Down the Road

By

Howard Mark, LVPCUG

This recurring column is intended to offer information on technologies that have recently appeared or will soon be in the marketplace, and those that are further “Down the Road”.

What’s Old is New Again

By now you either own or lust after one of those fabulous flat panel TV sets with a price that still appears to be a bit daunting. You don’t own one yet? Before you rush out to the local electronics emporium take a look at a stogy, old fashioned, tried and true very affordable technology – the CRT. Yes, the now almost forgotten big glass tube used in so many television sets in the not-too-distant past.

Toshiba, Samsung and LG Electronics seem to think there is a market for the “right” kind of CRT monitor, and are offering CRTs that are a full 33% shallower than conventional CRTs. No small task making an electron gun (neck of the tube) 1/3 shorter.

The three companies plan on competing with the plasma, LCD, etc. crowd by supplying new television sets utilizing their shorter CRTs at very competitive prices. For example, a 32 inch flat faced short CRT set would sell for perhaps $700-$800, while an LCD monitor would probably sell for well over $1,000.

Statistics show that in 2004 75% of the TV sets sold in North America were CRT sets. It is anticipated that percentage will decrease to 60% in 2005. This would seem to indicate a pretty viable customer base for CRT television sets still exists. How about computer monitors?

Time to marketplace – 2005-2006.

How About a Ceramic Lens on your New Digital Camera?

Yes – ceramic, not glass. Ceramics are opaque, so how could this work? Evidently very well.

MuRata, a Japanese electronic components company has, for many years, used ceramics extensively for radio frequency (RF) filters, to replace RF transformers, etc. Working for decades with ceramic materials has given them useful insights into how ceramics behave at various temperatures and pressures. The following is from MuRata’s web site:

When ceramic materials are fired, crystal grains grow together to become polycrystalline. The boundary between crystal grains is called grain boundary. Normally, ceramics are opaque because pores are formed at triple points where grains intersect, causing scattering of incident light. Murata has optimized the entire development process of making dense and homogenous ceramics to improve their performance. As a result, we have developed transparent ceramics by reducing pores inside ceramics. Barium based transparent ceramics, offering a very high refractive index as well as a wide transmission range from visible to infrared light, are projected to pioneer as a new frontier in optical materials.

MuRata calls their transparent ceramic “Lumicera™”

Lumicera possesses some very attractive attributes that have attracted the attention of camera manufacturers and lens makers. First it is transparent –but so are the various glasses used by lens makers for many decades. Lumicera is lighter than conventional lens making glasses, a big plus if you are trying to make a small pocketable digital camera. Perhaps Lumicera’s most important feature is its high index of refraction (the ability to bend light). The higher the refractive index number the more light is bent, and higher is better if you are making smaller, lighter lens. Here again is some information from MuRata’s web site:

The refractive index of the transparent ceramics is 2.08 (λ = 587 nm). It is quite high compared with that of conventional optical glasses (between 1.5 to 1.8). Furthermore, as there is no birefringence in the ceramics, there is a potential for downsizing and advancement of optical devices with optical elements, such as lenses.

The advantages of Lumicera were quickly recognized by Casio Inc. in conjunction with its parent company, Casio Computer Company LTD. Working with MuRata, Casio created a zoom lens which they incorporated into their Exilim line of very small digital cameras. Casio says the use of Lumicera in their Exilim lens designs has effected a 20% reduction in lens profile. Now the question is, will other lens manufacturers follow Casio’s lead?

Time to marketplace – Currently available.

From Russia With Love and Diamonds Are Forever?

With all due credit to Ian Fleming and Agent 007 since Russian diamonds are the subject of this item I thought the use of the above titles might be fitting.

The Institute of High Pressure Physics at the Russian Academy of Sciences has synthesized diamonds from a mixture of boron carbide and graphite. It has been known for many years that diamonds conduct heat far better than copper, and due to their crystal structure can withstand very high electrical fields. However, their crystal structure also makes it impossible for the diamonds to conduct electricity.

The Russian scientists working with U.S. research scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory discovered a unique feature of the boron carbide and graphite mixture.

When the mixture was subjected to a pressure of 1,500,000 PSI at temperatures of 4,000°F to 4,600°F, manufactured synthetic cubic diamonds behave as superconductors when cooled to - 450°F. That is, the diamonds act as conductors of electricity while offering no resistance to the flow of electrons. It is possible that these diamonds may lead to new products, including diamond based integrated circuits.

Time to marketplace – No speculative time estimates.

References:

Diamonds – Electronics Design 5/24/04

Ceramics – Murata site and Casio