Electronics-Lab.com Blog

Nanotransistors just got a lot more nano. A new chip construction process cooked up by Applied Materials in Santa Clara creates transistors so small they can be measured in smatterings of atoms.

The company can now coax a few dozen of the little guys to assemble themselves into a base layer that helps control the flow of electricity on computer chips. The biggest development is the manufacturing process: Applied Materials devised a way to keep several interconnected manufacturing machines in a near-total vacuum—at this level, a single stray nanoparticle can ruin everything.

The other part of the breakthrough is making this base from hafnium (used also in nuclear control rods) instead of the standard silicon oxynitride, which is terrible at holding back electrons on a supersmall scale. (Gordon Moore himself has called this technique the biggest advancement in the field in 40 years—and it is likely to keep processors advancing on pace with his eponymous law for the foreseeable future.)

Applied Materials’ system means transistors can be about 22 nanometers wide, as opposed to the current standard of about 45 nanometers, resulting in smaller, cheaper computing devices.

CA Lab Creates the World’s Smallest Transistors - [Link]

www.adafruit.com writes:

I was digging around trying to find some information on an obscure LCD module, and came across this interesting table (compiled partially in Russian) that correlates a lot of older mobile phones with their specific LCDs, LCD controllers, dimensions, serial bus, etc.  If you’re looking for cheap LCDs of a specific physical size or resolution, this might be a good starting point since there may still be spare parts floating around out there.  If nothing else, it’s just an interesting read looking at how much time and effort went into this thing (presumably a repair shop owner, or something similar).  Original Excel Spreadsheet: http://vrtp.ru/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=385043, or safer HTML conversion courtesy google.

Interesting Mobile Phone LCD Spreadsheet - [Link]

www.adafruit.com writes:

I’ve been doing a lot of power supply testing lately, using both switching a linear supplies. Since it’s not something I’ve had to do often in the past (I’m an apps person, not so much a test engineer) … I thought it was worthwhile to spend a bit of time digging around for app notes on accurately characterising linear and switching supplies.

AN 372-1 Power Supply Testing - [Link]

Instructables user cold_steel writes: [via]

This is probably one of the most used tools in my workshop, the “extra hands”. It is the ultimate tool for soldering and prying in the very small range. But over time I found that I do not have enough light on my work when using this tool. Actually all the benefits you would expect from having a magnifying glass for easy reach are over shadowed by the shadow cast by the rim. And honestly I haven’t managed to position my desk lamp in such a way that I was able to conveniently light my tiny work. So I decided it is time for some upgrades.

As usual you will find all G-code and other files included so you can reproduce this easy on your own CNC machine.

Ring Light for Helping Hands - [Link]

Stephanie @ planetstephanie.net writes:

The red circle ‘red alert light’ is wired to the XBee’s RSSI so when the XBee receives a wireless command, the red light comes on for a few seconds.

The white gridded rectangle is the DHT22 sensor (temperature and humidity). I felt it would ‘blend in’ enough that it should be mounted right up front for all to see. The little black hole to the right of the DHT22 is for the light sensor.

Why is there a light sensor? Why not? Also: because I had an extra one laying around.

The screen display is mostly self-evident. Time, day, date. Heat/Cool. Run/Hold/Override. Target temp (small) and actual temp (large). Fan status (on/auto) and humidity.

Thermostat Three - [Link]

This project explains how to use thermistors to measure temperature, using the Arduino platform.  The method shown executes quickly, using a lookup table with interpolation for greater precision. The thermistor used in this example is a
3950 NTC, 10K @ 25 Deg Celsius. [via]

Fun with Thermistors and Arduino - [Link]

Alexander Weber over at Tinkerlog.com shares his work 3D printing a battery adapter for a Canon Powershot SX200. [via]

Last year I bought a Canon PowerShot SX200 on ebay. I wanted to play a bit with CHDK, the Canon Hack Development Kit to make some timelapse things. Problem was, the battery would hold only up for 2 hours or so. Even worse, the camera has no power jack to attach a power supply. The solution is to buy a battery dummy that has a jack on its back. That costs like 30 euros!

3D Printed Battery Adapter for a Canon Powershot SX200 - [Link]

Jean Wlodarski writes: [via]

I just finished developing my USB temperature logger and shot a video showing how it works. Here are the key figures:

• Up to two months of logging with a single coin cell battery.
• 30 000 timestamped temperature measurements.
• Logging period from every 5 seconds to every 24 hours.
• 0.5°C accuracy, 0.06°C resolution.
• No driver, no software and no admin rights needed!
• Compatible with any computer with USB port.
• Automatic time synchronization with the computer.
• Low cost design.

When plugged to a computer’s USB port, the logger appears as a normal USB drive. The temperature logging period is changed by editing a config.txt file. When this file is saved, the logger reads the periodicity (in seconds), synchronizes its clock to the computer’s date and time and starts to flash the LED to indicate it’s ready to log. Once removed from USB, the logging is started by pushing the button (the LED blinks three times). For every temperature measurement, the LED flashes.

Simple USB Temperature Logger - [Link]

www.adafruit.com writes:

The design is based off of the EEVblog design shown on episode #102. The purpose of the device is for when you need a constant load to test things like power supplies, or batteries. No matter what the voltage coming out of the power supply, the constant current dummy load will adjust automatically to provide the same amount of current.

DIY Constant Current Dummy Load - [Link]

We incorporated among standard stock types the dot matrix LED display Kingbright TC12-11 with the height of 30.6mm. Hyper red color (630nm) and a high luminous intensity provide a contrast image.

TC12-11SRWA with 5×7 dots can be conveniently used especially in indoor applications, where it will provide an excellent readability at various ambient light conditions. Display can also be used for outdoor applications, excluding places on a direct sunlight, where the display legibility can be substantially decreased.

High light output, typically 82mCd/10mA and white diffused lens ensure a very good visibility even from higher viewing angles. Display features almost a linear luminous intensity / current characteristics in a range from 0 to 20mA, that´s why it is fully usable even for low power applications. Similarly like almost all dot matrix displays, even TC12-11 is designed in a way that when placed in a row, we will obtain a continuous row with homogenous spacing between dots. That´s why it is possible to display even symbols wider than 5 points and naturally a moving text.

TC12-11 has a common cathode (in a column), available are also versions with a common anode (in a row) and also various colour versions.

Universal 1.2″ LED dot matrix display - [Link]