The increasing emphasis on battery sustainability and emissions-free electricity has prompted technology providers to develop alternative battery technologies. In this issue of What’s New in Electronics, we’ve featured a detailed analysis from Deakin University about five alternative battery technologies that could power the future. While batteries and power supplies are the key features of this issue, the magazine also features an interesting and insightful article from the University at Buffalo about the fabrication of the world’s highest-performing HTS wire segment; this technology’s ability to carry electricity without resistance at temperatures higher than those required by traditional superconductors could enhance the electric grid and even enable commercial nuclear fusion.
This issue of the magazine also debuts a page of exciting news items and technology updates from the Surface Mount & Circuit Board Association (SMCBA). Also featured is an update about a project led by the University of Queensland, which aims to gather the fundamental property data needed to help the electronics industry shift to lower temperature soldering processes. I hope you enjoy this informationpacked issue, and as always, if you would like to contribute an article or a case study, or have feedback to share, please send an email to: wnie@wfmedia. com.au.
Best wishes,
Ashna Mehta Editor
As the world moves away from fossil fuels towards emissionsfree electricity, developing safer, more durable batteries is becoming increasingly vital. However, single-use batteries can create immense waste and harmful environmental impacts.
At the Battery Research and Innovation Hub at Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials, we are doing important research into alternative battery technologies, aiming to reduce waste and re-use battery systems as we work towards a circular economy.
Here are five leading alternative battery technologies that could power the future:
Advanced lithium-ion batteries
Lithium-ion batteries can be found in almost every electrical item we use daily — from our phones to our wireless headphones, toys, tools and electric vehicles. However, serious questions have been raised regarding their safety induced by electrolytes.
At the Battery Research and Innovation Hub, our experts aim to design safer, reliable battery technology and enable the delivery of safer next-generation solid-state lithium-ion cells. In our unique facility we are investigating how safer electrolyte materials can be incorporated into lithium systems without any reduction in battery performance.
Benefits: Charging is safe and fast, longlasting, large energy density, rechargeable.
Applications: Small electrical items such as phones, toys, wireless headphones to larger items such as electric vehicles, e-scooters and solar power batteries.
Sodium-ion batteries
Sodium-ion batteries are a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries — one that is cheaper, safer and easier to recycle. As the fourth most abundant element in the Earth’s
crust — 10,000 times higher than lithium — sodium is easily accessible and affordable. In addition, a sodium-ion battery does not use heavy metals, unlike other battery types, meaning it has less impact on the environment and is easier to recycle.
At the Battery Research and Innovation Hub we use our advanced facilities, such as our Pouch Cell Facility, to design, develop and test pouch cell technology that can be scaled up for manufacturing and ready for commercialisation.
We are also exploring chemistries involved in novel electrode and electrolyte materials within sodium batteries, with an emphasis on improving battery performance, and raising the focus on circular economy. This research has led to the development of novel electrolytes, with low flammability, and thermally and electrochemically stable features, which enables long-term battery cycling.
Benefits: Sodium is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, making it more affordable than commonly used lithium, which is facing a worldwide shortage. Sodiumion batteries don’t require heavy metals to produce — making it easier to recycle and having less impact on the environment.
Applications: Stationary applications such as a grid-scale power station and modes of transport that aren’t required to travel long distances, such as electric scooters or electric buses.
Solid-state batteries
As the electric vehicle market grows, so does the need for electric vehicle batteries that are safer, fast charging and longer lasting. Solid-state batteries are showing huge potential to address these needs by offering a drastic change to the battery components that are used in current technology.
As opposed to the liquid electrolytes used in more common battery types, solid-state batteries use thermally stable solid electrolytes as ion conductors. Solid electrolytes, such as solid polymer electrolytes (PILBLOCs), are non-flammable and non-fluid, and therefore have a low risk of catching and spreading fire — offering a much safer energy-storage
In recent years, batteries have become ubiquitous in consumers’ daily lives. However, existing commercial battery technologies, which use liquid electrolytes and carbonaceous anodes, have drawbacks such as safety concerns, a limited lifespan and inadequate power density, particularly at high temperatures.
There is an increasing need for batteries that can operate in extreme conditions, such as the high temperatures required in various industrial sectors, including thermal reactors and subsurface exploration. This has prompted researchers to search for solid electrolytes that are safe and compatible with lithium metal anodes, which are known for their high theoretical specific power capacity.
Now, a team of researchers from the University of Hong Kong has developed a new generation of lithium metal batteries. Their innovation uses microcrack-free polymer electrolytes, which extend the lifespan of the batteries while enhancing safety at elevated temperatures.
The microcrack-free polymer electrolytes developed by Professor Dong-Myeong Shin and his team of researchers are synthesised via a straightforward one-step click reaction, exhibiting notable attributes including resistance to dendrite growth and non-flammability, demonstrating a high electrochemical stability window up to 5 V and an ionic conductivity of 3.1 x 10−5 S cm−1 at high temperatures.
These enhancements are attributed to tethered borate anions within the microcrack-free membranes, which facilitate accelerated
selective transport of Li+ ions and suppress dendrite formation. These anionic network polymer membranes enable lithium metal batteries to function as safe, long-cycling energy storage devices at high temperatures, maintaining 92.7% capacity retention and averaging 99.867% coulombic efficiency over 450 cycles at 100°C.
This development could pave the way for future advancements in anionic polymer electrolyte design for next-generation lithium batteries.
“Apart from applications in high-temperature scenarios, the microcrack-free electrolyte membranes also have the potential to enable fast charging due to low overpotential. This capability could allow electric vehicles to recharge in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee, marking a significant advancement towards a clean energy future,” Shin said.
The research findings have been published in the journal Advanced Science
ECO-FRIENDLY TUNGSTEN RECOVERED FROM SEMICONDUCTOR WASTE
Researchers from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) have unveiled an eco-friendly method to extract rare metals from semiconductor waste; their approach recovers tungsten and also assessed its economic viability, offering a sustainable solution for waste management in the tech industry.
Professor Jeehoon Han from the Department of Chemical Engineering led a team of researchers to pioneer the environmentally friendly and cost-effective process for tungsten recovery. Their research findings have been published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Tungsten has many uses in electronics, semiconductors, aviation and automotive industries. Due to its rarity and the limited number of countries where it can be mined, research into recovering metals from industrial waste has become increasingly important. To prepare for the depletion of these metal resources, recovering metals from industrial wastewater is crucial. Industrial wastewater, if not properly treated, can impact water quality and soil, making this field of research a promising solution for resource recovery and environmental protection.
The researchers used bioleaching to recover tungsten from wastewater generated by the semiconductor manufacturing
industry and assessed the economic feasibility of the technology. Microorganisms, which can derive energy necessary for survival and growth from metals, dissolve metals from ores or waste using their natural capabilities. This method, compared to traditional chemical processes, has a lower environmental impact and can extract metals at low energy and cost.
The researchers used the fungus Penicillium simplicissimum, commonly found in soil, air and plants, to dissolve tungsten and other metals. Following bioleaching, they recovered tungsten from the solution using activated carbon-based adsorptiondesorption and ammonium paratungstate (APT) precipitation.
Economic analysis revealed that the activated carbon-based adsorption-desorption process was 7% cheaper than the precipitation process. The study also found that improving microbial strain adaptation and growth, as well as reducing reaction time, were crucial for enhancing process efficiency. The research confirmed the economic feasibility of an environmentally friendly process for treating semiconductor industry wastewater, highlighting its significance in preventing environmental pollution and recycling resources.
“Our study demonstrates the economic and industrial feasibility of an eco-friendly bioleaching process for tungsten recovery,” Han said.
The researchers aim to enhance the economic viability of this process by developing high-efficiency microbial strains.
UNUSED WI-FI SIGNALS COULD BE USED TO POWER ELECTRONICS
Researchers from Tohoku University, the National University of Singapore and the University of Messina have developed a novel technology to efficiently harvest ambient low-power radiofrequency (RF) signals into direct-current (DC) power. This ‘rectifier’ technology can be integrated into energy harvesting modules to power electronic devices and sensors, enabling battery-free operation. The research findings have been published in the journal Nature Electronics Collecting and then converting ambient energy sources into usable energy is referred to as ‘harvesting’. Small devices can harvest the energy, which can reduce battery dependency, extend device lifetimes and minimise environmental impact. Instead of having to physically travel to devices in remote regions to replace batteries, the device can be powered remotely by ambient energy sources such as everyday RF wireless signals.
The downside of this method is that the source of the signal has to be in close proximity to the electronic device in question. Existing technologies, such as the Schottky diode, face challenges in terms of low RF-to-DC conversion efficiency for faint ambient RF signals (typically less than -20 dBm). To address these challenges, the researchers developed a compact and sensitive rectifier technology that uses a nanoscale spin-rectifier (SR) to convert ambient wireless RF signals that are less than -20 dBm to a DC voltage. The SR consists of a nanoscale magnetic tunnel junction made of CoFeB/MgO that is used in a non-volatile memory technology.
The researchers enhanced the SR devices, paying attention to the material’s magnetic anisotropy, device geometry and tunnelling barrier properties. Then, the RF-to-DC conversion performance was tested for two configurations: a single SRbased rectenna operational between -62 and -20 dBm, and an array of 10 SRs in series. Integrating the SR-array into an energy harvesting module, they successfully powered a commercial temperature sensor at -27 dBm.
The researchers are now exploring the integration of an on-chip antenna to improve the efficiency and compactness. The team is also developing series-parallel connections to tune impedance in large arrays of SRs, utilising on-chip interconnects to connect individual SRs. This aims to improve how RF power is harvested.
‘PRINTABLE’ PEROVSKITE SOLAR CELLS ACHIEVE 26% PCE
Researchers from the City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) have developed a new generation of printable perovskite solar cells that offer higher stability and efficiency, with a minimal carbon footprint. The researchers aim to establish a pilot production line within one and a half years, paving the way for a sustainable future.
Solar energy presents a viable solution to sustainably meeting the future energy demands of global society; while silicon-based technologies currently dominate the global photovoltaic market, they face challenges such as high production costs and limited flexibility in product applications. Professor Alex Jen Kwanyue has led the development of perovskite solar cells at CityUHK. The perovskite solar cells developed by Jen and his research team have achieved a power conversion efficiency of over 26% in laboratory testing. They also successfully addressed the common stability issues by demonstrating perovskite solar cells with an estimated lifetime of over 20 years through accelerated aging tests, comparable to that of silicon-based cells in the market.
According to Jen, the new-generation perovskite solar cells are manufactured from perovskite precursor inks, which can be coated and ‘printed’ on a substrate to form thin polycrystalline perovskite films with a processing temperature as low as 100°C.
“This enables rapid mass production of the perovskite solar cells, like printing newspapers. This significantly reduces energy consumption and production costs compared to those for manufacturing traditional silicon solar cells, which require high-temperature processes at over 1000°C and significantly more processing steps. The final comparable cost of energy for perovskite solar cells can be just half that of silicon polar cells,” Jen said.
Perovskite solar cells are also less dependent on incident angles and light intensity and have superior mechanical flexibility, allowing them to be easily integrated into various applications such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) and powering indoor Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors.
The researchers are collaborating with industry partner and investor Abes Technology Group, to develop BIPV products that integrate perovskite solar cells, including solar tile decking, solar water floating decks and exterior wall panels. The researchers plan to set up a pilot production line with an annual capacity of 20 MW within one and a half years.
In the longer term, the researchers will focus on developing and manufacturing new-generation perovskite solar panels to provide scalable, low-cost electricity for centralised and distributed applications, including power grids, smart cities, IoT sensors and wearables, to offer diverse perovskite solar products in different configurations and form factors (rigid or flexible).
ELECTRONEX SYDNEY A MAJOR SUCCESS
Electronex – Electronics Design and Assembly Expo and SMCBA Conference attracted a quality audience of engineers, managers and senior decision makers from 19-20 June at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney. The Expo was a sell-out, with 75 stands representing over 100 companies kept busy over the two days. Around 250 exhibiting staff also welcomed the opportunity to network and discuss business with their peers and the Exhibitor Networking Function on the Wednesday evening at the nearby Rydges Hotel, sponsored by What’s New in Electronics and Dyne Industries.
The Expo was busy as soon as the doors opened on Wednesday morning and the attendance was constant over the two days, with a steady stream of trade and industry visitors from all states of Australia and New Zealand. A total of 1028 trade visitors visited the Expo, while the Surface Mount and Circuit Board Association conference — held in conjunction with the Expo — attracted over 80 delegates with a stellar line up of local and international speakers at the nearby Rydges Resort Ballroom. Noel Gray, Managing Director of organiser AEE said, “We were delighted with the turnout for the Expo with the floor space around 20% larger than the last Sydney event in 2022. Trade visitors appreciated the opportunity to meet face to face with industry suppliers to discuss their specific requirements and discover new technology in this vital hi-tech manufacturing sector. Electronex is now in its 13th year and provides an important focal point for electronics industry in Australia.”
A post show visitor survey also reinforced the quality of decision makers that attended with 83% directly involved in purchasing, specifying or recommending products; 90% discovering new companies; 83% discovering new products or technology; and 97% stating that a dedicated show such as Electronex was beneficial to their industry.
Following the launch of the SMCBA hand soldering competition at the previous show in Melbourne, this year’s event attracted
Anthony (SMCBA), Teagan (SMCBA), Johnson (SMCBA Judge), Rodrigo (Runner-Up), Jeff (Winner), Gaurab (IPC Executive Officer), Dave (IPC VP of Standards and Technology), Noel (AEE).
international recognition from the IPC, the global association that helps OEMs, EMS and PCB manufacturers build better electronics. The Expo featured the “Australasian Round” of the 2024 IPC Global Hand Soldering Competition and was a hive of activity. In a closely contested competition the winner was Jeff Caliguiran of Oritech, with travel sponsored by IPC, to represent Australasia at the international finals in Munich in November. The runner up was Rodrigo Amoral of Sigma Delta Services.
Electronex will be held in Melbourne in 2025 and will be colocated with National Manufacturing Week, with visitors able to attend two major related events. The co-location was a success in 2023 and both events will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 7–8 May 2025. Previous exhibitors have already booked over 70% of the exhibition space and companies interested in exhibiting can contact the show organiser AEE on 03 9676 2133, email: info@auexhibitions.com.au or visit the show website: www. electronex.com.au. For all Conference and Soldering Competition enquiries please mail admin@smcba.asn.au and see smcba.asn.au
Image credit: SMCBA.
Mike Creeden (San Diego PCB) captivates the Conference at the Rydges Ballroom.
SOFTWARE PACK
The STMicroelectronics X-CUBE-TCPP software pack enhances the company’s portfolio of USB Type-C port-protection ICs and STM32 interface IP (intellectual property) to simplify product designs leveraging the USB Power Delivery specification.
USB Power Delivery supports operating modes from legacy 5 V/0.5 A up to 48 V/5 A (240 watt) in the latest Revision 3.1 specification. The expanded power capacity facilitates innovative product design and assists new sustainability legislation. One example is the recent EU agreement for USB Type-C to become the common charging port in all mobile phones, tablets and cameras to reduce electronic waste. New product designs that leverage USB Power Delivery include power banks, smart speakers, PC peripherals, communication equipment, medical devices, POS terminals, industrial displays and battery-powered embedded applications.
The software pack also eases development in the STM32Cube ecosystem and provides libraries for the three USB Type-C port-protection ICs in ST’s portfolio. Namely, these are the TCPP01-M12 for sink applications, the TCPP02-M18 for source applications and the TCPP03-M20 for dual-role power (DRP) applications.
The TCPP01-M12, TCPP02-M18, and TCPP03-M20 work with ST’s UCPD (USB Type-C and Power Delivery) interface IP featured in selected STM32G0, STM32G4, STM32L5, and STM32U5 microcontrollers (MCUs). They address USB Power Delivery in the standard power range, up to 20 V–5 A (100 Watt). This partitioning of the USB Type-C implementation between the MCU and port-protection IC enables a two-chip solution that reduces complexity and minimises PCB space. The STM32 device also performs as the host MCU.
The software pack also assists development on STM32 MCUs that do not contain the Power Delivery PHY, to streamline compliance with the USB Type-C specification. Users can accelerate development of sink applications by using the X-CUBE-TCPP libraries with the XNUCLEO-SNK1M1 expansion board and any STM32 Nucleo-64, NUCLEO-G071RB, NUCLEO-G474RE or NUCLEO-L412RB-P development board containing an STM32 MCU that executes the code.
For source applications, the X-CUBE-TCPP libraries can be used with the X-NUCLEO-SRC1M1 expansion board and any STM32 Nucleo-64 development board for USB Type-C source without Power Delivery, or the NUCLEO-G071RB or NUCLEO-G474RE for USB Type-C source with Power Delivery.
STMicroelectronics Pty Ltd www.st.com
INDUSTRIAL PANEL PC
ICP Electronics Australia has launched the iEi PPC2CW156A-ADLP fanless industrial panel PC designed for demanding environments, powered by Intel Alder Lake-P and Raptor Lake-P processors. It enhances performance and supports 12th and 13th Gen Intel Core i7/i5/i3 mobile processors, with 8 GB of DDR4 SO-DIMM memory (expandable to 64 GB).
The 15.6 ″ full HD display features a 10-point capacitive touchscreen with anti-glare and anti-UV coating, for clear visibility in challenging light conditions. The industrial panel PC also supports 4K UHD output via HDMI, making it suitable for high-resolution visual applications.
For connectivity, the panel PC is equipped with dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, four USB 3.2 Gen1 ports and multiple M.2 expansion slots, allowing for extensive peripheral integration. Remote management is enabled with optional IPMI 2.0 support, facilitating system monitoring and maintenance from afar.
Built with an aluminium and SECC enclosure, the PPC2-CW156A-ADLP is IP65-compliant, for protection against dust and water. Additionally, its fanless design allows for operation in harsh environments, withstanding temperatures ranging from -20 to 60°C, making it suitable for industrial applications.
ICP Electronics Australia Pty Ltd www.icp-australia.com.au
UNINTERRUPTABLE POWER SUPPLIES
Emerson has launched the new Series D update to the family of SolaHD industrial rack mount on-line uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs). The SolaHD S4KD Series replaces the current S4KC Series, offering user interface improvements and other design upgrades to increase product availability. The S4KD is an online (double conversion) UPS, providing a zero-transfer time from external to internal power upon utility power failure to deliver a flow of power for critical loads. The UPS is available in 1000–3000 VA in 120 V, and 3000 VA in 230 V configurations, each housed in a slim 2U form factor.
The UPS features a rugged metal housing and a hardwired connection, providing power for automation, microprocessor/ PC-based hardware, networking, telecommunication, medical and other mission-critical systems. The S4KD Series incorporates new hardware design updates to improve usability and efficiency.
The S4KD Series can be configured and provide status and diagnostic information, using the on-board interface without the need of a laptop. The LCD colour graphical display is gravity sensitive, properly orienting itself for easy viewing and operation regardless of the UPS’s installation position. State-ofthe-art diagnostics provide alerts to users about battery health status, efficiency metrics, replacement date prediction, data logging, input/output real-time tracking, bypass operation, faults and more, enabling users to keep their systems operating.
The Emerson SolaHD industrial rack Mount UPS Series D meets a range of requirements by maintaining the rugged design and performance of the preceding series, while adding significant user interface improvements. Emerson www.emerson.com/au/automation
NEWS from the SMCBA
New Format SMBCA Conference Delivers for All Registrants
Like those who have attended the SMCBA’s 34 previous Conferences, those who attended the SMCBA 2024 Conference on Electronics Design and Manufacture from 18-20 June, enjoyed the benefit of some very practical advice on designing electronic circuitry that can cope with the challenges of increasing performance expectations. SMCBA CEO, Anthony Tremellen, said that the success of this conference vindicated the decision to extend the conference from two to three days and run the sessions in series. That meant that registrants had the option of attending all sessions at the Rydges Paramatta Resort rather than having to choose between parallel sessions, with extended breaks for visiting the concurrent ElectroneX exhibition across the road at the Rosehill Gardens Function Centre on days 2 and 3. Given that the primary objective of these conferences is to provide an opportunity for registrants to keep in touch with the best of global practice in electronic design and manufacture, four of the five technical session presenters were from overseas, David Bergman (Industry 4.0) Mike Creeden (Solvability, Performance and Manufacturability in PCB Design. Rick Hartley (Design for EMI Control, and PCB Layout of Switch Mode Power Supplies) and Dave Hillman (Evolution of Pb-Free Solders). Of course, there was local expertise as well, Chris Turner (Optimizing PCBA Design for Manufacturing and Test). These technical presentations were complemented by presentations from Future Electronics on the current component supply situation and the Australian Government Department of Finance on the procedure for tendering for government purchases.
smcba.asn.au
Industry-University Collaboration on Low Temperature Solder Development
Queensland-based electronics designer and manufacturer, Masters & Young Pty Ltd, and Japanese solder maker, Nihon Superior Co., Ltd., have joined forces with The University of Queensland in a project directed at gathering the fundamental property data the electronics industry will need if it is to move confidently to lower temperature soldering processes. University of Queensland researcher, Dr Xin Fu Tan has won an Australian Research Council Early Career Industry Fellowship for the research project “Low Temperature Solders for Energy-Efficient Electronics Manufacturing”. This fellowship was awarded under the ARC Linkage Program, which promotes national and international research collaborations between universities and industry. The scheme requires a commitment from companies with an interest in the outcome of the project to provide additional support in cash or in kind.
The global electronics industry is moving to lower temperature soldering processes in some product categories for technical, economic and environmental reasons. Lower temperatures reduce defects caused by warpage of large packages, make possible the use of cheaper substrates
Australia Earns a Place in the Global IPC Network
The IPC slogan is “Helping the World Build Electronics Better” and in his keynote speaker address to the SMCBA 2024 Conference, IPC Vice-President, Standards & Technology, David Bergman, described the network of IPC offices located in recognized centres of electronics industry. He said that, for geographic and logistical reasons, he has decided that the Australia electronics industry could be supported most cost effectively by the IPC’s India office located in India’s “Silicon Valley” Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore). As well as supporting the rapidly growing electronics industry in India, that office is already supporting the industry in South-East Asia, a region, with which the Australian industry already has close connections. In support of David Bergman’s announcement, IPC India CEO, Gaurub Mujumdar, described the steps that have already been taken to increase support for the SMCBA’s IPC pro-
grams and integrate the SMCBA into IPC activities in the region. A small, but very popular example, was the decision to recognize the hand soldering competition, which the SMCBA had introduced to their booth at the 2023 ElectroneX exhibition, as part of the IPC’s global Hand Soldering Competition. That means that the winner will be flown to Germany to compete in the finals held at the Electronica tradeshow in Munich, Germany in November.
University of Queensland researcher Dr Xin Fu Tan loading samples of low temperature solders into the Australian Synchrotron for crystallography measurements.
and packaging materials and reduce carbon emissions.The high percentage of bismuth in the low temperature solders make raw material costs lower than the conventional lead-free solders that contain silver and higher content of tin both of which are much more expensive than bismuth.
The design and manufacture of electronics is a key technology in the modern economy. While Australia has a reputation for innovative design for special applications there has been little in the way of scientific support for the materials critical to the performance and reliability of the finished product. This project will make a contribution to the establishment of this expertise in Australia.
SMCBA CEO, Anthony Tremellen said that he is already seeing the benefit of the connection with IPC’s Indian office in faster delivery of IPC standards, access to Validation Services and IPC Workforce Training products.
NEXT-GEN SUPER BATTERY FOR ELECTRIC CARS IS MADE OF ROCK
Katrine Damkjær, Technical University of Denmark
It is the battery in your electric car that determines how far you can drive on one charge and how quickly you can re-charge. However, the lithium-ion battery, the most widely used electric car battery today, has its limitations — in terms of capacity, safety and also availability. This is because lithium is an expensive, environmentally harmful material and the scarcity of the relatively rare metal can hinder the green transition of car transport.
As more and more people switch to electric cars, we need to develop a new generation of lithium-free batteries, which are at least as efficient, but more eco-friendly and cheaper to produce. This requires new materials for the battery’s main components — anode, cathode and electrolyte — as well as developing new battery designs.
It is a research field that is currently occupying researchers all over the world, because when we find new ‘recipes’ for batteries, it will enable a significant reduction of the transport sector’s carbon emissions.
At DTU, researcher Mohamad Khoshkalam has invented a material that has the potential to replace lithium in tomorrow’s super battery: solid-state batteries based on potassium and sodium silicates. These are rock silicates, which are some of the most common minerals in the Earth’s crust. They are found in the stones you pick up on the
beach or in your garden. A great advantage of the new material is that it is not sensitive to air and humidity. This makes it possible to mould it into a paper-thin layer inside the battery.
Patented superionic material
The potential of the milky-white, paper-thin material based on potassium silicate is huge. It is an inexpensive, eco-friendly material that can be extracted from silicates, which cover over 90% of the Earth’s surface. The material can conduct ions at around 40°C and is not sensitive to moisture.
This will make scaling up and future battery production easier, safer and cheaper, as production can take place in an open atmosphere and at temperatures close to room temperature. The material also works without the addition of expensive and environmentally harmful metals such as cobalt, which is currently used in lithium-ion batteries to boost capacity and service life.
“The potential of potassium silicate as a solid-state electrolyte has been known for a long time, but in my opinion has been ignored due to challenges with the weight and size of the potassium ions. The ions are large and therefore move slower,” Khoshkalam said.
To understand the perspectives of Khoshkalam’s discovery, one must first understand the crucial role the electrolyte plays in a battery. The electrolyte in a battery can be a liquid or a solid material — a so-called solid-state electrolyte. The electrolyte allows the ions to move between the battery’s anode and cathode, thereby maintaining the electrical current generated during discharging and charging. In other words, the electrolyte is crucial for the battery capacity, charging time, lifespan and safety.
WE HAVE SHOWN THAT WE CAN FIND A MATERIAL FOR A SOLID-STATE ELECTROLYTE THAT IS CHEAP, EFFICIENT, ECO-FRIENDLY, AND SCALABLE—AND THAT EVEN PERFORMS BETTER THAN SOLID-STATE LITHIUMBASED ELECTROLYTES.
– MOHAMAD KHOSHKALAM
The battery everyone is waiting for
Both researchers and electric car manufacturers consider solidstate batteries to be the super battery of the future. In a solid-state battery, the ions travel through a solid material and not through a liquid, as in the regular AA+ lithium-ion batteries you can buy in the supermarket. There are several advantages to this; the ions can move faster through a solid material, making the battery more efficient and faster to charge.
A single battery cell can be made as thin as a piece of cardboard, where the anode, cathode and solid-state electrolyte are ultra-thin layers of material. This means that we can make more powerful batteries that take up less space. This offers benefits on the road, as you will be able to drive up to 1000 km on a single 10-minute charge. In addition, a solid-state battery is more fireproof, as it does not contain combustible liquid.
Before we see the solid-state battery on the market, however, there are several challenges that need to be solved. The technology works well in the laboratory, but is difficult and expensive to scale up. Firstly, materials and battery research is both complex and time-consuming because the materials are super sensitive and require advanced laboratories and equipment. The lithium-ion batteries we use today took over 20 years to develop, and we’re still developing them.
Secondly, we need to develop new ways of producing and sealing the batteries so the ultra-thin material layers in the battery cell do not break and have continuous contact in order to work. In the laboratory, you solve it by pressing the layers of the battery cell together at high pressure, but it is difficult to transfer to a commercial electric car battery, which consists of many battery cells.
Solid-state rock battery is high-risk technology
Unlike lithium solid-state batteries, solid-state batteries based on potassium and sodium silicates have a low TRL (technology readiness level). This means there is still a long way to go from discovery in the lab to getting the technology out into society and making a difference. The earliest we can expect to see them in new electric cars on the market is 10 years from now.
It is also a high-risk technology, where the chance of commercial success is small and the technical challenges are many. Nevertheless, Khoshkalam is full of optimism:
“We have shown that we can find a material for a solid-state electrolyte that is cheap, efficient, eco-friendly, and scalable—and that even performs better than solid-state lithium-based electrolytes.”
A year after the discovery in the laboratory at DTU, Mohamad Khoshkalam has obtained a patent for the recipe and is in the process of establishing the start-up K-Ion, which will develop solidstate electrolyte components for battery companies. The K-ion is part of the DTU Earthbound initiative, where they receive support to get their research out of the laboratory faster and into society to make an impact.
The next step for Khoshkalam and his team is to develop a demo battery that can show companies and potential investors that the material works. A prototype is expected to be ready within 1–2 years.
MICROCONTROLLER SERIES
In early 2023, STMicroelectronics released the STM32WBA, the first wireless Cortex-M33, a powerful and secure system that opened the door to a SESIP Level 3 certification.
The STM32WB0 series is designed to harmonise the STMicroelectronics portfolio while realising the transition from BlueNRG-LP(S) devices to enable developers to take advantage of the STM32Cube ecosystem. Moreover, the company has also launched the STM32WB05xN, a network processor for Bluetooth LE applications, enabling a lower bill of material and a more straightforward implementation for integrators wishing to use a simple radio link with a serial interface.
The fact that the STM32WB0s also showcases a Bluetooth LE 5.4-certified radio means that engineers enjoy features like isochronous channels. This new PHY layer enables more complex data streams by facilitating the transmission of timesensitive and synchronised information. The STM32WB05xN, STM32WB05, STM32WB06/07 and STM32WB09 represent a new beginning for engineers working on Bluetooth LE applications who want to make their products more accessible.
STMicroelectronics Pty Ltd www.st.com
CHIP TERMINATION
Richardson RFPD, Inc. has announced the in-stock availability and full design support capabilities for a new RF termination from TTM Technologies’ RF and Specialty Components business unit.
The XMWT80L1G is a flip-chip, surface-mountable 50 Ω termination with a power rating of 0.5 W (average) and a peak-to-average ratio of 12 dB. This thick film ALN component offers a DC-81 GHz bandwidth and is designed to replace larger, bulkier caseless and connectorised terminations used in the test and measurement and automated test equipment industries.
The device’s small form factor (EIA 0603) makes it suitable for high I/O mmWave semiconductors and systems in test, verification and certification applications. This termination is designed for performance consistency, which is a critical factor in automotive and industrial radar applications in the 60–81 GHz bands.
Richardson RFPD www.richardsonrfpd.com
INNOVATIVE BATTERY DESIGN
MORE ENERGY AND LESS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Deborah Kyburz, ETH Zurich
Lithium metal batteries are among the most promising candidates of the next generation of high-energy batteries. They can store at least twice as much energy per unit of volume as the lithium-ion batteries that are in widespread use today. This will mean, for example, that an electric car can travel twice as far on a single charge or that a smartphone will not have to be recharged so often.
At present, there is still one crucial drawback with lithium metal batteries: the liquid electrolyte requires the addition of significant amounts of fluorinated solvents and fluorinated salts, which increases its environmental footprint. Without the addition of fluorine, however, lithium metal batteries would be unstable, they would stop working after very few charging cycles and be prone to short circuits as well as overheating and igniting. A research group led by Maria Lukatskaya, Professor of Electrochemical Energy Systems at ETH Zurich, has now developed a new method that dramatically reduces the amount of fluorine required in lithium metal batteries, thereby rendering them more environmentally friendly and more stable as well as cost-effective.
How does a lithium metal battery work?
A battery consists of a negatively charged anode and a positively charged cathode. In a lithium-ion battery, the anode is made of graphite; in a lithium metal battery, it is made of lithium metal. Liquid electrolyte separates the anode and cathode. As the battery charges, positively charged lithium ions migrate from the cathode to the anode. When the lithium ions reach the anode, they lose their positive charge and form metallic lithium.
A stable protective layer increases battery safety and efficiency
The fluorinated compounds from the electrolyte help the formation of a protective layer around the metallic lithium at the negative electrode of the battery. “This protective layer can be compared to the enamel of a tooth,” Lukatskaya said. “It protects the metallic lithium from continuous reaction with electrolyte components.” Without it, the electrolyte would quickly get depleted during cycling, the cell would fail and the lack of a stable layer would result in the formation of lithium metal whiskers — ‘dendrites’ — during the recharging process instead of a conformal flat layer.
Should these dendrites touch the positive electrode, this would cause a short circuit with the risk that the battery heats up so much that it ignites. The ability to control the properties of this protective layer is therefore crucial for battery performance. A stable protective layer increases battery efficiency, safety and service life.
Minimising fluorine content
“The question was how to reduce the amount of added fluorine without compromising the protective layer’s stability,” said doctoral student Nathan Hong. The group’s new method uses electrostatic attraction to achieve the desired reaction. Here, electrically charged fluorinated molecules serve as a vehicle to transport the fluorine to the protective layer. This means that only 0.1% by weight of fluorine is required in the liquid electrolyte, which is at least 20 times lower than in prior studies.
Optimised method makes batteries greener
The ETH Zurich research group describes the new method and its underlying principles in a paper published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science. An application for a patent has been made. Lukatskaya carried out this research with the help of an SNSF Starting Grant.
One of the biggest challenges was to find the right molecule to which fluorine could be attached and that would also decompose again under the right conditions once it had reached the lithium metal. As the group explained, a key advantage of this method is that it can be seamlessly integrated into the existing battery production process without generating additional costs to change the production setup. The batteries used in the lab were the size of a coin. In a next step, the researchers plan to test the method’s scalability and apply it to pouch cells as used in smartphones.
The researchers used new, high-efficiency electronics developed by Juan Rivas-Davila, an associate professor of electrical engineering and co-author on the paper, to produce the currents they required. They then used those currents to inductively heat a three-dimensional lattice made of a poorly conducting ceramic material in the core of their reactor. The lattice structure is just as important as the material itself, Fan said, because the lattice voids artificially lower the electrical conductivity even further. And those voids can be filled with catalysts — the materials that need to be heated to initiate chemical reactions. This makes for even more efficient heat transfer and means the electrified reactor can be much smaller than traditional fossil fuel reactors.
“You’re heating a large surface area structure that is right next to the catalyst, so the heat you’re generating gets to the catalyst very quickly to drive the chemical reactions,” Fan said. “Plus, it’s simplifying everything. You’re not transferring heat from somewhere else and losing some along the
way, you don’t have any pipes going in and out of the reactor — you can fully insulate it. This is ideal from an energy management and cost point of view.”
Electrified industry
The researchers used the reactor to power a chemical reaction, called the reverse water gas shift reaction, using a new sustainable catalyst developed by Matthew Kanan, a professor of chemistry in the School of Humanities and Sciences and co-author of the paper. The reaction, which requires high heat, can turn captured carbon dioxide into a valuable gas that can be used to create sustainable fuels. In the proof-of-concept demonstration, the reactor was over 85% efficient, indicating that it converted almost all electrical energy into usable heat. The reactor also demonstrated ideal conditions for facilitating the chemical reaction — carbon dioxide was converted to usable gas at the theoretically predicted rate, which is often not the case with new reactor designs.
“As we make these reactors even larger or operate them at even higher temperatures,
MOTION CONTROL SYSTEM
FAULHABER has launched the BX4 IMC Motion Control System, featuring a small integrated motion controller coupled within the powerful BX4 brushless motor family.
The motion control system extends the motor length by 18 mm, incorporating a full-featured servo controller and a 12-bit encoder, maintaining the motor’s performance across various applications.
Available in two versions, the motion control system offers an RS232 interface for PC or embedded master integration and a CANopen version suitable for industrial automation net works, fully compliant with the CiA 402 servo drive standard. Both versions can operate in “stand-alone” mode, using digital and analog I/Os for local control tasks.
they just get more efficient,” Fan said. “That’s the story of electrification — we’re not just trying to replace what we have, we’re creating even better performance.”
Fan, Rivas-Davila, Kanan and their colleagues are already working to scale up their new reactor technology and expand its potential applications. They are adapting the same ideas to design reactors for capturing carbon dioxide and for manufacturing cement, and they are working with industrial partners in the oil and gas industries to understand what those companies would need to adopt this technology. They are also conducting economic analyses to understand what system-wide sustainable solutions would look like and how they could be made more affordable.
“Electrification affords us the opportunity to reinvent infrastructure, breaking through existing bottlenecks and shrinking and simplifying these types of reactors, in addition to decarbonising them,” Fan said. “Industrial decarbonisation is going to require new, systems-level approaches, and I think we’re just getting started.”
The motion control system can be paired with FAULHABER’s GPT gearheads and 22L linear actuators. It features built-in current control for overload protection, torque, velocity or position control per the servo-drive standard, low EMC emissions and CE certification. The motors are available in two lengths, offering an enhanced volume-to-performance ratio and dynamic control characteristics, suitable for medical, laboratory, automation, robotics and specialised industrial machinery.
The compact, diameter-conform design minimises space, resources and wiring needs. The system can be easily connected and configured using FAULHABER’s Motion Manager 7.1 software, which simplifies system set-up and provides extended diagnostic functions. Programming adapters for RS232, CANopen and USB are available for a quick start.
ERNTEC Pty Ltd www.erntec.net
COMPREHENSIVE FLUID POWER TRAINING FROM HYDAC
HYDAC Australia offers a comprehensive range of fluid power training options tailored to meet the needs of various industries. As a certified regional training centre for the Asia-Pacific region, HYDAC provides an extensive array of training programs that include traditional face-to-face courses, online learning, and innovative mixed reality training that incorporates both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
Expanding Traditional Face-to-Face Training
HYDAC has a strong history of delivering face-to-face training courses designed to build foundational and advanced knowledge in hydraulics. These courses include Basic Hydraulics, Maintain Hydraulics Systems, and Electro-Hydraulic Control Systems. Each course carries HYDAC certification, signifying international recognition and industry relevance. These face-to-face programs have been expanded to keep up with industry demands and educational needs. This ensures that participants gain handson experience and direct interaction with experienced trainers, fostering a deeper understanding of fluid power systems.
Breaking Barriers with Online Training
Recognising the necessity for accessible training, HYDAC developed an online training platform called FLO (Fluid power Learning Online). This platform allows participants to engage in learning from any location, providing flexibility and convenience. The online courses cover a broad spectrum of topics, including hydraulic safety, fundamental hydraulic principles, lubricants and their properties, hydraulic schematics, hydraulic pumps, pressure control valves, directional control valves, flow control, and load holding valves. This transition to online learning ensures that both HYDAC employees and external participants can continue their professional development without geographical limitations, making high-quality education accessible to a wider audience.
Innovative Mixed Reality Training
HYDAC is at the forefront of integrating mixed reality into its training programs. Mixed Reality training combines VR and AR to create an immersive and interactive learning environment. This innovative approach allows for on-demand, instructorguided, and infi eld maintenance training, making it possible to conduct training safely and effectively from anywhere in the world. The MR training was developed in collaboration
with Deakin University, showcasing HYDAC’s commitment to advancing educational technology. By using Mixed Reality, HYDAC enables technicians to practice complex procedures in a controlled, virtual environment, reducing the risk of errors in real-world applications.
Customised Training Solutions
HYDAC’s flexibility extends to offering customised training solutions tailored to specific company needs. These bespoke programs can range from bringing equipment to HYDAC’s facilities in Melbourne to conducting on-site training sessions. Notable clients, such as AGCO, BHP, Rio Tinto, and Swinburne University of Technology, have benefitted from HYDAC’s tailored training programs, which often include unique VR components developed to enhance learning and operational efficiency. These customised solutions ensure that training is directly relevant to the specific machinery and processes used by each client, maximising the effectiveness of the training.
TTC Academy and Beyond
In addition to HYDAC’s extensive training offerings, the company also provides training through the TTControl’s TTC Academy. This joint venture between TTTech and HYDAC International delivers seminars that cover the basics of TTControl products, complete with programming examples using specialised training kits. The TTC Academy ensures that participants are well-versed in the latest control technologies, enhancing their ability to implement advanced solutions in their operations.
Supporting Apprenticeships and Professional Growth
HYDAC supports apprenticeships and graduate programs, fostering the development of the next generation of fluid power experts. These initiatives equip participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to excel in the industry.
For more information on HYDAC’s training programs and opportunities, visit: https://www.hydac.com.au/training.html.
HYDAC International www.hydac.com.au
The sensor comprises an ionic electronic bilayer hydrogel that can detect solid-state biomarkers from the skin. The sensor is connected to a flexible printed circuit board which transmits data wirelessly to a user interface.
UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY
lifestyle monitoring, particularly for those living with chronic conditions requiring constant health monitoring,” Yang said.
In clinical studies, the sensor demonstrated correlations between the biomarkers detected on the skin and those found in blood samples, thereby validating the sensor’s accuracy and its potential as an alternative to blood tests for monitoring chronic diseases such as hyperlipoproteinemia and cardiovascular conditions.
The sensor can also detect solid-state lactate and cholesterol at low levels; its sensitivity approaches that of mass spectrometry, which ensures the precise monitoring of these biomarkers. The sensor’s design also reduces motion artefacts, which occur when the user’s movements affect the placement of the sensor or its contact pressure to the skin, by three times compared to conventional counterparts.
“One of the possible applications of this technology is to replace the pregnancy diabetic test, commonly known as the glucose tolerance test. Rather than subject pregnant women to multiple blood draws, our sensor could be used to track real-time sugar levels conveniently in patients’ homes, with a similar level of accuracy as traditional tests. This also can be applied to diabetes in general, replacing the need for regular finger-prick tests,” Liu said.
“Another potential application is to use the sensor in the daily monitoring of heart health, as cardiovascular disease accounts for almost one-third of deaths in Singapore. The research team has embarked on a research program to work closely with cardiologists in establishing clinical correlation between biomarkers — lactate, cholesterol and glucose — with heart health,” Yang said.
The researchers plan to enhance the sensor’s performance by increasing its working time and sensitivity. They also aim to integrate additional solid-state analytes, broadening the sensor’s applicability to other biomarkers. The team’s research findings have been published in the journal Nature Materials.
Schneider Electric has launched the APC Back-UPS Pro Gaming uninterruptible power supply (UPS), designed to deliver uninterrupted power protection. The UPS features a battery backup to protect systems from different power disruptions and damage. The UPS also continues to supply power to routers and/or modems once the system has been shut down, to maintain a connection with equipment.
In the event of an interruption or loss of power during gameplay, the back-up power supply gives players enough time to save their progress or complete the game, preventing dropped games and resulting penalties.
The APC Back-UPS Pro Gaming is available in both black and white and features a patented Reactor Circle. When the device is in power mode, the circular LED ring indicates the backup power supply’s remaining runtime and power level. The sine wave power provides a stable voltage for gaming professionals at critical moments, maintaining a continuous gaming experience.
The UPS also features an efficient power capacity with an output of up to 2200 VA/1320 W, allowing gamers to immerse themselves in high-performance games. Schneider Electric www.se.com/au
RF LOW NOISE AMPLIFIER
Richardson RFPD, Inc. has announced the in-stock availability and full design support capabilities for an RF low noise amplifier from Guerrilla RF, Inc.
The GRF2110 is a broadband, ultra-low noise linear amplifier designed for Wi-Fi 6/6E, small cell, wireless infrastructure and other high-performance RF applications up to 8 GHz. The standard tune exhibits enhanced noise figure, linearity and return loss and gain flatness from 5 to 8 GHz.
The device can be operated from a supply voltage of 2.7 to 5 V, with a typical bias condition of 5 V and 70 mA for optimal efficiency and linearity.
Richardson RFPD
www.richardsonrfpd.com
THE NEXT LEAP IN SEMICONDUCTORS
We haven’t yet reached 2025, the expected arrival year of the 2nm process node, but we’re already talking about the 1.4nm node.
That’s what the semiconductor industry does — it prepares for the next revolution years in advance.
And so, designers straddle the need for miniaturisation and efficiency, as always. But designers are not simply working to reduce the size of our electronics; designers are trying to surpass the limits of technology, and this requires smaller process nodes. It’s not a trend as much as it is Moore’s Law fulfi lled. As we try to make sense of these technological advancements, the semiconductor industry is on the brink of a significant milestone.
The 1.4nm process node is expected to launch in 2027, promising a new age of semiconductor technology signifi ed by excellent levels of transistor density, energy efficiency, and performance. The 1.4nm node is the next phase in miniaturisation that will redefine the constraints of computing power, opening the door to AI and quantum computing advancements.
Bringing the node to life requires advanced manufacturing technology, like the US$400 million Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines developed by ASML.1 These machines allow for the fine levels of precision needed to manufacture these process nodes and move us deeper into semiconductor evolution. Let’s take a look at how that evolution will play out and some of the implications of this leap in semiconductor technology.
The Role of EUV Technologies in Semiconductor Manufacturing
EUV lithography brings miniaturisation to life. The processes conducted by these machines incorporate short wavelengths of light — much shorter than those used in traditional lithography — to etch fine patterns onto silicon wafers. Transitioning to EUV lithography has driven the miniaturisation trend and allowed companies to pack billions more transistors into single chips.
This was a more challenging task with previous Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) lithography technologies.
As mentioned earlier, though, these machines aren’t cheap. Recently, Intel announced its heavy investment in High-NA EUV lithography machines from ASML, 2 a move that shows off its pursuit of chips with cutting-edge 1.4nm process nodes. Intel recognises these machines’ role in advancing chip manufacturing and is preparing to make them a part of their strategy.
The Development of Transistor Density
When the integrated circuit was created in the 1950s, it housed just a handful of transistors. Today, chips contain billions of these units, forcing a transition from the microscale to the nanoscale, as well as some new manufacturing capabilities and theoretical understanding. The evolution continued from the 1950s to the 1970s with the 10 micrometre processes and continued up to the sub-10 nanometre processes in recent years. Each time designers reduce transistor size, we see a corresponding surge in computing power, efficiency, and complexity of electronic devices.
Transitioning to the 1.4nm process node will be the most significant leap in transistor density and chip performance to date. It means an unheard-of number of transistors packed onto a chip, but it also presents some challenges in materials science and fabrication techniques. To overcome these challenges, the industry must innovate how semiconductors are manufactured, including lithography advancements and new materials that can manage heat and behaviour at quantum levels.
Our current understanding of transistor density needs to be adjusted. It’s not about the number of transistors on a unit but perhaps the number of transistors per footprint when considering 3D volume. Applications such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and autonomous vehicles are examples of how crucial specialised transistor applications are,
NOVEL METHOD TO GET EFFICIENT, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY LITHIUM
Sarah C.P. Williams, The UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering
As the electric vehicle market booms, the demand for lithium — the mineral required for lithium-ion batteries — has also soared. Global lithium production has more than tripled in the last decade.
But current methods of extracting lithium from rock ores or brines are slow and come with high energy demands and environmental costs. They also require sources of lithium which are incredibly concentrated to begin with and are only found in a few countries.
Now, researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) have optimised a new method for extracting lithium from more dilute — and widespread — sources of the mineral, including seawater, groundwater and “flowback water” left behind from fracking and offshore oil drilling.
“Right now there is a gap between the demand for lithium and the production,” said Chong Liu, Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering and senior author of the new work, published in Nature Communications . “Our method allows the efficient extraction of the mineral from very dilute liquids, which can greatly broaden the potential sources of lithium.”
In the new research, Liu and her colleagues showed how certain particles of iron phosphate can most efficiently pull lithium out of dilute liquids. Their new findings could hasten an era of faster, greener lithium extraction.
Lithium at a cost
Today, most lithium used in lithium batteries comes from two basic extraction processes. Lithium rock ores can be mined, smashed up with heavy machinery, and then treated with acid to isolate the lithium. Lithium brine pools, on the other hand, use massive amounts of water pumped to the Earth’s surface and then evaporated
away — over the course of more than a year — to yield dried lithium.
“These methods aren’t particularly environmentally friendly to begin with, and if you start trying to work with less concentrated sources of lithium, they’re going to become even less efficient,” Liu said. “If you have a brine that is 10 times more dilute, you need 10 times more briny water to get the same amount of lithium.”
In recent years, Liu’s team has spearheaded a completely different method to get lithium out of dilute liquids. Their approach isolates lithium based on its electrochemical properties, using crystal lattices of olivine iron phosphate. Because of its size, charge and reactivity, lithium is drawn into the spaces in the olivine iron phosphate columns — like water being soaked into the holes in a sponge. But, if the column is designed perfectly, sodium ions, also present in briny liquids, are left out or enter the iron phosphate at a much lower level.
In the new work, Liu and her colleagues, including first author of the new paper Gangbin Yan, a PME graduate student, tested how variation in olivine iron phosphate particles impacted their ability to selectively isolate lithium over sodium.
“When you produce iron phosphate, you can get particles that are drastically different sizes and shapes,” Yan explained. “In order to figure out the best synthesis method, we need to know which of those particles are most efficient at selecting lithium over sodium.”
Not too big, not too small
The research team synthesised olivine iron phosphate particles using different methods, resulting in a range of particle sizes spanning 20 to 6000 nanometres. Then, they divided those particles into groups
BREAKTHROUGH TOWARDS HIGHESTPERFORMING SUPERCONDUCTING WIRE
Tom Dinki, University at Buffalo
Our energy future may depend on high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wires. This technology’s ability to carry electricity without resistance at temperatures higher than those required by traditional superconductors could revolutionise the electric grid and even enable commercial nuclear fusion.
Yet these large-scale applications won’t happen until HTS wires can be fabricated at a price-performance metric equal to that of the plain copper wire sold at your local hardware store.
New University at Buffalo-led research is moving us closer to that goal. In a study published in Nature Communications , researchers report that they have fabricated the world’s highest-performing HTS wire segment while making the price-performance metric significantly more favourable.
Based on rare-earth barium copper oxide (REBCO), their wires achieved the highest critical current density and pinning force — the amount of electrical current carried and ability to pin down magnetic vortices, respectively — reported to date for all magnetic fields and temperatures from 5 to 77 kelvin.
This temperature range is still extremely cold — -451 to -321°F — but higher than the absolute zero that traditional superconductors function at.
“These results will help guide industry toward further optimising their deposition and fabrication conditions to significantly improve the price-performance metric in commercial coated conductors,” said the study’s corresponding author, Amit Goyal, PhD, SUNY
Distinguished Professor and SUNY Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, within the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “Making the price-performance metric more favourable is needed to fully realise the numerous large-scale, envisioned applications of superconductors.”
HTS wires have many applications
Applications of HTS wires include energy generation, such as doubling power generated from offshore wind generators; gridscale superconducting magnetic energy-storage systems; energy transmission, such as loss-less transmission of power in high current DC and AC transmission lines; and energy efficiency in the form of highly efficient superconducting transformers, motors and fault-current limiters for the grid.
Just one niche application of HTS wires, commercial nuclear fusion, has the potential for generation of limitless clean energy. In just the last few years, approximately 20 private companies have been founded globally to develop commercial nuclear fusion, and billions of dollars have been invested in developing HTS wires for this application alone.
Other applications of HTS wires include next-generation MRI for medicine, next-generation nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for drug discovery and high-field magnets for numerous physics applications. There are also numerous defence applications, such as in the development of all-electric ships and all-electric airplanes.
COMPUTER CHIPS BECOME EVEN SMALLER HAVE
THE POTENTIAL TO
Miniaturising computer chips is one of the keys to the digital revolution. It allows computers to become ever smaller and, at the same time, more powerful. This in turn is a prerequisite for developments such as autonomous driving, artificial intelligence and the 5G standard for mobile communications.
Aresearch team led by Iason Giannopoulos, Yasin Ekinci and Dimitrios Kazazis from the Laboratory of X-ray Nanoscience and Technologies at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI has devised a technique for creating even denser circuit patterns.
The current state-of-the-art microchips have conductive tracks separated by 12 nanometres, ie, about 6000 times thinner than a human hair. The researchers, by contrast, have managed to produce tracks with a separation of just five nanometres. As a result, circuits can be designed much more compactly than before. “Our work showcases the patterning potential of light. This is a significant step forward for both industry and research,” Giannopoulos said.
Microchips are produced like the pictures on a cinema screen
As recently as 1970, there was only room for around 1000 transistors on a microchip. Today, an area barely larger than the tip of a finger can hold about 60 billion components. These components are manufactured using a process called photolithography: a thin
slice of silicon, the wafer, is coated with a light-sensitive layer, the photoresist. It is then exposed to a pattern of light corresponding to the blueprint for the microchip, which alters the chemical properties of the photoresist, making it either soluble or insoluble to certain chemical solutions. Subsequent treatment removes the exposed (positive process) or unexposed (negative process) regions. In the end, conductive tracks are left behind on the wafer forming the desired wiring pattern.
The type of light used is crucial for miniaturisation and for making microchips more and more compact. The laws of physics dictate that the smaller the wavelength of the light used, the more closely the structures in the image can be packed. For a long time, the industry used deep ultraviolet light (DUV). This laser light has a wavelength of 193 nanometres. By comparison, the range of blue light visible to the human eye ends around 400 nanometres.
Iason Giannopoulos with part of the apparatus used to carry out the experiments at the Swiss Light Source SLS.
Werner Siefer, Paul Scherrer Institute
SOLAR POWER
EFFICIENT AND STABLE SOLAR CELLS CAN NOW BE
MASS PRODUCED
Scientists from the City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) have developed highly efficient, printable and stable perovskite solar cells, to help achieve carbon neutrality.
TThe new type of perovskite solar cells can be mass produced at a speed comparable to newspaper printing, with a daily output of up to 1000 solar panels. Due to their flexible, semi-transparent characteristics, the perovskite solar cells can also be made into light-absorbing glass windows.
Led by Professor Alex Jen Kwan-yue, professor of materials science, the researchers demonstrated an effective strategy to enhance the long-term stability of perovskite-organic tandem solar cells. The integrated cells retain over 90% of their initial power conversion efficiency (PCE) after 500 hours of operation.
The operational stability of wide-bandgap perovskites has been a challenge for scientists; the CityUHK team addressed the issue with novel material science solutions by designing a series of organic redox mediators with appropriate chemical potentials to selectively reduce iodine and oxidise metals. After the perovskite device was integrated into the monolithic perovskite-organic tandem solar cell as a wide-bandgap subcell, the encapsulated tandem cell was subjected to 1-sun illumination (AM 1.5G spectrum, without a UV filter). It retained 92% of its initial PCE
after 500 hours of continuous operation at ~45°C. The researchers also reported high efficiency of 25.22% (certified 24.27%). The device also exhibited good operational stability in humid air (relative humidity, 70–80%).
“We were the first team to propose the use of redox and chemical synthesis methods to fundamentally solve the problem, effectively ensuring the stability of perovskite solar cells,” said Dr Wu Shengfan, a key member of the research team.
The research results, published in the journal Nature Energy , will be transformed into practical applications through the start-up company HKTech Solar that will be managed by Dr Francis Lin, a postdoctoral student of Professor Jen.
Perovskite photovoltaics can absorb energy even under weak indoor light and have mechanical flexibility. They can be integrated and applied in different scenarios, from large buildings and farms to various components of the Internet of Things. The researchers also plan to set up a pilot production line with an annual output of 25 megawatts in Hong Kong within a year and a half and launch products for industry matching investors to test applications.
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