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Issue no. 16, 2007 Published: May 11, 2007
Researchers boost solar cell efficiency
Artificial snot not to be sneezed at
Snowflakes promise faster chips
Kick the habit with an 'e-cigarette'
'Memory-freezing' tool to help fight crime
European Union may take over Galileo satnav system
Anti-shredder aims to stick spy files back together

Researchers boost solar cell efficiency
Australian scientists have unveiled research which they believe could pave the way for cheaper and more efficient solar panels. The breakthrough at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) could see the price of an installed domestic solar system fall by around 30%. Up to 45% of the cost of solar cell technology is due to the silicon used in cells to convert sunlight to electricity. However, silicon is a poor absorber of light and the films commonly used in solar cells convert only eight to 10% of incoming sunlight into electricity. This figure rises to 25% for thicker, more expensive, silicon wafers. The researchers have developed a technique that gives a 16-fold enhancement in light absorption in 1.25-micron thin-film cells for light with a wavelength of 1050nm. They have also reported a seven-fold enhancement in light absorption in the more expensive wafer type cells light wavelengths of 1200nm. The key to the breakthrough is the addition of a film of silver about 10nm thick onto a solar cell surface. When this is heated to 200 degrees Celsius the film is broken into tiny 100nm 'islands' of silver that boost the cell's light trapping ability, thereby boosting its efficiency.
VNUnet UK May 04, 2007	back to top

Artificial snot not to be sneezed at
UK researchers at the universities of Warwick and Leicester say that the use of artificial nasal mucus can significantly enhance the performance of electronic sniffing devices. A natural nose uses over 100m specialised receptors or sensors which act together in complex ways to identify and differentiate the molecules they encounter. Electronic noses, used in a number of commercial settings including quality control in the food industry, use the same method but often have fewer than 50 sensors. This means that electronic noses can discern a much smaller range of smells than the human nose. The 'artificial snot' dissolves scents and separates out different odour molecules so that they arrive at the receptors at different speeds and times. The researchers placed a 10 micron layer of a polymer normally used to separate gases on the sensors within their electronic nose. They then tested it on a range of compounds and found that the artificial mucus substantially improved the performance of the electronic nose, allowing it to differentiate smells such as milk and banana which had previously been challenging for the device.
VNUnet UK Apr 30, 2007	back to top

Snowflakes promise faster chips
IBM has developed a semiconductor technology which will increase the speed of microchips by a third or reduce power usage by 15%. The technique employs a new semiconductor material that allows a vacuum to be used as an insulator instead of the traditional glass-like components. The material 'self assembles' in a similar way to snowflakes, seashells or teeth enamel before being used to coat silicon wafers. When the material is baked it forms trillions of uniform holes that measure just 20nm across. This pattern is then used to create a chip's copper wiring, and provides the insulating gaps that allow electricity to flow smoothly. IBM plans to incorporate the technology into its chips by 2009, but has already made successful prototypes which means that the technology could appear sooner. The company also plans to license the process to companies such as AMD and Toshiba. The technology is the latest in a line of IBM chip advancements this year, following a chip-stacking technique last month and a method to stop energy loss in January.
VNUnet UK May 03, 2007	back to top

Kick the habit with an 'e-cigarette'
It feels like a cigarette and looks like a cigarette, but it is not bad for your health. The Chinese company marketing the world's first 'electronic' cigarette hopes to double sales this year as it expands overseas and as some of China's legions of smokers try to quit. Golden Dragon Group's Ruyan cigarettes are battery-powered, cigarette-shaped devices that deliver nicotine to inhalers in a bid to emulate actual smoking. The nicotine is delivered to the lungs within 7 to 10 seconds. According to the Beijing-based firm that first developed the electronic cigarette technology in 2003, it feels like a cigarette and even emits vapour. The cigarettes sell for around USD 208 apiece and are already available in China, Israel, Turkey, and a number of European countries.
Sydney Morning Herald / Reuters May 11, 2007	back to top

'Memory-freezing' tool to help fight crime
Scientists at a Scottish university have developed a powerful new crimefighting tool that 'freezes' the memory of crime scenes in the minds of potential witnesses. The research team, led by scientists at Dundee's Abertay University and Portsmouth University, has used the latest cognitive psychology techniques to enable eye witnesses to record their memories before any potentially crucial information is forgotten. The system uses a self-administered interview (SAI) form which allows witnesses to capture images and details of crime scenes and perpetrators in their minds - particularly small and seemingly insignificant details that could turn out to be crucial in solving cases. Tests have shown that witnesses using the form were 42% more accurate than other witnesses who were simply asked to report as much as they could remember. The self-administered interview form asks witnesses to picture in their mind where they were and what they were thinking and feeling at the time they saw a particular event and then to record the details. Witnesses are encouraged to draw a sketch and not to leave out any information they regard as trivial. The form also includes prompts to help witnesses describe a perpetrator, including ethnic appearance, complexion, clothing and accent.
The Scotsman May 10, 2007	back to top

European Union may take over Galileo satnav system
The European Union will likely take over the Galileo satellite navigation project, which has made little progress under the direction of a consortium of private builders. 'There will be greater participation by the public sector in the construction phase of the system,' said German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee, whose country currently holds the EU presidency. He made the comments three days before a deadline for the project's eight private builders to sort out their differences. The Galileo project is meant to compete with the US Global Positioning System (GPS), a free navigation system that some fear could be turned off at the whim of the US government. But almost two years after being named, a private consortium of industry giants has made little progress on the project, angering the commission. Tiefensee said it was probable that public funds would be used in the 'construction' of the system while the private partners would take responsibility for the 'exploitation phase'.
New Scientist May 07, 2007	back to top

Anti-shredder aims to stick spy files back together
A research team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK) in Berlin has developed a computer-software system to piece together some 45 million pages of secret police files ripped into 600 million pieces. The files were torn up nearly 18 years ago by panicking agents of communist East Germany's dreaded State Security Service (Stasi). The reconstruction software that the team has developed is powered by algorithms designed to recognise and process digital patterns and images. The pieces of torn documents are scanned on both sides, and the digital images are then analysed by a cluster of 16 computers for 25 features, including colour, shape, texture, handwriting and typeface. Just like a person doing a jigsaw, the computer then groups the images into clusters with similar features, and finally fits pieces in each cluster together. The Fraunhofer Institute's IPK has received EUR 6.3m for a two-year pilot project to reconstruct just 2% of the documents. The government will then decide whether to finance reconstruction of remaining bags.
Nature May 10, 2007	back to top