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Slipstream: Intuition + Money: An Aha Moment

http://www.nytimes.com/ 2008/ 10/ 12/ business/ 12stream.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

The discovery of a new material called black silicon offers a lesson in government financing of science and technology.

49 days ago

The New York Times

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Pimpin
http://www.briankaneonline.com/2008/10/13/pimpin/
49 days ago in BrianKaneOnline » · Authority: 29

Ive mentioned my blog-buddy John Tolva and his blog here a number of times. Hes one of those people who is always doing something amazing. Well, last Friday his most amazing thing to date became a reality IBMs virtual re-creation of the Forbidden City
Silic??n Negro; Bingo!
http://inovalatino.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/10/silicon-neg...
31 days ago in inovalatino · No authority yet

 Un par de f??sicos de la universidad de Harvard anunciaron el descubrimiento de un nuevo tipo de Silic??n llamado silic??n Negro. Seg??n estos acad??micos, este Silic??n Negro tiene la capacidad de reaccionar a la luz de 500 a 100 veces mejor que el silic??n tradicional. Se espera que este material revolucione la industria de paneles solares y sensores ??pticos en el mundo. En el siguiente link pueden encontrar todo el art??culo as?? como algunos detalles sobre la tecnolog??a y el equipo directivo.
Black Silicon Discovery Could Change Digital Photography
http://nikonrumors.com/2008/10/25/black-silicon-discovery-co...
36 days ago in Nikon Rumors · Authority: 331

I guess the DSLR market will not be saturated any time soon… ISO 12,800 or more anyone? “With the accidental discovery of black silicon, Harvard physicists may have very well changed the digital photography, solar power and night vision industries forever. What is black silicon, you say? Well, it’s just as it sounds. Black silicon. It’s what this revolutionary new material does that’s important, starting with light sensitivity. Early indications show black silicon is 100 to 500 times more sensitive to light than a traditional silicon wafer.” NY Times via Gizmodo Sponsor: Sandisk 4GB Extreme III Compact Flash Card for $27.95
Black silicon to revolutionise photography?
http://www.1854.eu/2008/10/black_silicon_to_revolutionise.ht...
40 days ago in 1854 - the blog of the British Journal of Photography · Authority: 40

Black silicon to revolutionise photography? A Harvard physicist has produced a new material, called black silicon, that could radically impact the photography industry, the New York Times reports today. Dr. Eric Mazur discovered black silicon when he instructed one of his graduate students to shine an exceptionally powerful laser light — briefly matching the energy produced by the sun falling on the surface of the entire earth — on a silicon wafer. On a hunch, the researcher also applied sulfur hexafluoride, a gas used by the semiconductor industry to make etchings for circuits. 'The silicon wafer looked black to the naked eye. But when Dr. Mazur and his researchers examined the material with an electron microscope, they discovered that the surface was covered with a forest of ultra-tiny spikes,' NYT writes. 'Black silicon has since been found to have extreme sensitivity to light. It is now on the verge of commercialization, most likely first in night vision systems'. “We have seen a 100 to 500 times increase in sensitivity to light compared to conventional silicon detectors,” said James Carey, a co-founder of SiOnyx who worked on the original experiments as a Harvard graduate student. Can you imagine a camera's sensor 500 times more sensible to light than actual models. Will Nikon, Canon and the like take on the idea? Especially, since black silicon can be cheaply produced using current semiconductor manufacturing plants. Read the entire article on the New York Times' website. Posted by Olivier Laurent on 13 October 2008 2:02 PM in news |
Sort silisium kan revolusjonere solceller
http://arkitekturnytt.no/2008/10/sort-silisium-kan-revolusjo...
43 days ago in Arkitektur & Miljøteknologi · Authority: 2

SiOnyx er et firma som er i ferd med å kommerisalisere en helt ny fremstillingsmåte for silisiumsbrikker. Brikkene langt mer lysfølsomme, mellom 100 og 500 ganger mer sensitiv. Teknologien kan implementeres i eksisterende anlegg for produksjon av silisiumbrikker og vil kunne ha stor betydning for produksjonen av solceller. New York Times skriver blant annet dette om teknologien: Black silicon has since been found to have extreme sensitivity to light. It is now on the verge of commercialization, most likely first in night vision systems. "We have seen a 100 to 500 times increase in sensitivity to light compared to conventional silicon detectors," said James Carey, a co-founder of SiOnyx who worked on the original experiments as a Harvard graduate student. Dr. Mazur is an investor in SiOnyx and chairman of its scientific advisory board. As a result of his research, a number of academic and corporate research groups are still exploring the material, which absorbs about twice as much visible light as normal silicon and has the ability to detect infrared light that is invisible to the current generation of silicon detectors. SiOnyx is already commercializing sensor-based chips as a technology development platform for other companies and for use in next-generation infrared imaging systems. The new technology has a tremendous cost advantage in that it is compatible with current semiconductor manufacturing plants, according to Stephen Saylor, SiOnyx's chief executive. Slipstream - Intuition Money - An Aha Moment - NYTimes.com
ブラックシリコン
http://arata.tv/camera/2008/10/post-224.html
43 days ago in 俺のカメラ趣味。俺の自己満足。 · Authority: 5

ハーバード大で開発されたブラックシリコンの技術がSiOnyxという企業に譲渡された。このブラックシリコンというのがどのような物なのか素人にはよく分からないが、現行撮像素子に比べてかなりの高感度を示すものらしい。ただDPreviewの記事によると、開発者自身はまだこの素材がデジタル写真にどのくらい貢献するか云々するのは早過ぎると言っているもよう。ブラックシリコンは従来のシリコンにレーザーを照射すると表面に微細な針状の密集構造が形成され黒く見える様になるという。また、製造プロセスは従来の半導体の製造過程に組み込むことが可能であるらしく、そうなると近い将来に実用化される期待が高まるというものである。撮像素子について素人がネット上でたまたま聞きかじった情報では、たとえば富士フィルムの有機撮像センサーとか、SONYの裏面照射型CMOSとか松下の高ダイナミックレンジの素子とか、技術のレベルは様々だと思うが、びっくらするような素子が出来て従来では考えられなかった写真が撮れることを期待しちゃう。とりあえず俺としては、35mmフルサイズやそれ以上のサイズを使わなくても、つまり4/3の素子サイズでD700や5D MarkII並の高感度特性が実現されることを希望。 4/3で高感度が良くなれば、小さく明るいレンズが本当に生きてくるわけです。まぁそうなれば当然フルサイズもそれに伴いさらに良くなるでしょうが。