New microscope is 2,000 times faster

A new atomic force microscope developed by MIT can scan images 2,000 times faster than existing commercial models. This allows it to capture near-real-time video of nanoscale processes.
State-of-the-art atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are designed to capture images of structures as small as a fraction of a nanometre – a million times smaller than the width of a human hair. In recent years, AFMs have produced desktop-worthy close-ups of atom-sized structures, from DNA strands to individual bonds changing between molecules. But scanning these images is a meticulous, time-consuming process. AFMs have therefore been used mostly for static samples as they are too slow to capture active, changing environments. Now engineers at MIT have designed an atomic force microscope that scans images 2,000 times faster than existing commercial models. With this new high-speed instrument, the team produced images of chemical processes taking place at the nanoscale, at a rate that is close to real-time video. In one demonstration of the instrument’s capabilities, the researchers scanned a 70- by-70-micron sample of calcite as it was first immersed in deionised water and later exposed to sulphuric acid. Zooming into an area of interest, they observed the acid eating away at the calcite, expanding existing nanometre-sized pits in the material that quickly merged and led to a layer-by-layer removal of calcite along the material’s crystal pattern, over a period of several seconds.
Calcite immersed in deionised water.
 
Sulphuric acid creating pits in the calcite.
Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, Kamal Youcef-Toumi, says the instrument’s sensitivity and speed will enable scientists to watch atomic-sized processes play out as high-resolution “movies.” “People can see, for example, condensation, nucleation, dissolution, or deposition of material, and how these happen in real-time – things that people have never seen before,” he says. “This is fantastic to see these details emerging. And it will open great opportunities to explore all of this world that is at the nanoscale.” The MIT researchers' achievement was made possible through an innovative new technique. This involved controlling the movement of the needle over the sample surface with two actuators (a small, fast scanner and a larger, slower one) in combination with a set of algorithms to ensure they never interfered with each other. At present, this method provides scans at eight to 10 frames per second, but further research is underway to increase this. “We want to go to real video, which is at least 30 frames per second,” Youcef-Toumi says. “Hopefully we can work on improving the instrument and controls so that we can do video-rate imaging while maintaining its large range and keeping it user-friendly. That would be something great to see.” The team's design and images, which are based on the PhD work of Iman Bozchalooi – now a postdoc in the Department of Mechanical Engineering – appear in the journal Source: Article
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LG debuts 'world’s largest' OLED display

LG has shown off two of the largest OLED displays in the world at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. In creating the installation, LG worked closely with French design firm Wilmotte & Associés to develop the structures which hang above the main terminal of the airport. Each sign is composed of 140 55-in curved OLED panels, resulting in displays that stand 13 metres high and 8 metres across, equivalent to three large-sized shipping containers.
The two curved displays will feature a variety of content to demonstrate the capabilities of OLED technology, such as fireworks set against a night sky. And because every pixel in an OLED display emits its own light, there is no need for heavy LED backlighting, making both of the airport displays light and flexible which allows them to hang from the ceiling with minimal support. “These OLED displays perfectly complement the advanced technology that our airport has become known for,” said Park Wan-su, president and CEO at Incheon International Airport. “We are always eager to showcase to the millions of travellers every year the cutting-edge technology that originates from Korea. OLED is a prime example of that.” “While the world’s largest OLED sign is certainly something to be proud of, we are more excited about the opportunity to introduce travellers from across the world to the magic of OLED,” said Ro Se-yong, senior vice president and head of business-to-business solutions at LG Electronics. “The benefits of OLED technology can only be viewed, they cannot be described with mere words.” Contact Details and Archive...LG Electronics Inc, Source: InAVate
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Fastest ever brain-computer interface for spelling

Researchers in China have achieved high-speed spelling with a noninvasive brain-computer interface.
Brain–computer interfaces (BCI) are a relatively new and emerging technology allowing direct communication between the brain and an external device. They are used for assisting, augmenting, or repairing cognitive or sensory-motor functions. Research on BCIs began in the 1970s and the first neuroprosthetic devices implanted in humans appeared in the mid-1990s. The past 20 years have seen major progress in BCIs. However, they are still limited by low communication rates, caused by interference from spontaneous electroencephalography (EEG) signals. Now, a team of researchers from Tsinghua University in China, State Key Laboratory Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors (IOS), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a greatly improved system. Their EEG-based BCI speller can achieve information transfer rates (ITRs) of 60 characters (∼12 words) per minute, by far the highest ever reported in BCI spellers for either noninvasive or invasive methods. In some of the tests, they reached up to 5.32 bits per second. For comparison, most other
systems in recent years have been at 1 or 2 ITRs. According to the researchers, they achieved this via an extremely high consistency of frequency and phase between the visual flickering signals and the elicited single-trial steady-state visual evoked potentials. Specifically, they developed a new joint frequency-phase modulation (JFPM) method to tag 40 characters with 0.5-seconds-long flickering signals, and created a user-specific target identification algorithm using individual calibration data. A paper describing this breakthrough appears in the 3rd November edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). In the not-too-distant future, this kind of technology could be applied to other uses, besides medicine. For example, it could be incorporated into smartphones and other consumer electronics to allow texting, typing or other on-screen actions by thought power alone. A partnership between the Japanese government and private sector aims to achieve this by 2020. With continued progress in the speed of BCIs, a new form of "virtual telepathy" could emerge Source: Article
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New memory technology is 1,000 times faster

Intel and Micron have unveiled "3D XPoint" – a new memory technology that is 1,000 times faster than NAND and 10 times denser than conventional DRAM.
Intel Corporation and Micron Technology, Inc. have unveiled 3D XPoint technology, a non-volatile memory that has the potential to revolutionise any device, application or service that benefits from fast access to large sets of data. Now in production, 3D XPoint technology is a major breakthrough in memory process technology and the first new memory category since the introduction of NAND flash in 1989. The explosion of connected devices and digital services is generating massive amounts of new data. To make this data useful, it must be stored and analysed very quickly, creating challenges for service providers and system builders who must balance cost, power and performance trade-offs when they design memory and storage solutions. 3D XPoint technology combines the performance, density, power, non-volatility and cost advantages of all available memory technologies on the market today. This technology is up to 1,000 times faster, with up to 1,000 times greater endurance than NAND, and is 10 times denser than conventional memory. "For decades, the industry has searched for ways to reduce the
lag time between the processor and data to allow much faster analysis," says Rob Crooke, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. "This new class of non-volatile memory achieves this goal and brings game-changing performance to memory and storage solutions." "One of the most significant hurdles in modern computing is the time it takes the processor to reach data on long-term storage," says Mark Adams, president of Micron. "This new class of non-volatile memory is a revolutionary technology that allows for quick access to enormous data sets and enables entirely new applications." As the digital world balloons exponentially – from 4.4 zettabytes of data created in 2013, to an expected 44 zettabytes by 2020 – 3D XPoint technology can turn this immense amount of data into valuable information in nanoseconds. For example, retailers may use 3D XPoint technology to more quickly identify fraud detection patterns in financial transactions; healthcare researchers could process and analyse much larger data sets in real time, accelerating complex tasks such as genetic analysis and disease tracking. The performance benefits of 3D XPoint technology could
also enhance the PC experience, allowing consumers to enjoy faster interactive social media and collaboration as well as more immersive gaming experiences. The non-volatile nature of this technology also makes it a great choice for a variety of low-latency storage applications, since data is not erased when the device is powered off. Following more than a decade of research and development, 3D XPoint technology was built from the ground up to address the need for non-volatile, high-performance, high-endurance and high-capacity storage and memory at an affordable cost. It ushers in a new class of non-volatile memory that significantly reduces latencies, allowing much more data to be stored close to the processor and accessed at speeds previously impossible for non-volatile storage. The innovative, transistor-less cross point architecture creates a three-dimensional checkerboard where memory cells sit at the intersection of word lines and bit lines, allowing the cells to be addressed individually. As a result, data can be written and read in small sizes, leading to faster and more efficient read/write processes. 3D XPoint technology will sample later this year with select customers, and Intel and Micron are developing individual products based on the technology.  Source: Article

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‘Glaciers worldwide melt to lowest levels on record’


Glaciers worldwide have shrunk to levels not seen in 120 years of record-keeping, with melt-off accelerating in the first decade of the 21st century, according to a study released on Monday. On average, glaciers currently lose between 50 to 150 centimetres of thickness every year, reported the study, published in the Journal of Glaciology. “This is two to three times more than the corresponding average of the 20th century,” said Michael Zemp, director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service and the study’s lead author. More than a billion people, especially in Asia and South America, get more than half of their drinking water from the seasonal melting of snow melt and glacier ice, previous research has shown. The current rate of global glacier melt is without precedent for the 120 years covered by scientific observation, and probably for much longer, Mr Zemp added. Moreover, accelerated ice loss has created a dynamic whereby glaciers in many regions will continue to diminish even if global warming did not continue to boost global temperatures. Preliminary data from the last five years, not covered in the study, suggest that rapid decline of ice mass is continuing apace. The 20th-century record ice loss observed in 1998 “has been exceeded in 2003, 2006, 2011, 2013, and probably again in 2014,” Mr Zemp said. The long-term trend of glacier retreat takes into account shorter periods where, in some locations, glaciers have regained some of their lost ice mass. Many so-called “ice tongues” formed by glacier runoff in Norway, for example, regained a couple hundred metres in length during the 1990s. Overall, though, they have retreated by several kilometres compared to the areas covered in the late 19th century. The World Glacier Monitoring Service compiles the results of worldwide glacier observations submitted annually from a global network of scientists and observers. Glaciers worldwide have shrunk to levels not seen in 120 years of record-keeping, with melt-off accelerating in the first decade of the 21st century, according to a study released on Monday. On average, glaciers currently lose between 50 to 150 centimetres of thickness every year, reported the study, published in the Journal of Glaciology.“This is two to three times more than the corresponding average of the 20th century,” said Michael Zemp, director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service and the study’s lead author. More than a billion people, especially in Asia and South America, get more than half of their drinking water from the seasonal melting of snow melt and glacier ice, previous research has shown. The current rate of global glacier melt is without precedent for the 120 years covered by scientific observation, and probably for much longer, Mr Zemp added. Moreover, accelerated ice loss has created a dynamic whereby glaciers in many regions will continue to diminish even if global warming did not continue to boost global temperatures. Preliminary data from the last five years, not covered in the study, suggest that rapid decline of ice mass is continuing apace. The 20th-century record ice loss observed in 1998 “has been exceeded in 2003, 2006, 2011, 2013, and probably again in 2014,” Mr Zemp said. The long-term trend of glacier retreat takes into account shorter periods where, in some locations, glaciers have regained some of their lost ice mass. Many so-called “ice tongues” formed by glacier runoff in Norway, for example, regained a couple hundred metres in length during the 1990s. Overall, though, they have retreated by several kilometres compared to the areas covered in the late 19th century. The World Glacier Monitoring Service compiles the results of worldwide glacier observations submitted annually from a global network of scientists and observers.‘Source: The Asian Age
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