Blackstone
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News on China's scientific and technological development.
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Equation
Lieutenant General
Yes, the Chinese, since they are leaps and bounds ahead of everyone in this technology already.
broadsword
Brigadier
Martian
Senior Member
Scientific American: China develops photonic crystal ink
"Blow On Money to Tell If It Is Counterfeit
New crystal ink, hard for fraudsters to make, shows intricate patterns when you breathe on it
November 18, 2014 | By James Urquhart and ChemistryWorld
Simply breathing on money could soon reveal if it's the real deal or counterfeit thanks to a beetle-inspired ink that reversibly changes color in response to humidity. The photonic crystal ink developed by Chinese researchers can produce unique color changing patterns on surfaces with an inkjet printer system, which would be extremely hard for fraudsters to reproduce. The work also shows promise for other applications including displays and wearable sensors.
Ling Bai and Zhongze Gu and colleagues at Southeast University in Nanjing, China, have developed a photonic crystal ink that mimics the way Tmesisternus isabellae – a species of longhorn beetle – reversibly switches its color from gold to red according to the humidity in its environment. Credit: Secret Service
The ability of photonic crystals to control the flow of light makes them a suitable material for diverse applications including optical communications, biosensors and solar cells. Most of the research over the past 25 years, however, has used expensive high precision tools developed by the microelectronics industry to create their desirable properties.
Inkjet printing of photonic crystals onto a surface is cheaper, but previous efforts have struggled to integrate responsive photonic crystal inks into such a system. Now, Ling Bai and Zhongze Gu and colleagues at Southeast University in Nanjing, China, have developed a photonic crystal ink that mimics the way Tmesisternus isabellae – a species of longhorn beetle – reversibly switches its color from gold to red according to the humidity in its environment.
This color shift is caused by the adsorption of water vapor in their hardened front wings, which alters the thickness and average refractive index of their multilayered scales. To emulate this, the team made their photonic crystal ink using mesoporous silica nanoparticles, which have a large surface area and strong vapor adsorption capabilities that can be precisely controlled.
Using the ink in an inkjet printer, the researchers produced complex patterns on rigid and flexible materials and showed that their color can be reversibly and precisely controlled – shifting from green to red or yellow for example – in response to nitrogen and ethanol vapors. They even saw patterns change color simply in response to breathing on them.
Bai was surprised at how precisely they could control the color and that the patterns remained intact after being bent several times. 'This technology allows for high resolution, high precision, fast speed, large scale preparation of photonic crystal patterns,' says Bai. 'Patterning of photonic crystals is critical for the realisation of photonic crystal displays and for designing the special functions of photonic crystal optical devices.'
'It is particularly refreshing to see simple techniques such as inkjet printing being used to such great effect,' says Thomas Krauss who investigates photonic crystals at the University of York. 'Being able to create highly functional photonic crystals by low-cost techniques is important for commercial applications, and I believe that the type of flexible and scalable technology demonstrated here has a great future.'
'We think the ink's multiple security features may be useful for antifraud applications, however we think the technology could be more useful for fabricating multiple functional sensor arrays, which we are now working towards,' adds Bai.
This article is reproduced with permission from Chemistry World. The article was first published on November 17, 2014."
"Blow On Money to Tell If It Is Counterfeit
New crystal ink, hard for fraudsters to make, shows intricate patterns when you breathe on it
November 18, 2014 | By James Urquhart and ChemistryWorld
Simply breathing on money could soon reveal if it's the real deal or counterfeit thanks to a beetle-inspired ink that reversibly changes color in response to humidity. The photonic crystal ink developed by Chinese researchers can produce unique color changing patterns on surfaces with an inkjet printer system, which would be extremely hard for fraudsters to reproduce. The work also shows promise for other applications including displays and wearable sensors.
Ling Bai and Zhongze Gu and colleagues at Southeast University in Nanjing, China, have developed a photonic crystal ink that mimics the way Tmesisternus isabellae – a species of longhorn beetle – reversibly switches its color from gold to red according to the humidity in its environment. Credit: Secret Service
The ability of photonic crystals to control the flow of light makes them a suitable material for diverse applications including optical communications, biosensors and solar cells. Most of the research over the past 25 years, however, has used expensive high precision tools developed by the microelectronics industry to create their desirable properties.
Inkjet printing of photonic crystals onto a surface is cheaper, but previous efforts have struggled to integrate responsive photonic crystal inks into such a system. Now, Ling Bai and Zhongze Gu and colleagues at Southeast University in Nanjing, China, have developed a photonic crystal ink that mimics the way Tmesisternus isabellae – a species of longhorn beetle – reversibly switches its color from gold to red according to the humidity in its environment.
This color shift is caused by the adsorption of water vapor in their hardened front wings, which alters the thickness and average refractive index of their multilayered scales. To emulate this, the team made their photonic crystal ink using mesoporous silica nanoparticles, which have a large surface area and strong vapor adsorption capabilities that can be precisely controlled.
Using the ink in an inkjet printer, the researchers produced complex patterns on rigid and flexible materials and showed that their color can be reversibly and precisely controlled – shifting from green to red or yellow for example – in response to nitrogen and ethanol vapors. They even saw patterns change color simply in response to breathing on them.
Bai was surprised at how precisely they could control the color and that the patterns remained intact after being bent several times. 'This technology allows for high resolution, high precision, fast speed, large scale preparation of photonic crystal patterns,' says Bai. 'Patterning of photonic crystals is critical for the realisation of photonic crystal displays and for designing the special functions of photonic crystal optical devices.'
'It is particularly refreshing to see simple techniques such as inkjet printing being used to such great effect,' says Thomas Krauss who investigates photonic crystals at the University of York. 'Being able to create highly functional photonic crystals by low-cost techniques is important for commercial applications, and I believe that the type of flexible and scalable technology demonstrated here has a great future.'
'We think the ink's multiple security features may be useful for antifraud applications, however we think the technology could be more useful for fabricating multiple functional sensor arrays, which we are now working towards,' adds Bai.
This article is reproduced with permission from Chemistry World. The article was first published on November 17, 2014."
Martian
Senior Member
GlobalFoundries drops out of world Top 20 semiconductor companies for 2014
The most shocking aspect of the new 2014 IC Insights' semiconductor leaders (see table below) is that GlobalFoundries dropped out of the Top 20 list.
Intel remains the world leader at x86 CISC microprocessors. Sales still hover at $50 billion.
Samsung retains its stronghold in DRAM memory chips.
Taiwan's TSMC continues to chalk up double-digit gains in worldwide foundry market-share growth. TSMC remains the world leader at manufacturing RISC-based ARM chips. At this rate, TSMC could catch Intel in revenue in about five years. TSMC's net income of US$8 billion this year is approaching Intel's net income of US$9.6 billion for last year.
If you're curious, Freescale used to be the semiconductor division of Motorola.
Taiwan's UMC has reclaimed its former position as the world #2 in the foundry business. UMC will slip back into #3 as GlobalFoundries buys IBM's chip manufacturing business.
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"Top 20 Global Semiconductor Sales Ranking for 2014
Friday, November 07, 2014 | IC Insights
Later this month, IC Insights’ November Update to The 2014 McClean Report will show a forecast ranking of the 2014 top 25 semiconductor suppliers with the companies’ sales broken down on a quarterly basis. A preview of the forecast for the top 20 companies’ total 2014 sales results is presented in Figure 1. The top 20 worldwide semiconductor (IC and O S D-optoelectronic, sensor, and discrete) sales ranking for 2014 includes eight suppliers headquartered in the U.S., three in Japan, three in Europe, three in Taiwan, two in South Korea, and one in Singapore, a relatively broad representation of geographic regions.
This year’s top-20 ranking includes two pure-play foundries (TSMC and UMC) and six fabless companies. Pure-play IC foundry GlobalFoundries is forecast to be replaced in this year’s top 20 ranking by fabless IC supplier Nvidia. It is interesting to note that the top four semiconductor suppliers all have different business models. Intel is essentially a pure-play IDM, Samsung a vertically integrated IC supplier, TSMC a pure-play foundry, and Qualcomm a fabless company.
IC foundries are included in the top 20 ranking because IC Insights has always viewed the ranking as a top supplier list, not as a marketshare ranking, and realizes that in some cases semiconductor sales are double counted. With many of our clients being vendors to the semiconductor industry (supplying equipment, chemicals, gases, etc.), excluding large IC manufacturers like the foundries would leave significant “holes” in the list of top semiconductor suppliers. Foundries and fabless companies are clearly identified in Figure 1. In the April Update to The McClean Report, marketshare rankings of IC suppliers by product type were presented and foundries were excluded from these listings.
As shown, it is expected to require total semiconductor sales of over $4.2 billion to make the 2014 top 20 ranking. In total, the top 20 semiconductor companies’ sales are forecast to increase by 9% this year as compared to 2013. However, when excluding the two pure-play foundries (TSMC and UMC) from the ranking, the top “18” semiconductor companies’ sales are forecast to increase by 8% this year, the same rate as IC Insights’ current forecast for total 2014 worldwide semiconductor market growth.
Outside the top six spots, there are numerous changes expected within the 2014 top-20 semiconductor supplier ranking. In fact, of the 14 companies ranked 7th through 20th, 10 of them are forecast to change positions in 2014 as compared with 2013 (with NXP expected to jump up two spots)."
Link to IC Insights:
The most shocking aspect of the new 2014 IC Insights' semiconductor leaders (see table below) is that GlobalFoundries dropped out of the Top 20 list.
Intel remains the world leader at x86 CISC microprocessors. Sales still hover at $50 billion.
Samsung retains its stronghold in DRAM memory chips.
Taiwan's TSMC continues to chalk up double-digit gains in worldwide foundry market-share growth. TSMC remains the world leader at manufacturing RISC-based ARM chips. At this rate, TSMC could catch Intel in revenue in about five years. TSMC's net income of US$8 billion this year is approaching Intel's net income of US$9.6 billion for last year.
If you're curious, Freescale used to be the semiconductor division of Motorola.
Taiwan's UMC has reclaimed its former position as the world #2 in the foundry business. UMC will slip back into #3 as GlobalFoundries buys IBM's chip manufacturing business.
----------
"Top 20 Global Semiconductor Sales Ranking for 2014
Friday, November 07, 2014 | IC Insights
Later this month, IC Insights’ November Update to The 2014 McClean Report will show a forecast ranking of the 2014 top 25 semiconductor suppliers with the companies’ sales broken down on a quarterly basis. A preview of the forecast for the top 20 companies’ total 2014 sales results is presented in Figure 1. The top 20 worldwide semiconductor (IC and O S D-optoelectronic, sensor, and discrete) sales ranking for 2014 includes eight suppliers headquartered in the U.S., three in Japan, three in Europe, three in Taiwan, two in South Korea, and one in Singapore, a relatively broad representation of geographic regions.
This year’s top-20 ranking includes two pure-play foundries (TSMC and UMC) and six fabless companies. Pure-play IC foundry GlobalFoundries is forecast to be replaced in this year’s top 20 ranking by fabless IC supplier Nvidia. It is interesting to note that the top four semiconductor suppliers all have different business models. Intel is essentially a pure-play IDM, Samsung a vertically integrated IC supplier, TSMC a pure-play foundry, and Qualcomm a fabless company.
IC foundries are included in the top 20 ranking because IC Insights has always viewed the ranking as a top supplier list, not as a marketshare ranking, and realizes that in some cases semiconductor sales are double counted. With many of our clients being vendors to the semiconductor industry (supplying equipment, chemicals, gases, etc.), excluding large IC manufacturers like the foundries would leave significant “holes” in the list of top semiconductor suppliers. Foundries and fabless companies are clearly identified in Figure 1. In the April Update to The McClean Report, marketshare rankings of IC suppliers by product type were presented and foundries were excluded from these listings.
As shown, it is expected to require total semiconductor sales of over $4.2 billion to make the 2014 top 20 ranking. In total, the top 20 semiconductor companies’ sales are forecast to increase by 9% this year as compared to 2013. However, when excluding the two pure-play foundries (TSMC and UMC) from the ranking, the top “18” semiconductor companies’ sales are forecast to increase by 8% this year, the same rate as IC Insights’ current forecast for total 2014 worldwide semiconductor market growth.
Outside the top six spots, there are numerous changes expected within the 2014 top-20 semiconductor supplier ranking. In fact, of the 14 companies ranked 7th through 20th, 10 of them are forecast to change positions in 2014 as compared with 2013 (with NXP expected to jump up two spots)."
Link to IC Insights:
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broadsword
Brigadier
I am not sure if the report has anything to do with China's scientific and technological development especially in the mainland. This relates to the business aspect of semiconductor business and is more suited to Chinese Economic Thread.
Martian
Senior Member
I disagree. There is the One China policy.
TSMC, UMC, and MediaTek are Chinese technology companies. This issue was debated two to three years ago. As I recall, the decision was to allow both Chinese and Taiwanese technologies in this thread. There is no separate thread for Taiwan technological developments.
However, your point regarding moving it over to the Economic Thread is fine with me. You can try asking a moderator. I don't really care which thread that my posts are located.
I'm flexible. I think you're wrong, but I won't object if you want to move it.
By the way, I only intend to put up a few more posts and then I'm leaving. I get tired of people nitpicking me all the time. The Shi Lang/ex-Varyag thing was really annoying.
Here, I put up three posts and the nitpicking debate is starting up again. For God's sake, just PM a moderator and ask to have it moved. Screwing around with my posts is only going to irritate me. More nitpicking only means I leave faster.
I also remember Blitzo making a big deal about the distinction between engineers and mechanics. He objected to my describing the J-20 team that was examining the J-20 as engineers. He argued that they could be mechanics. Give me a break. If he cared that much, he should PM a moderator and asked to have it changed. It's the constant complaints and the flooding of the thread that gets annoying.
As I recall, I remember saying that the likelihood of the people examining a prototype stealth fighter were designers and engineers. Blitzo failed to persuade the moderators to force me to change the description.
I can win 90% of these ridiculous nitpicking fights, but it is also a waste of my time.
I'm only hanging around to see the outcome of the Popeye drama. If he does leave, I want to say farewell to him. After that, I'm gone. Too much drama on this forum for me.
I promise to leave soon and you guys can go back to nitpicking each other.
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As you can probably guess, I've decided to stop any further posts. I'll be back on 12/2/04 to pay my respects to Popeye if he does decide on leaving.
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broadsword
Brigadier
Anyway, the report is about business, not technological innovation from Mediatek, etc.
RedMercury
Junior Member
Well, sensationalism is the S in their name (when it comes to Chinese military). Sensationalist Crappy Military rePorting. I challenge you to find one good military article out of SCMP
broadsword
Brigadier
China experimental fast reactor runs at full capacity