https://techxplore.com/rss-feed/semiconductors-news/ en-us The latest news on electronics and semiconductor technology developments From blinking and smiling to jaw clenching and eyebrow raising, faces are constantly in motion—and generating tiny amounts of energy along the way. Now, Northwestern University engineers are putting that energy to work. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-powered-glasses-harvest-mechanical-energy.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:40:06 EDT news711116881 Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, only a few atomic layers thick, are promising materials for making AI chips faster and more energy efficient by stacking additional semiconductor layers on top of existing computing circuits. However, when crystals form at multiple random locations during growth, it is difficult to produce high-quality semiconductors at the desired positions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-scientists-2d-semiconductor-crystals-key.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 13 Oct 2026 11:40:16 EDT news711109801 Inside the human brain, billions of individual neurons connect to form a vast network capable of rapidly processing information and electrical signals. A team of researchers and engineers at Penn State is taking inspiration from these natural computers to build soft networks of water-based droplets, connected by membranes like those found in the walls of living cells. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-tiny-droplets-soft-networks-brain.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:20:20 EDT news711104512 Integrated circuits are electronic chips containing the interconnected components that process information or control electrical signals inside many electronic devices. These chips are known to generate heat as they operate, which can affect the safety and performance of electronics. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-vapor-channels-powerful-chips-cool.html Hardware Mon, 12 Oct 2026 14:40:10 EDT news711030353 Electronic devices are no longer limited to conventional systems with a screen, keyboard and processing components. Over the past decades, some electronics engineers have been developing thin electronic fibers that could be used to create wearable devices or flexible sensors for robots. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-method-electronic-circuits-soft-washable.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 12 Oct 2026 07:40:07 EDT news710757600 Sweat can serve as a real-time source of information about the body's current state. For example, wearable sensors designed to measure sodium and potassium in sweat could provide biochemical information relevant to physiological monitoring. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-wristwatch-wearable-sensor-enables-real.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:40:04 EDT news710767501 Silicon-based microelectronics have powered the digital revolution, but their performance and efficiency are starting to reach limits imposed by the fundamental properties of silicon itself. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-coal-derived-carbon-nanodots-enable.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 09 Oct 2026 11:20:25 EDT news710762641 Just as carbon atoms arranged in different ways can form either graphite or diamond—the hardest natural material—semiconductor materials can also exhibit completely different properties depending on their atomic arrangements. Now, a previously overlooked crystal structure of indium selenide (In2Se3) has been brought to life as a promising material for next-generation logic electronics. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-overlooked-indium-selenide-phase-enables.html Hardware Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:00:31 EDT news710682062 A team of engineers led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst has designed an ultrathin, flexible mesh that seamlessly integrates electronics with human cells to provide a continuous, reliable, powerful electrical supply. The study, published in Science Advances, provides a potential solution to one of the most difficult problems in wearable and implantable electronics: how to get rid of batteries. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-ultrathin-mesh-harvests-energy-human.html Engineering Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:00:01 EDT news710521861 Over the past few decades, electronics engineers have developed increasingly sophisticated implantable medical devices. Reliably powering some of these devices, however, can be challenging, particularly when they are based on stretchable materials that move along with the body. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-wireless-power-medical-implants.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:20:15 EDT news710511805 Science has increasingly used artificial intelligence (AI) as a kind of microscope—sorting data, analyzing images and revealing hidden patterns. Now a new shift is underway: AI that not only breaks down data but also helps scientists decide what to do next through simple, natural language requests. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-agentic-ai-simple-language-ray.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:40:13 EDT news710505903 For decades, silicon transistors have driven computational power, and scientists have devoted much of their time to making them smaller. That is because shrinking these tiny electronic switches that make up computer chips allows manufacturers to pack more of them into the same space, increasing computing power. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-atomically-thin-transistors-surpassing-silicon.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:00:08 EDT news710504881 If computer chips could be built from semiconductors just one atom thick, they could pack far more transistors into a smaller space while using less power. So far, however, the technology has been held back by the weakness of "p-type" transistors, which make up half of every modern chip. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-atom-thin-material-key-transistor.html Hardware Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:20:02 EDT news710410722 You pick up a fragile glass from the table. Without thinking about it, you feel its surface against your fingertips and continuously adjust your grip. You hold it firmly enough to keep it from slipping out of your hand, but not so tightly that it breaks. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-saltwater-sensor-electrical-skin-prosthetic.html Engineering Mon, 28 Sep 2026 15:50:01 EDT news709828131 Neuromorphic devices, which are designed to emulate aspects of biological neural networks, are promising candidates for low-power, intelligent sensing technologies, including wearable applications. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-powered-artificial-synapse-combines-memory.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 28 Sep 2026 15:20:16 EDT news709826881 Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, making up about 30% of total protein and providing structure, strength and elasticity to skin, bones and soft tissues. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-unique-solution-bioelectronics-collagen-cacao.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 28 Sep 2026 10:46:49 EDT news709811074 Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a next-generation electronic skin that can sense and directly visualize pressure in real time, addressing key limitations of current wearable sensing technologies. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-electronic-skin-users-instantly.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 28 Sep 2026 08:40:07 EDT news709803301 Screens are becoming smaller and sharper. This can be seen, for example, in augmented reality glasses and the electronic viewfinders of cameras, some of which have a screen diagonal of less than 1 centimeter (0.4 inches). https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-tiny-oled-pixels-microchips-chemical.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 23 Sep 2026 13:00:09 EDT news709386182 Physics predicts that no more than 33% of the solar energy that falls on a solar panel can be converted into electricity. However, experiments and simulations by scientists at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands revealed a way to harvest extra energy from "hot electrons," which could break this barrier. Their research is published in the journal ACS Energy Letters. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-harvesting-hot-electrons-solar-panel.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:00:10 EDT news708857641 Electronics engineers worldwide have been trying to develop increasingly smaller components that can store and process information while consuming less energy. Ferroelectric materials, which possess spontaneous electrical polarization that can be reversed by an externally applied electric field, have proved promising for the development of denser, more energy-efficient memories and other miniaturized electronic components. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-ferroelectric-material-stable-atomic-thickness.html Engineering Thu, 17 Sep 2026 07:20:08 EDT news708695876 A new approach could help make future AI chips smaller and more energy-efficient. A KAIST-led research team has used a single material to address one of the major obstacles facing atomically thin semiconductors: the difficulty of efficiently injecting charge. The technology could contribute to next-generation AI and low-power semiconductor devices in which multiple ultrathin layers are vertically integrated to increase device density and performance. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-material-transistor-universal-injector-densely.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 16 Sep 2026 15:32:29 EDT news708791526 Remember the solar calculator from middle school math class that had a small solar cell at the top? The idea behind that technology is not a relic of the past but the subject of continuous innovation. Today's indoor solar cells, known as photovoltaics, use new semiconductor materials, such as metal halide perovskite, to convert ambient light into electricity to power small electronic devices without needing batteries or a power outlet. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-thin-harnesses-indoor-power-devices.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 14 Sep 2026 12:20:04 EDT news708605822 Kyocera Corporation and the Research Institute of Electrical Communication (RIEC) at Tohoku University have developed a new technology that integrates optical isolators directly onto silicon photonics chips using laser annealing, a method that applies localized heat treatment using a laser. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-laser-annealing-optical-isolators-silicon.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:20:07 EDT news708341300 A new approach to computing has quietly taken shape at Sandia National Laboratories, where researchers have developed a way to store information that could make future electronics more energy efficient. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-analog-memory-smart-devices-smarter.html Hardware Wed, 09 Sep 2026 12:20:04 EDT news708173885 A working prototype that can see, remember and interact with the world like the human brain could one day underpin smart bionic eyes while using far less energy than today's technologies. The invention from RMIT University combines sensing, memory and information processing within the same system, reducing the need to constantly move data between separate sensors, memory banks and processors. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-smart-bionic-eye-sight.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 08 Sep 2026 16:40:10 EDT news708103561 The field of silicon photonics, which uses light rather than electricity to transmit and process data on semiconductor chips, has enabled optical systems to evolve from bulky setups to compact, advanced systems. Typically, however, these silicon-photonics chips are rigid and opaque. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-09-transparent-silicon-photonics-chips-advanced.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 03 Sep 2026 15:40:07 EDT news707668561 Inside every electronic device, the flow of electricity is controlled by a switch called a transistor. For decades, these switches were made from silicon. More recently, engineers have turned to a material called gallium nitride (GaN), which enables small, efficient devices like smartphone chargers. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-transistor-high-voltage-microchip-scale.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 28 Aug 2026 10:40:03 EDT news707129462 Gold has been the safe choice for perovskite solar cells. We found a way to stop needing it. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-gold-standard-ultrathin-chromium-layer.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 27 Aug 2026 17:20:01 EDT news707043018 Metals, semiconductors and insulators are fundamental components of modern electronics. However, efforts to improve device performance have largely focused on semiconductor quality, while metal crystallinity has received far less attention. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-nanoscale-transistors-contact-resistance-stepwise.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 27 Aug 2026 14:00:13 EDT news707049961 A new set of modular components allows users to create reconfigurable smart devices with electrical connections that keep working no matter what shape the structure forms. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-bifur-circuits-devices-electrical-intact.html Engineering Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:48 EDT news707050816