Today's Tech News: Notable or Not?

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-highly-phased-array-wireless-ic.html "150 GHz band transceiver for 6G networks... standard 65nm CMOS fabrication... highly compact bi-directional transmit/ receive circuitry (simultaneous horizontal/ vertical polarizations) with integrated antenna array...144 Gbps data rate, dramatically reduced: size, power, latency... high-density integration overcomes challenges in high-frequency beamforming, signal attenuation, physical packaging... real-time holographic telepresence, XR, remote surgery, mobile connectivity, autonomous telecommunication"

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-photonic-platform-lane-highway.html "highly scalable spatial/modal multiplexing for high-density co-packaged optics/ AI optical interconnects on standard silicon CMOS fabricated processes... optical spatial modes travel simultaneously without signal interference...  AI compute clusters, high-speed data centers, high-density photonic integrated circuits"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1137340 "2D interfaces treated as passive boundaries by semiconductor packaging, trapping localized heat/ degrading performance... overcome continuously tuning interface synthesis: twist angle, mechanical strain, ion intercalation, enabling boundaries evolving into active thermal functional components: directional heat conductors, thermal switches, thermal transistors... eliminates hotspots in high-density sub-2nm 3D integrated circuits"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1137488 "human-designed optical layouts suffer from higher insertion losses, larger footprints, restricted operational bandwidths... overcome using algorithms exploring free-form topologies across design space, synthesizing photonics structures tailored precisely for target optical responses... lower signal attenuation/ superior transmission bandwidth, occupying fraction of chip footprint... scales component density and boosts optical throughput in foundry-grade silicon photonics manufacturing"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1137229 "switches: 2X2 μm, 8-nm-thick hexagonal boron nitride memristors utilize brief electrical pulse to form/ dissolve nanoscale gold pathway within memristors making them non-volatile (retaining on/ off state without power)... GaN layers: upper wiring of commercially manufactured GaN microchips... scalable, full reconfiguration of monolithic microwave integrated circuits, including adjusting signal strength, changing filter frequencies, and redirecting signals"

https://compoundsemiconductor.net/article/124725/UC_Berkeley_team_finds_new_way_to_power_nanophotonic_lasers "nanophotonics' electrical connections interfere with optical confinement, overcome decoupling electrical injection from optical structure by supporting device on nano-post array placed where light's EM field naturally drops to 0, without disrupting their delicate light-trapping structures... compact, energy-efficient/ allows conductive nano-posts to remain invisible to the light enabling uniform electrical power across 100s of tiny cells at telecommunication wavelengths... commercial co-packaged optics, photonic ICs"

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-powered-chip-harvests-energy-chemicals.html "compact monolithic 3D IC  harvests indoor/ outdoor light eliminating need for battery recharging...  highly responsive graphene-based sensor layer... processes/ interprets sensor telemetry locally without requiring persistent connection to electrical grid/ bulky battery packs... applicable for Internet of Things establishing a self-sustained hardware platform uniquely optimized for long-term deployment in remote or hazardous environments where physical battery replacement is impossible"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1128668 "created using reconfigurable germanium–silicon photodetector utilizing fan-out wafer-level packaging... significantly reduces parasitic loss/ improves signal integrity... redistribution layer: dense (>10² connections/ square mm) network of fine metal interconnects, <0.3 dB/mm insertion loss at 100 GHz,  >110 GHz device bandwidth, highly efficient optical-to-electrical conversion, low-noise... ultrahigh-speed data transmission across multiple modulation formats ranging from 112 to 336 Gbps/ wavelength" Related: New 200 Gbps photodetector doubles optical reception capacity for data centers https://phys.org/news/2026-07-200gbps-photodetector-optical-reception-capacity.html

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1108208 "low: power consumption/ signal interference (cross talk)... created from carbon and other light elements to form covalently bonded, highly porous crystalline sheetlike films... ultralow dielectric constant/ ultrahigh electrical breakdown strength (needed for high-voltage), good thermal stability... synthetic interfacial polymerization stitches molecular building blocks to form strong crystalline layered sheets.... ultimate goal is to greatly lower the power consumption of the booming AI data center growth"

https://phys.org/news/2024-08-scientists-perovskite-waveguides-edge-lasing.html "ICs with predefined shaped cesium-lead-bromide perovskite crystals in nonlinear room temperature photonics as waveguides, couplers, splitters, modulators... exciton-polariton condensate quasiparticles behaving partly light, matter -like... high exciton binding energy/ oscillator strength, for energy-efficient light amplification... formed into any shape... integrating nanolasers, waveguides, other elements on single chip utilizing single photons... solar cells, lasers, classical and quantum signal processing" Related: Planar hyperbolic polaritons' nanolight manipulation for quantum computing and thermal management https://phys.org/news/2024-08-nanolight-insight-quantum-thermal.html Two-step excitation unlocks and steers exotic nanolight https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1101027

https://phys.org/news/2024-02-key-photonic-components-supercomputing-technology.html "Programmable photonic IC, silicon-based MEMS... faster, 5X smaller, fW levels (>1 million times less power consumption), parallel computing... not dependent on temperature changes but on mechanical movements powered by electrostatic forces... manipulate light wave phase, controlling coupling between parallel waveguides interacting with micromechanical switches... can use conventional silicon wafer production... AI crucial inference tasks, advanced image processing, high-bandwidth data transmission" Related: New nanocrystalline material significantly extends MEMS switch chip lifespan https://phys.org/news/2026-01-nanocrystalline-material-significantly-mems-chip.html

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-circuits-based-2d-semiconductor-ghz.html "ring oscillator (RO) tunable circuit producing signals utilizing 2D semiconducting MoS2-based field-effect transistors (FE)... RO constructed by cascading 5 inverters in ring, and output read through buffer... each inverter constructed from enhanced (E)-mode FET as drive and depletion (D)-mode FET with gate and source terminals connected as load... for D-mode FETs, deposited sub-stoichiometric AlOx on MoS2... frequencies up to 2.65 GHz, scalable... DTCO advancing 2D semiconductor circuit-level performance"

https://phys.org/news/2023-08-first-of-its-kind-chip-features-laser-waveguide.html " atomic clocks and could also be used in quantum applications. It would also reduce the need for huge optical tables... insert isolators prevent reflections... ultralow-loss silicon nitride waveguide on silicon substrate covered with silicon over which mounted low-noise indium phosphate laser... separating 2 components prevented damage to the waveguide during etching... silicon nitride redistribution layer for interactions between 2 components via evanescent fields... tunable microwave frequency generator" Related: The laser trick that could put an ultraprecise optical clock on a chip https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03782-0 Researchers use liquid crystals to control polarization inside laser-written waveguides https://phys.org/news/2024-03-liquid-crystals-polarization-laser-written.html Researchers boost performance of perovskite lasers by suppressing energy-draining process https:/...

https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-micro-transfer-heterogeneous-si-photonic-circuits.html "micro-transfer printing combines advantages die-to-wafer bonding integration with those of flip-chip integration (pre-fabrication and pre-testing of the nonnative components, high alignment accuracy integration, no disruption of silicon photonics (SiPh) process flow... heat and bumps form solder balls conduct electricity... waveguides connecting photonic chips either fabricated at same time rest of devices... 1 μm lateral alignment tolerance. Scaling up the technology to 200 mm and 300 mm wafers underway" Related: Transfer printing techniques and their applications in photonic integrated circuits https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1111310

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-04-advanced-power-circuits.html "topology of dual-phase series capacitor DC-DC convertor, voltage-mode PWM controller with two feedback loops proposed to realize modulation of output voltage and series capacitor voltage... fast transient response technology overcame shortcomings of traditional PWM control... used dual-phase inductor current to simultaneously charge the load to further improve the response speed of converter... settling time of only 0.9μs, which is fastest transient responses"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-monolithic-gan-components-boosts-power.html "We have improved the performance of GaN ICs by co-integrating d-mode HEMTS on our functional e-mode HEMT platform on SOI. Enhancement and depletion mode refer to an ON (d-mode) or OFF (e-mode) state at zero source voltage, resulting in a current flow (or not) in the transistor. We expect that taking the step from RTL to direct-coupled FET logic will improve speed and reduce the power dissipation of the circuits" Related: Quantum Physics Sets a Speed Limit to Electronics https://www.tuwien.at/en/tu-wien/news/news-articles/news/bitte-erst-ab-1100-die-hoechstgeschwindigkeit-der-quanten

https://techxplore.com/news/2021-12-shellac-circuits.html "tests for tensile strength, stability under water and other properties showed promising results utilizing patented applications... sensors for deformations, thin PET strips with printed ink structure whose electrical resistance changed precisely with varying degrees of bending... in sustainable printed electronics for conductive tracks and sensor elements in smart packaging and biomedical devices or in the field of food and environmental sensing" Related: Eco-friendly conductive ink promises to revolutionize the production of soft stretchable electronic circuits https://techxplore.com/news/2023-09-eco-friendly-ink-revolutionize-production-soft.html

https://www.skoltech.ru/en/2021/09/new-optical-transistor-to-speed-up-computation-up-to-1-000-times-at-lowest-switching-energy-possible/ "extremely energy-efficient optical switch that could replace electronic transistors in a new generation of computers manipulating photons rather than electrons... requires no cooling... 1 trillion operations per second... at room temperature! That said, there is a long way to go before such proof-of-principle demonstration is utilized in an all-optical co-processor"

https://hkust.edu.hk/news/research-and-innovation/hkust-researchers-develop-technology-extend-horizon-wide-bandgap "based on a GaN p-channel FET technology... Using a new oxygen plasma treatment technique... were able to simultaneously attain p-FET characteristics desirable for CMOS technology, including an enhancement-mode operation, low gate leakage, decent current density, and a high ON/OFF current ratio.... could have important implications for the development of new types of electronics" See also: Researchers realize gallium nitride-based complementary logic integrated circuits https://techxplore.com/news/2021-09-gallium-nitride-based-complementary-logic-circuits.html Simon Derricutt commented via Disqus : Looks like they've solved the problem of getting good P-type FETs in GaN. In some ways this sort of advance ought to be expected, since it's likely a lot of people have been experimenting with this. Though the manufacture looks like needing more mask steps than...