Etch every mountain?
IBM scientists are undoubtedly clearly clever chaps but do they have a bit too much time on their hands? Last month they reported on a novel nano-milling technique based on STM/AFM technology to create patterns and structures on the nanometre scale. To demonstrate the technique's capability did they produce a low critical dimension, high speed CMOS based IC? No. They did, however, produce:

A 25-nanometre high 3D replica of the Matterhorn Alpine mountain that soars 4,478 m, created in molecular glass on a scale of 1:5 billion.
A complete 3D map of the world measuring 22 by 11 micrometres created on a polymer in only 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

Full details, including a video clip are available via: www.zurich.ibm.com/news/10/nanopatterning.html and www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/29983.wss

Smart route to recovery?
According to International Data Corporation (www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS22322210) the worldwide mobile phone market grew 21.7% in the first quarter of 2010. Growth was fuelled by increased demand for "converged mobile devices" ("smartphones" to most readers). Vendors shipped 294.9 million units in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 242.4 million units in the first quarter of 2009. The top five vendors (Nokia, Samsung, LG Electronics, Research in Motion and Sony Ericsson) account for over 85% of the branded shipments with Nokia (38%) and Samsung (19%) having over half of the market between them.

Two other recent mobile related stories are: (1) the planned introduction by Samsung of phase change memory devices (news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10093528.stm and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-change_memory and (2) the potential of touchless mobile phone operation based on finger movements and gestures (www.physorg.com/news191757486.html).

LCN growing
The London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN, www.london-nano.com/) a joint venture between University College London and Imperial College London covers all aspects of core nanotechnology as well as condensed matter physics, energy research, photonics, materials science, neutron and x-ray scattering, security science, complex systems and molecular modelling. It has created over 20 new PhD positions (www.london-nano.com/content/lcncareers/phdstudentships/) for the current academic year..

White OLEDs
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), based on organic and/or polymer semiconductor materials, are promising candidates for general lighting applications, as they can cover large-area displays or panels using low-cost processing techniques. Using polymer nanoparticles to house light-emitting ?inks?, scientists at the Department of Energy nanoscience centre located at Berkeley Lab, and the University of California, Berkeley, have made a thin film OLED using iridium-based guest molecules to emit various colours of visible light (www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=15643.php)

Shoe power
The Editor likes simple ideas that bring applications from complex technology. The shoe power generator (www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100426113137.htm) certainly fits the bill. Employing MEMS technology, Dr Ville Kaajakari at Louisiana Tech University has developed a device that harvests power from a small generator embedded in the sole of a shoe. Simple voltage regulation circuits convert a piezoelectric charge into usable voltage for charging batteries or for directly powering electronics.

Save power - 1
Interesting work is happening in the field of electrochemical capacitors ("super capacitors), see for example: www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-8.htm and???? newscenter.lbl.gov/feature-stories/2010/04/23/micro-supercapacitor/. Whilst not battery replacements, given their practically infinite cycle life, micro-supercapacitors seem ideal for capturing and storing energy from renewable resources (shoes?) and for on-chip operations.

Save power - 2
Big brother or an obvious way forward? A recent suggestion (www.physorg.com/news192001144.html) is to use radio technology to help balance electricity supply and demand. By embedding RF devices within smart household appliances it would be possible to activate them from afar using existing radio transmission systems at the appropriate time, when sufficient generation capacity exists. Would I really want the BBC controlling my washing machine?

Streetcar was desired
On April 21, US car club Zipcar announced a purchase of its London based rival operation Streetcar. The acquisition leads Zipcar's aspiration to become the major European player in the car club market. Streetcar had built up to more than 1,100 locations across eight cities, including London, Brighton, Cambridge, Southampton, Guildford, Maidstone, Oxford and, most recently, Bristol.
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/76d83788-4d40-11df-baf3-00144feab49a.html

Vote for..............?
Before you can vote there must be candidates, R&D magazine is looking for nominations for Scientist of the Year (www.rdmag.com/Awards/Scientist-Of-The-Year/). Innovator of the Year? as well as Young Innovator of the Year (www.rdmag.com/Awards/Innovator-Of-The-Year/). All nominations are due by July 16, 2010. The editors of R&D Magazine will evaluate nominations and announce the finalists on August 6, 2010. Voting will commence on August 6 and conclude on September 17.

Conference News

ECOSS 27 (European Conference on Surface Science), Groningen, Netherlands, 29 Aug - 3 Sept 2010 - www.ecoss27.eu/

UK Semiconductors 2010, Sheffield, UK, 7 -8 July 2010 - www.uksemiconductors.com

UK Surface Analysis Forum, Heriot Watt University Edinburgh, Scotland, 7 July 2010 - www.uksaf.org/home.html

Microscopy & Microanalysis 2010, Portland, OR, USA, 1 - 5 Aug 2010 - www.microscopy.org/MandM/2010/index.cfm

Semicon Europa 2010, Dresden, Germany, 19 - 21 October 2010 - www.semiconeuropa.org

Worth a look
www.grand-illusions.com/opticalillusions/oblong_wave/ ?- moving wave optical illusion.

www.rdmag.com/tags/sections/strange-but-true/ - speaks for itself.

i.cmpnet.com/eetimes/eedesign/2010/100425_gartner_foundry.jpg - top 10 IC foundries, revenue & market share, 2009.

www.edn.com/article/CA6725629.html?industryid=47047 - top 10 semiconductor manufacturing equipment vendors 2009.

www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1984685,00.html ?- The 2010 TIME 100 (no Grange?).

www.rdmag.com/Tools-And-Technology/2010/04/Spectrometers-Mass-Spectrometer-Spec-Guide/ - mass spectrometer specifications guide.

Thought for the month
"Our elections are free, it's in the results where eventually we pay".? Bill Stern, US Actor (1907 - 71)