HumansInvent has an interesting piece on a laboratory at Oxford University that can “grow” electronics using a process called Molecular Beam Epitaxy. The system, which uses devices straight out of Dr. Bizarro’s Lab, creates a thin substrate of molecules and then builds it up over time, creating circuit boards, solar panels, and the like with lasers.

The system operates in a complete vacuum and can make almost any piece of electronics, including devices that can’t be made by hand.

James Holland writes:

A laser, for example, requires layers of material to be applied with molecular precision to a wafer, or substrate. It’s the nature of that material which gives the laser its colour, and is the building block for CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray and many other electronics.
Red lasers, like those used in CD and DVD players, are built on top of gallium arsenide wafers, while blue lasers for Blu-ray devices require a sapphire base on which to grow.

You can read more about the system here and check out photos below.

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This Wild Machine “Grows” Electronics

Good news: now you can pick up an Amazon Kindle 3G for the same price as the Kindle WiFi. Naturally, there’s a catch here: ads, ads, ads — but you’ve gotten pretty good at tuning those things out anyway, right? The online retail giant announced today the availability of the Kindle 3G with Special Offers, priced at $139 (down from $189 for the ad-free version) — best of all, that price includes the 3G subscription, which won’t cost you a thing, if you’re willing to wade through “money saving offers” and some adtastic screensavers. The new option joins the already announced ad-support WiFi model, which will run you $114 and replaces the $164 non-AT&T-sponsored 3G version. Press after the break.

Update: As Ahecht pointed out in comments, this new, cheaper Kindle is actually a replacement for the older ad-supported 3G model.

Continue reading Amazon Kindle 3G gets AT&T-sponsored ad-supported option priced at $139

Amazon Kindle 3G gets AT&T-sponsored ad-supported option priced at $139 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wouldn’t it be neat if you could power a few gadgets around the house with some tastefully chosen, solar cell-embedded curtains? Alright, so this MIT-pioneered tech’s not quite that advanced yet, but it’s destined to have a Martha Stewart Living future. By eschewing liquids and high temperatures for gentler vapors kept below 120 degrees Celsius, researchers were able to cheaply print an array of photovoltaic cells on “ordinary untreated paper, cloth or plastic.” And here’s some additional food for thought — the vapor-deposition process used to create these cells is the same as the one that puts that “silvery lining in your bag of potato chips” — science, it’s everywhere. Despite the tech’s home furnishing friendly approach, this breakthrough printing technique can’t be done with your everyday inkjet, but it will make the cost of solar energy installations a bit cozier. Its flexible durability aside, the cells currently operate at only one percent efficiency — so you might want to buy those drapes in bulk to see a real bottom line kickback. Foldable paper video demonstration after the break.

Continue reading MIT researchers revolutionize solar cell printing, fold the power of the sun into your everyday home (video)

MIT researchers revolutionize solar cell printing, fold the power of the sun into your everyday home (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Research at Columbia Engineering School has yielded a material that is literally unlike any other known. Everything in the universe (that we can see) affects light one way or another. Slows it down, speeds it up, spreads it out, diffuses it in a certain way, whatever. Even man-made materials with “negative refractive indexes,” themselves unlike anything else in the universe, do something to the light. Not this stuff.

By combining two materials, one with a positive refractive index, and one with a negative, they’ve produced something with an interesting effect: light passes through it as if that material wasn’t even there. It has as zero refractive index. The photons come out the other end of the “nanofabricated superlattice” in the exact phase, angle, etc as they went in.

Sounds kind of cool, you say, but why should you care? Well, being able to control the phase of light in this way means that it can be used in completely new ways of using and propagating photons. Fiber optic communications may be revolutionized, and if the phase control could be expanded to spectra other than visible light, wireless communications could be as well. As always, expect a good five or ten year delay before you hear about real-world applications.

The paper by Chee Wei Wong and Serdar Kocaman appears in Nature Photonics, and Columbia summarizes the findings here.

[via Extremetech]

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Photonics Breakthrough Is Less Disruptive To Light Than Empty Space

The Wireless Gigabit Alliance recently announced that it has published the certification-ready 1.1 specification of its wireless system, and it includes some new capabilities, like a framework for video connectors. But given that even 5GHz WiFi is notorious for spotty reception mere feet from the offending wireless router, how will WiGig, which uses an incredible 60GHz frequency, ever manage to transmit information to devices that aren’t literally pressed up against the router?

First, a quick rundown of what WiGig is. WiGig is a specification for hardware that uses 60GHz frequencies to transmit up to 7 gigabits of data per second over the air; for comparison, 802.11n WiFi tops out at a few hundred megabits per second. In other words, a download of an HD episode of Archer on WiGig would take mere seconds, even without perfect reception. The system has been in development for some years now. The WiGig Alliance recently pegged the launch of capable devices for the first half of 2012.

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Beamforming your data: how WiGig will offer 7Gbps speeds

So far, we’ve pretty much decided that the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution covers those zany thoughts within your skull. But when it comes to more tangible things, it’s hardly as clear. In the past, convicted persons have been forced to cough up keys to what eventually becomes evidence, and in the case of one Ramona Fricosu, the US Department of Justice is assuming that a computer passphrase is no different. But that assumption is causing shock waves throughout the tech community, as the decrypting of one’s laptop files is arguably causing someone to become a “witness against himself.” Of note, no one’s asking that Ramona actually hand over the password per se, but even typing in the unlock code while not being watched results in effectively the same conclusion. The San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation is clearly taking a stance against the proposal, noting that this type of situation is exactly one that the Fifth was designed to protect. Only time will tell if Fricosu’s offered immunity as a token for complying, but the precedents that are set here are apt to be felt for decades to come. Tap that CNET link for an in-depth report.

Ramona Fricosu case to determine if decrypted laptop files are safe under Fifth Amendment originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve heard from multiple sources that Dropbox is finally moving on raising its next venture round and it’s a whopper. They’ve had preliminary conversations with several investors, several solid offers they’ve passed on earlier this year and are meeting with investment banks to handle the offering now. Allen & Co. is said to be in the mix, but we’ve also heard nothing has been finalized.

The real news are the numbers we’re hearing from multiple sources close to the company. Dropbox is looking to raise between $200 million and $300 million according to these sources. In terms of valuation, the company has already had multiple offers at a valuation north of $2 billion range, and recently more informal discussions in the $8 billion-valuation range. Our sources expect the valuation to end up in the $5 billion to $10 billion range.

That’s quite a step up from its previous funding rounds which have totalled a tiny $7.2 million.

There will no doubt be a secondary component to the round, but our sources say it’ll be less than 50% of the total amount raised. We’ll update as soon as we know more.

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Dropbox Raising Massive Round at a $5B-Plus Valuation

Android 3.2 is an unexpected little update, especially with Ice Cream Sandwich coming later this year. But good on Google for making its less-than-amazing Android tablets a little bit better all the time until that major new hotness happens. More

Perhaps you noticed that TechCrunch went through a bit of a redesign yesterday. Well, we’re not the only ones undergoing a major facelift this summer. Another site you all know and love will soon look completely different. More importantly, it will soon function much better. It’s a change that will affect millions. Get ready for New Pandora.

Yes, after years of familiarity, Pandora will begin a massive