Development of High Performance Wheel Bearing for Satellite Attitude Control by NSK
The attitude wheel on a satellite is responsible for accelerating and decelerating an internal rotating mass in form of a flywheel. The generated reaction torque is used to provide attitude control for the satellite. Bearings are considered as one of the main components influencing the performance of the reaction wheel. The bearings in an attitude wheel must satisfy strict requirements to ensure its reliable spin in a long life span of 10 to 15 years during its orbit in the space, while using a small amount of lubricant on the bearing surfaces in a vacuum environment. Furthermore, the bearings must minimize any vibration in order not to adversely affect the observational performance of the satellite. At the same time, the bearings must also withstand the vibration and impact from launch and have a capability of enduring temperature fluctuation while the satellite is in orbit. In response to such strict condition and rugged environment, NSK has developed a high performance wheel bearing for satellite attitude control, the first such product to be developed using homegrown Japanese technology. Read more
Development of World’s First Gallium Nitride High Electron Mobility Transistor for Satellite Application by Mitsubishi Electric
Mitsubishi Electric made an announcement on development of four models of gallium nitride high electron mobility transistor (GaN HEMT) specifically designed for 4.0 GHz band satellite applications with output power ranging from 2W to 100W, making the Mitsubishi Electric the first company in the world to market GaN HEMT based product specifically for satellite applications. The development by Mitsubishi Electric was a response to over growing demand for new microwave communication satellites, as more and more satellites are reaching the end of their operational lifespan. Read more
Release of Ultra-Low Power 4-Bit Microcontrollers by EPSON
Seiko Epson has announced the development of a new series of ultra-low current, 4-bit microcontrollers capable of operating as low as 1.1V in operating mode and only 0.1uA in sleep mode. The new S1C63000 series microcontrollers are designed to be used in mobile devices requiring long battery hours. The new microcontrollers incorporate Epson’s original low-power analog IP and low-leak process technology allowing it to operate on a 1.5V button cell battery such as silver-oxide battery or alkaline button cell. With CPU running at high speed of 4MHz, the microcontroller consumes only 220uA of current, 75% reduction in comparison to Epson previous products. Read more
Development of World’s First Sheet Type All-Solid Polymer Lithium Secondary Battery using Printing Processes
Mie Prefecture Industrial Support Center (MIESC) which has been set up for the promotion of education and science, has made an announcement on development of next generation all –solid polymer lithium secondary batteries which has been manufactured through printing processes. Read more
Development of Speech Synthesis LSI by OKI Semiconductor
OKI Semiconductor released the ML2234 Series speech synthesis LSI with includes built-in Mask ROM/Flash memory and speaker amplifier. The new speech synthesis LSI can be controlled with event input system, where events input via switches or sensors can be directly start speech or sound playback resulting in easy integration of audio function into the existing systems. Read more
Development of World’s Smallest 6-Axis Sensor by EPSON TOYOCOM
Motion tracking system for motion tracking of hand, person or other object is considered to be one the core technologies for next generation applications in various fields, requiring sensors with a wide dynamic range of control for detecting wide range of motion from low speed to high speed. One of the companies in Japan that has been developing sensor products is Epson Toyocom Corporation. The company made an announcement on development of the world’s smallest single package 6-axis sensor. Read more
Development of New Bending Loss Insensitive Single Mode Optical Fiber by Sumitomo Electric
Sumitomo Electric made an announcement on development of PureAccess-R5, a bending loss insensitive single mode optical fiber that is fully compliant with the new ITU-T G.657.B3, a recommended standard for macrobend at a 5mm radius capable of efficiently routing optical drop cables as well as other applications inside the home and Multiple Dwelling Units (MDUs). Read more
Development of World’s Fastest Thermal Printhead by KYOCERA
The demand for ID cards as well as credit cards having a high resolution photos has grown with the same pace as the need for ensuring their security. Compact card printers with capability of quick printing on site are in common use particularly in companies and retail locations, where they use the photo ID cards for employee and customer management, making printers with compact form factor capable of high resolution printing a must have for such organizations. One company that has been holding the top market share in the printhead industry is Kyocera, when recently they have expanded their product line-up with new KLE Series thermal printhead for desktop card printers used for printing onto rigid materials such as ID cards and credit cards. The newly developed printhead is capable of printing in 300-dpi, full-color, high-resolution at 50mm per second, making it the industry’s highest speed for this class of printhead. Read more
Development of Performance Analysis System for Cloud Computing System by NEC
Global acceptance of cloud computing is on the rise requiring a robust IT platform for cloud centric data centers for providing a safe and secure services. Such services would require a rapidly process of large volume of data while flexibly adjusting to sudden changes in workloads. Furthermore, in order to take advantage of virtualization technologies, the system needs to provide efficient operations of a large number of servers and storage devices. To address to this needs, NEC has developed “Invariant Analysis Technology”, software system capable of detecting the cause of unexpected failures. Read more
Achievement of 14.8% Photoelectric Conversion Efficiency in Thin Film Silicon PV Cells by Mitsubishi Electric
Mitsubishi Electric made another stride in photoelectric conversion efficiency rate by achieving 14.8% conversion efficiency in a 5mm x 5mm thin film silicon photovoltaic cell. Mitsubishi Electric has achieved this conversion efficiency through use of triple-junction configuration. Currently Multi-junction layers in PV cells offer an efficient method in raising conversion efficiency in thin film silicon PV cells since each layer absorbs different wavelengths of sunlight. However, it is extremely difficult to adjust the characteristics of each layer in multi-junction structure, and for this reason most thin film silicon PV cells are only single or double layered. Read more
