Tech Briefs Magazine - December 2022 - 33

signal, and queries whether the resulting data are a valid codeword,
using the code merely as a validator or hash.
The first instance of code-word identification is the decoding.
By mirroring the noisy channel, GRAND provides optimally
accurate maximum likelihood decoding of arbitrary codes
with moderate redundancy that can be chosen to perfectly
match system characteristics.
GRAND can efficiently and precisely decode all moderate to
low redundancy codes.
The technology obviates the need for multiple decoders and is
applicable in different industries including AR/VR, low latency
gaming, IoT, 5G networks, optical networks, and many others.
For more information, contact tlo-inquiries@mit.edu; 617253-6966.
Energy-Saving
Technique for Faster Communication Systems
Next-generation power and radio frequency electronic devices can be developed that are
faster, more reliable, and more energy efficient.
University of Bristol, United Kingdom
R
esearchers have developed a technique that will allow for
faster communication systems and better energy-saving
electronics. The breakthrough was made by establishing how to
remotely measure the electric field inside a semiconductor device
for the first time.
Semiconductor device design can be trial and error, though
more commonly it is based on a device simulation that then
provides the basis for the manufacture of the semiconductor
devices for real-life applications. When these are new and
emerging semiconductor materials, it has often been unknown
how accurate and correct these simulations are.
Semiconductors can be made to conduct positive or negative
charges and can therefore be designed to modulate and manipulate
current. However, these semiconductor devices do not
stop with silicon - there are many others including Gallium
Nitride. These semiconductor devices, which can convert an
AC current from a power line into a DC current, result in a loss
of energy as waste heat.
A voltage is applied to an electronic device and as a result,
there is an output current used in the application. Inside the
electronic device is an electric field that determines how the device
works and how long it will be operational. To make good
performance and long-lasting electronic devices out of these
new materials, it is important that research ers find the optimal
design where electric fields do not exceed the critical value,
which would result in their degradation or failure.
Experts plan to use newly emerging materials such as gallium
nitride and gallium oxide rather than silicon, allowing operation
at higher frequency and at higher voltages, respectively, so
that new circuits are possible that reduce energy loss. This work
provides an optical tool to enable the direct measurement of
electric field within these new devices. This will underpin future
efficient pow er electronics in applications such as solar or
wind turbine stations, electric cars, trains, and planes.
Since these devices are operated at higher voltages, this means
electric fields in the devices are higher, which in turn means they
can fail easier. The new technique enables researchers to quantify
electric fields within the devices, allowing accurate calibration of
the device simulations that design the electronic devices so the
electric fields do not exceed critical limits and fail.
For more information, contact Professor Martin H. H.
Kuball at Martin.Kuball@bristol.ac.uk.
Quantifying electric fields in semiconductor devices. The schematic shows
electric field distribution in the channel of a GaN transistor; laser beams
highlight the second harmonic generation (SHG) nature of the technique.
(Image: Yuke Cao)
Tech Briefs, December 2022
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Tech Briefs Magazine - December 2022

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