KVH Industries has signed an agreement with ABB's High Voltage business to cooperate in the development of a new fibreoptic current sensor. The agreement follows a series of joint research projects during which the companies explored the feasibility of using fibreoptics to measure current in high-voltage power lines. The new fibreoptic sensors have been designed for more accurate energy metering and wider bandwidth and improved safety over conventional technologies.

Traditional instrument transformers use oil- or gas-filled systems that
provide analogue outputs to measure currents and voltages in high-voltage
grids. The new fibreoptic current sensor is expected to be significantly
smaller and more accurate than existing devices, providing instantaneous
digital measurement of the current. Furthermore, the transmission of the
sensor signal by means of optical fibres provides an inherent insulation
against high voltages.

Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) has been awarded a grant from the UK
government's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for plastic solar cell
R&D. The company is already a leading researcher, commercial developer and
owner of fundamental intellectual property for light emitting polymer (LEP)
technology, The grant will be used to develop efficient, commercially viable
solar cells and light detectors based on CDT's proprietary plastic
semiconductor technology.
Polymer solar cells have a very similar device architecture to CDT's light
emitting polymer (LEP) displays. Whereas LEP displays emit light when an
electrical charge is applied, CDT researchers have been able to reverse the
process and generate electricity when light shines on a polymer-based cell.
The potential is to develop inexpensive, flexible plastic solar cells that
could be manufactured using low-cost roll-to-roll production. Plastic solar
cell applications could ultimately range from rechargeable handheld
electronic devices, wearable electronics technology and large outdoor
displays to secondary power sources for homes and factories. CDT has
recently used polymer-based solar cells to power digital clocks.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin claim to have designed a
silicon-based architecture that could be used to realise quantum computing*.

"The first prerequisite to building a large computer is to have a lot of
bits, and we think we have a way to get a lot of them," says Professor Mark
Eriksson. "We've done some sophisticated simulations with this device that
show the concept is very likely to work, and we're in the beginning stages
of actually making the device."
A silicon germanium back gate serves as an electron reservoir. A series of
strained silicon quantum wells confine the electrons vertically. Split top
gates provide lateral confinement by electrostatic repulsion. The lateral
confinement produces quantum dots in the quantum well layer. These dots are
the qubits which interact through a spin-dependent exchange Coulomb
interaction.
The Wisconsin team has carried out a series of numerical calculations on a
Hartree-Fock model of the system.
* Preprint at http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/cond-mat/0204035