Cover Story
Three-dimensional integrated circuit
In microelectronics, a 3D IC is an integrated circuit manufactured
by stacking silicon wafers and/or dies and interconnecting them
vertically using through-silicon vias (TSVs) so that they behave as
a single device to achieve performance improvements at reduced
power and smaller footprint than conventional two dimensional
processes. 3D IC is just one of a host of 3D integration schemes
that exploit the z-direction to achieve electrical performance
benefits.
technologies that provide added value to the wearer. They have
the ability to do many things that traditional fabrics cannot,
including communicate, transform, conduct energy and even
grow.
Flexible electronics
Biometrics
Biometrics refers to metrics related to human characteristics.
Biometrics authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in
computer science as a form of identification and access control. It
is also used to identify individuals in groups that are under
surveillance.
Biometric identifiers are the distinctive, measurable
characteristics used to label and describe individuals. Biometric
identifiers are often categorized as physiological versus behavioral
characteristics.
It is not limited to fingerprint, palm veins, face recognition, DNA,
palm print, hand geometry, iris recognition, retina and
odour/scent. Behavioral characteristics are related to the pattern
of behavior of a person, including but not limited to typing
rhythm, gait, and voice.
Digital scent technology
Digital scent technology (or olfactory technology) is the
engineering discipline dealing with olfactory representation. It is a
technology to sense, transmit and receive scent-enabled digital
media (such as web pages, video games, movies and music). This
sensing part of this technology works by using olfactometers and
electronic noses. In 2005, Japanese researchers announced that
they are working on a 3D television with touch and smell that
would be commercially available on the market by the year 2020.
In 2016, a Chinese company initiated project "ScentRealm" and
takes the first step to enter the field of “Digital Scent Technology”.
Electronic nose
An electronic nose is a device intended to detect odors or flavors.
An electronic nose was tuned to the perceptual axis of odorant
pleasantness, i.e., an axis ranging from very pleasant (e.g., rose)
to very unpleasant (e.g., skunk). This allowed the eNose to then
smell novel odorants it never encountered before, yet still
generate odor pleasantness estimates in high agreement with
human assessments regardless of the subject's cultural
background. This suggests an innate component of odorant
pleasantness that is tightly linked to molecular structure.
E-textiles
E-textiles, are fabrics that enable digital components (including
small computers), and electronics to be embedded in them.
Smart textiles are fabrics that have been developed with new
Flexible electronics is a technology for assembling electronic
circuits by mounting electronic devices on flexible plastic
substrates, such as polyimide, PEEK or transparent conductive
polyester film. Additionally, flex circuits can be screen printed
silver circuits on polyester. Flexible electronic assemblies may be
manufactured using identical components used for rigid printed
circuit boards, allowing the board to conform to a desired shape,
or to flex during its use. An alternative approach to flexible
electronics suggests various etching techniques to thin down the
traditional silicon substrate to few tens of micrometers to gain
reasonable flexibility (~ 5 mm bending radius).
Memristor
A memristor is a hypothetical non-linear passive two-terminal
electrical componen trelating electric charge and magnetic flux
linkage. The memristor's electrical resistance is not constant but
depends on the history of current that had previously flowed
through the device, i.e., its present resistance depends on how
much electric charge has flowed in what direction through it in
the past; the device remembers its history — the so-called nonvolatility property. When the electric power supply is turned off,
the memristor remembers its most recent resistance until it is
turned on again.
Molecular electronics
Molecular electronics is the study and application of molecular
building blocks for the fabrication of electronic components. It is
an interdisciplinary area that spans physics, chemistry, and
materials science. The unifying feature is use of molecular
building blocks to fabricate electronic components. Due to the
prospect of size reduction in electronics offered by molecularlevel control of properties, molecular electronics has generated
much excitement. It provides a potential means to extend
Moore's Law beyond the foreseen limits of small-scale
conventional silicon integrated circuits.
Nanoelectromechanical systems
ELE Times | 36 | November, 2016