues for a sustainable energy supply in the future. Thousands of researchers around the world are currently working on this issue. An exciting project is also currently underway at the Münchberg campus of Hof University of Applied Sciences. Here, new types of ice batteries for cooling applications are being researched, which can help to sustainably reduce energy and CO2. They are powered by surplus solar energy. We talked about this with Tushar Sharma,…
In a new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances; DOI https://doi.org/10.29026/oea.2021.200006, Researchers led by Professor Junsuk Rho from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), South Korea consider switchable diurnal radiative cooling by doped VO2. As the impacts of climate change are increasingly felt, thermoregulation technologies that do not consume external energy have attracted considerable attention in the field of energy-saving applications. Radiative cooling has received much research interest for its ability to cool an object even under direct solar illumination. Nanostructured…
In battery-powered applications, in the automotive sector and in IT infrastructures 48 V technology is on the rise. In this voltage class, gallium nitride (GaN) power transistors offer the best compromise between safety, compactness and efficiency. Now, scientists at Fraunhofer IAF have presented pioneering integration concepts with GaN-based integrated circuits (ICs) for low-voltage applications. Whether battery-powered applications such as e-bikes, robotics or drones, drive and board systems in mobility, or IT infrastructures—all these sectors rely on cost-effective, efficient and compact…
Measuring the process in unprecedented detail gives them clues to how to minimize the problem and protect battery performance. When lithium ions flow in and out of a battery electrode during charging and discharging, a tiny bit of oxygen seeps out and the battery’s voltage – a measure of how much energy it delivers – fades an equally tiny bit. The losses mount over time, and can eventually sap the battery’s energy storage capacity by 10-15%. Now researchers have measured…
A team at Landshut University of Applied Sciences has developed a low-cost, mobile near-infra-red spectrometer which provides information about different substances; the goal is its further development up to and including the classification of substances. Sugar or sweetener? Cotton or wool? Fake or genuine? At first glance, the average consumer finds it hard to tell the substances that food or textile products actually contain. Equipment which uses infra-red measurement to identify materials can provide quick answers to these questions, though….
Insulator strings connect the live conductor to overhead-line towers. Researchers at TU Graz simulated for the first time when and under what conditions different loads act on these strings. Overhead lines will thus be made even safer. Though small and inconspicuous, they literally play a supporting role in the operational safety of high-voltage lines: insulator strings. They connect the live conductor to the overhead-line towers. Due to their low conductivity, they prevent the circuit from being closed via the towers…
A research team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has created an electronic microsystem that can intelligently respond to information inputs without any external energy input, much like a self-autonomous living organism. The microsystem is constructed from a novel type of electronics that can process ultralow electronic signals and incorporates a device that can generate electricity “out of thin air” from the ambient environment. The groundbreaking research was published June 7 in the journal Nature Communications. Jun Yao, an assistant…
Produced in a sustainable way, synthetic fuels contribute to switching mobility to renewable energy and to achieving the climate goals in road traffic. In the mobility demonstrator “move” Empa researchers are investigating the production of synthetic methane from an energy, technical and economic perspective – a project with global potential. Mobility analyses show: Only a small proportion of all vehicles are responsible for the majority of the kilometers driven. We are talking above all about long-distance trucks that transport goods…
In a joint experimental and theoretical effort between Lund University (Sweden), the Russian Academy of Science (Russia), and the Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden at Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), researchers developed a novel spectroscopic technique for the study of charge carrier dynamics in lead halide perovskites – publication in the renowned journal Nature Communications. Metal halide perovskites have been under intense investigation over the last decade due to the remarkable rise in their performance in optoelectronic devices such as solar…
Lithium-ion batteries require in addition to lithium metal a number of sophisticated functional materials for their performance. Some of them sound rather unspectacular: conductive additives. In fact, conductive additives like carbon black or carbon nanotubes are a decisive component for the performance and environmental benignity of lithium-ion batteries. The recently launched collaborative project HiQ-CARB aims to provide new carbons with a superior performance and a low carbon footprint for future green batteries in Europe. HiQ-CARB is receiving EU funding from…
Interactive design tool from Fraunhofer for innovative energy infrastructures. Germany is supposed to become climate-neutral by 2045. The federal govern-ment’s new climate protection law stipulates this. Greenhouse gas emissions are supposed to drop at 65 percent below their 1990 values by the year 2030. Many innovative ideas and solutions are needed to implement this ambitious plan. Together with their partners, research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF are making a contribution in the RIGRID project:…
Electrical engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a technology that improves the resolution of an ordinary light microscope so that it can be used to directly observe finer structures and details in living cells. The technology turns a conventional light microscope into what’s called a super-resolution microscope. It involves a specially engineered material that shortens the wavelength of light as it illuminates the sample–this shrunken light is what essentially enables the microscope to image in higher resolution….
Everyone has gotten an electric shock when touching a door handle. That’s because when two different substances touch, an electrostatic charge can occur that dissipates with a small flash. This frictional electricity can be used, for example, to separate particles in exhaust gases, but it can also unintentionally trigger explosions, for example when flammable liquids or powders are being handled. However, what exactly happens during contact electrification is so far only rudimentarily understood. A team led by experimental physicist Prof….
– the basis for innovative semiconductor devices. The Berlin-based Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH) recently put a sophisticated ion implanter system from High Voltage Engineering Europa B.V. into operation. The highly versatile tool extends the technological capabilities of FBH for in-house research and customer processes. With three different ion sources and the ability to heat substrates, the implanter is ideally suited for the development of innovative semiconductor devices. Among other things, the system enables doping implantations of wide-bandgap semiconductors, whose outstanding material properties…
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