https://techxplore.com/rss-feed/semiconductors-news/ en-us The latest news on electronics and semiconductor technology developments From laptops designed for the artificial intelligence era to advances in robotics and sky-high tech shares, here are five hot topics at Taipei's huge Computex trade show: https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-robots-strain-hot-topics-computex.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 03 Jun 2026 07:20:01 EDT news699688087 As semiconductor chips become increasingly thinner, the components inside chips are locked in a fierce race to achieve the ultimate ultra-thin state. However, this has presented a structural limitation: the thinner the device, the harder it is for electricity to flow. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ultra-thin-semiconductors-limits-localized.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:00:09 EDT news699622374 A Japan–U.S. collaborative research team has demonstrated the world's first integrated spintronic probabilistic bit, or p-bit, fabricated on a silicon chip using semiconductor manufacturing processes. The team, consisting of researchers from Tohoku University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, experimentally verified the operation of the p-bit, a key building block for probabilistic, or p-, computers. The achievement provides a pathway toward large-scale spintronic p-computers for applications such as AI and machine learning. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-world-spintronic-p-bit-silicon.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:40:03 EDT news699614503 Laptop chipmakers such as Intel and AMD should be worried about their new rival Nvidia, experts say, after the US hardware titan announced Monday a push into the personal computer market. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-nvidia-pc-chip-hailed-game.html Hardware Mon, 01 Jun 2026 14:20:03 EDT news699541793 Nvidia unveiled a powerful laptop chip for Windows machines on Monday, staking its claim in the market for next-generation consumer PCs integrated with artificial intelligence. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-nvidia-windows-laptop-chip-ai.html Hardware Mon, 01 Jun 2026 04:16:15 EDT news699506108 Modern artificial intelligence systems rely on moving large amounts of data between memory and processors, a design that limits speed and increases energy use. The human brain works differently: it combines memory and computation within synapses, allowing fast, efficient learning and perception. Replicating this approach in hardware is a central goal of neuromorphic computing, especially for tasks like vision, where most real-world information is gathered and processed. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-photon-driven-synapse-advances-power.html Electronics & Semiconductors Sun, 31 May 2026 15:00:03 EDT news699282021 The rapid expansion of soft robots and smart electronic devices is driving demand for materials that can not only move and adapt, but also complete their missions without leaving behind unwanted traces. As these technologies are increasingly explored for health care, environmental monitoring, infrastructure inspection, and security applications, robots and devices are expected to operate in places where human access is limited—such as narrow pipes, sealed spaces, underground facilities, and hazardous environments. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-dual-mode-magnetic-elastomer-demand.html Robotics Sun, 31 May 2026 10:40:02 EDT news699280707 Faculty in the Cockrell School of Engineering have developed a rare printer as part of a larger project to speed up production and lower costs of manufacturing semiconductors critical to modern electronics. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-tabletop-3d-printer-semiconductor-patterning.html Electronics & Semiconductors Sat, 30 May 2026 15:50:01 EDT news699115290 By stacking transistors on top of one another, rather than laying them side by side on a flat chip, many electronic engineers are hopeful that vast amounts of computing power could be packed into tiny spaces, all while cutting energy use. So far, however, the ability to build these monolithic 3D integrated circuits has proven stubbornly difficult, largely because the fabrication processes required can damage the layers already in place. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-3d-silicon-circuits-denser-chips.html Hardware Sat, 30 May 2026 10:00:02 EDT news699267682 By electrochemically introducing phosphonate ester groups into conductive polymer films, researchers at Science Tokyo have addressed a fundamental trade-off between electronic charge transport and ion transport, overcoming a key performance limitation in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-phosphonate-groups-transistor-ions.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 29 May 2026 14:00:01 EDT news699280202 The security of modern communications heavily relies on systems that can rapidly and reliably verify users and the devices they are using. This process, known as authentication, essentially entails confirming that users or devices are legitimate (i.e., who or what they claim to be). https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-ai-ultralow-energy-lasers-enable.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 29 May 2026 09:40:01 EDT news699246329 Today, magnetic field sensors are one of the invisible mass-produced products in the electronics industry. They measure movement, positions or distances and can be found in window contacts, steering wheels, hard disks, packaging and cell phones. Billions of these components are manufactured every year. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-biobased-magnetic-sensors-iron-cellulose.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 28 May 2026 13:40:04 EDT news699193691 Runaway profits and sky-high valuations for microchip companies have fueled worker demands over pay packages in South Korea, raising the question: who profits from the artificial intelligence boom? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-immense-leverage-ai-chip-workers.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 28 May 2026 10:20:05 EDT news699180967 The market value of South Korean memory chipmaker SK hynix soared past $1 trillion on Wednesday, fueled by frenzied global demand for the computing hardware that powers artificial intelligence tools—a surge that also carried US-based Micron across the threshold. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-south-korean-chip-giant-sk.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 27 May 2026 04:26:18 EDT news699074728 Over the past decades, electronics engineers worldwide have been trying to develop devices that could enable even faster communications between devices, all while consuming less energy. To meet the demands of the sixth generation (6G) of wireless communication technology, these devices should operate at frequencies above 100 gigahertz (GHz). https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-power-flexible-radio-frequency-transistors.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 26 May 2026 12:00:08 EDT news699014386 An international study team, led by Flinders University in collaboration with Khalifa University UAE, built the machine-learning platform to act like a "smart materials discovery engine," which is capable of dramatically reducing the time spent on complex computer or lab experiments to test and find new materials for future semiconductors. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-ai-discovery-gen-chips-electronic.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 25 May 2026 13:20:01 EDT news698933341 Chinese tech giant Huawei said on Monday it had developed a new way of making semiconductors that could get around its US-enforced lack of access to the most advanced chipmaking equipment. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-huawei-touts-chipmaking-technology-sidestep.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 25 May 2026 03:58:29 EDT news698900274 In a study published in Nano Energy, researchers from Queen Mary, the University of Warwick, Imperial College London, and Universitas Mercatorum report a highly stable, biodegradable Moisture-Electric Generator (MEG). The device is fabricated from food-grade materials including gelatin, sodium chloride (table salt), and activated carbon, and harnesses humidity—typically a major challenge for electronics—as its energy source. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-scientists-generate-electricity-ambient-moisture.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 22 May 2026 13:40:04 EDT news698675701 A new skin-like computing patch developed at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) can analyze health data using artificial intelligence in an unprecedented way. Unlike today's wearable devices, it carries out its AI computations directly on the body, in mere milliseconds, without relying on a wireless connection. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-ai-powered-stretchable-patch-algorithms.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 21 May 2026 17:20:04 EDT news698602201 Semiconductors are an indispensable part of modern-day technologies ranging from computers and smartphones to solar panels and LED lighting. Their ability to control the flow of electrical charge makes them essential for how devices generate, process, and use energy. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-iraa-doping-reshape-semiconductors-cleaner.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 21 May 2026 12:00:12 EDT news698582402 Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory incorporated gallium nitride semiconductors to create a high-efficiency power converter that is more compact, affordable, and efficient. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-semiconductor-blocks-power-smaller.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 21 May 2026 07:00:01 EDT news698560921 Tech giant Alibaba released on Wednesday a new artificial intelligence chip it said performed three times as well as its predecessor, showcasing growing domestic chipmaker prowess as US titan Nvidia struggles for access to China. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-alibaba-unveils-ai-chip-nvidia.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 20 May 2026 09:40:04 EDT news698487831 A newly developed organic semiconductor device can both generate electricity from light and emit bright visible light, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. By carefully designing a material where energy losses are suppressed, the team achieved efficient power conversion and electroluminescence simultaneously, demonstrating a multifunctional platform with potential applications in displays, sensors, and energy-harvesting technologies. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-power-generating-displays-device-harvests.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 19 May 2026 13:00:08 EDT news698413441 Nvidia boss Jensen Huang expects China to eventually open its market to high-end U.S. chips that can train and run artificial intelligence systems. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-china-nvidia-ai-chips-huang.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 19 May 2026 03:58:45 EDT news698381854 Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories and Auburn University have developed a new method to more accurately detect atomic-scale defects in electronic materials, an advance that could help improve technologies ranging from electric vehicles to high-power electronics. The study, appearing in the Journal of Applied Physics, addresses a longstanding challenge in understanding what happens at the critical boundary where a semiconductor meets an insulating layer. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-longstanding-problem-semiconductor-defects.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 14 May 2026 16:14:39 EDT news697994041 A research team at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) has developed a novel electrode that the human body does not reject. This advance addresses a fundamental limitation of current wearable technology and is attracting significant attention from the academic community. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-body-compatible-electrode-rigid-insertion.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 14 May 2026 15:47:48 EDT news697992373 Plants and algae make their fuel from sunlight. Perhaps we could do the same using semiconductors. A team of scientists at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) has now made strides in that direction. They discovered a silicon semiconductor coupled to a molecular catalyst can capture higher-energy sunlight that is unused by both plants and human-made panels. Such energy could be used to drive reactions, like that between carbon dioxide and water to form hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals, or that synthesize fertilizer from nitrogen gas, which makes up 20% of our atmosphere. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-silicon-hybrid-captures-high-energy.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 13 May 2026 15:03:39 EDT news697903381 Imagine a surgical robot that could detect the boundary between a tumor and healthy tissue during an operation; not by sending images offsite for testing, but by quickly analyzing subtle differences fast enough to guide the surgeon's next move. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-optical-sensors-dont-fast-surgery.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 12 May 2026 18:20:08 EDT news697818272 A new class of laser emission technology enabling ultra-high color purity and continuous spectral tunability at low voltage has been developed, marking a significant advance beyond conventional display light sources. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-voltage-laser-platform-reshape-ar.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 12 May 2026 16:40:07 EDT news697819681 Spanish researchers have demonstrated a scalable manufacturing process for carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers with electrical conductivity comparable to that of copper and aluminum. The result, published in Science, is a breakthrough for the future of electrification in aerospace, electric vehicles (EVs), drones and related applications, which require lightweight and high-strength electrical wiring. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-copper-biggest-rival-carbon-nanotube.html Electronics & Semiconductors Sun, 10 May 2026 15:00:01 EDT news697191306