Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed the most powerful microbatteries ever documented. The new microbatteries offer both power and energy, and by tweaking the structure a bit, the researchers can tune them over a wide range on the power-versus-energy scale. The batteries outpower even the best supercapacitors and could drive new applications in compact electronics and radio communications. [ + ]

Rittal’s ‘Blue e’ generation cooling units have enabled premium automaker Daimler AG to save 490 tonnes of CO₂ each year - which translates into six-figure savings in operating costs. [ + ]

Fibre offers a number of specific advantages over copper interfaces, including: much-reduced attenuation and signal distortion over long distances; greatly increased bandwidth; immunity from EMI/ESD; much-reduced cable bulk and weight; reduced latency; no electrical shock hazard or ground loop potential; and greater data security. [ + ]

Diamonds are not only the hardest material known, they are a good conductor of heat and, when suitably doped, become an excellent conductor of electricity. Laurens H Willems van Beveren, a senior postdoctoral research fellow in solid state physics at Melbourne University, is researching these and other properties of diamonds to perhaps develop the next generation of transistors. [ + ]

What’s with this fetish for having office blocks lit up like Christmas trees that can be seen from outer space and probably beyond? I suspect it might be fashion. Somebody started lighting up their edifice, first with floodlights from the outside and then from the inside. Not to be outdone, others followed, leading to the beacons we have today. [ + ]

A large proportion of the energy we produce disappears unused into thin air via waste heat. Tiny thermoelectric generators can tap this potential, whereby the electricity is produced by way of temperature differences. However, so far their production has been laborious and expensive. [ + ]

Hybrid Electronics Australia manufactures thick film hybrid (hybrid) electronic circuits which can replace PCBs, be integrated with PCBs or upgrade PCBs. [ + ]

Findings published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) show that proteins on the surface of bacteria can produce an electric current by simply touching a mineral surface. [ + ]

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have won a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract to develop 3D chip cooling technology able to handle heat loads as much as 10 times greater than systems commonly used today. [ + ]

Ultralow power RF specialist Nordic Semiconductor has announced that o-synce is employing a Nordic nRF24AP2-8CH 2.4 GHz transceiver to provide ANT+ wireless connectivity for up to eight ANT+ sensors in its Screeneye X head-up, cap-based display for runners and other outdoor sports enthusiasts. [ + ]

Appropriate heat radiation design will extend the lifetime of a power converter and reduce the possibility of failure or safety issues. This article will discuss heat radiation design in power converter applications. [ + ]

This article introduces how you might implement design ideas and design methods of power supplies, which are essentially the energy heart of every system, encompassing the whole machine and its electromagnetic compatibility problems. [ + ]

The MIO Alpha sports watch employs optical technology to accurately and continuously measure heart rate of athletes without requiring a conventional heart-rate strap. Measured data can be transmitted live or after training to any Bluetooth v4.0 enabled smartphone via a Nordic Bluetooth low-energy wireless link. [ + ]

In electronic systems terms, power supplies are usually considered to be the heart of the system. This is because reliable operation of the whole electronic system depends on the power supplies’ performance and reliability. As well as this, one should also take the input and output voltage ranges into consideration. [ + ]

Semiconducting polymers are an unruly bunch, but University of Michigan engineers have developed a new method for getting them in line that could pave the way for cheaper, greener, ‘paint-on’ plastic electronics. [ + ]