The global interconnect market has gone through two recessions in the last decade and four recessions in the last three decades. [ + ]

Memory chips that are transparent, flexible and can survive hostile conditions could become the next-generation, flash-competitive memory for tomorrow’s technology. [ + ]

Cheaper, high-brightness LEDs are promised using a technique being developed by Plessey in Britain following its takeover of University of Cambridge spin-off company CamGaN Ltd. [ + ]

More than 600 people will exhibit at CeBIT Australia 2012, held 22-24 May at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. [ + ]

Reports on rumours that Samsung Electronics is considering spinning off its LCD manufacturing division are starting to be published. [ + ]

Heliatek GmbH has set a new world record for organic solar cells after Fraunhofer ISE CalLab certified a cell efficiency of 9.8% for a 1.1 cm² tandem cell manufactured with a low-temperature deposition process. [ + ]

A new way to weld together meshes of tiny wires has been discovered by researchers at Stanford University. Their work could lead to electronics and solar applications. To succeed, they called upon plasmonics. [ + ]

Wireless charging may one day replace plugs and wires similar to how Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have modernised personal communication. Wireless charging with inductive coupling uses an electromagnetic field that transfers energy from the transmitter to the receiver. [ + ]

Modular power supplies enjoy disproportional growth. Personnel limitations of development engineers for discrete solutions increase costs, while readily available modules feature lower prices. Aspects such as higher efficiency, easier certification and the experience of specialists support ‘modular’ solutions. [ + ]

University of Illinois professors Nancy Sottos, Scott White and Jeffery Moore applied their experience in self-healing polymers to electrical systems, developing technology that could extend the longevity of electronic devices and batteries. [ + ]

Model by model, the electronics in a motor vehicle are being moved closer to the engine block, where the materials used for the electronics must resist increasing heat - so the glass solder being used as glue must be continually optimised. [ + ]

The use of simulation studies to better understand the dynamic behaviour of a system under investigation is at the core of verifying designs early in the development process. Despite the amount of data that such studies produce, a 3D representation of the system creates a more complete understanding of system behaviour. [ + ]

Miniaturised devices like smart-phones have now reached the mass consumer market, but when first introduced, manufacturing costs for low volumes can keep innovative products from taking off.

Releasing a product with bugs is potentially very expensive, especially considering the cost of field upgrades, recalls and repairs. Less quantifiable, but at least equally important, is the damage done to reputation and consequent loss of customer goodwill.

Solar or photovoltaic cells represent one of the best possible technologies for providing an absolutely clean and virtually inexhaustible source of energy to power our civilization.