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The LM3914: Turning a Voltage Into a Row of Lights

The LM3914: Turning a Voltage Into a Row of Lights

National Semiconductor reduced the analog bar-graph display to a single IC, a handful of LEDs, and one resistor. The level meter was never the same.


News Sep 11, 2026 by Luke James
A Peek Inside the Electronics on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

A Peek Inside the Electronics on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s mirror may get the headlines, but its detector chips, photon-counting cameras, and downlink amplifier tell the electronics story.


News Aug 31, 2026 by Robert Martin
The 4N35: One LED, One Phototransistor, and a Barrier Nothing Crosses

The 4N35: One LED, One Phototransistor, and a Barrier Nothing Crosses

An LED facing a phototransistor inside a 6-pin package became the default way to pass a signal across a barrier while blocking everything else.


News Aug 28, 2026 by Luke James
Quectel Debuts Wi-Fi 7 Modules With Bluetooth 6.0 for Streaming and Gaming

Quectel Debuts Wi-Fi 7 Modules With Bluetooth 6.0 for Streaming and Gaming

The FCE870X and FME170X share the same high-end feature set across two package formats, giving product teams a choice between embedded and modular designs.


News Aug 10, 2026 by Dale Wilson
Mesh AI: Node-Level Intelligence with Non-Cellular 5G/6G Connectivity

Mesh AI: Node-Level Intelligence with Non-Cellular 5G/6G Connectivity

Learn how LM Semi's Mesh AI platform delivers autonomous, secure, node-level intelligence via non-cellular NR+ mesh networks, addressing AI scalability for billions of devices.


News Apr 17, 2026 by Gordon Feller
EW ‘26 Exclusive—Nuvoton Talks MCUs: Low-Power, Edge AI, Automotive, and More

EW ‘26 Exclusive—Nuvoton Talks MCUs: Low-Power, Edge AI, Automotive, and More

We spoke to Nuvoton’s Walter Tseng in this exclusive Embedded World 2026 interview. Our focus was all things microcontrollers, ranging from low power to Edge AI to automotive MCUs.


News Apr 13, 2026 by Jeff Child
Nuvoton Unveils MCU With Cortex-M33 Core Aimed at Smart Devices

Nuvoton Unveils MCU With Cortex-M33 Core Aimed at Smart Devices

The NuMicro M3331 series runs at up to 180 MHz and integrates hardware security, CAN FD, and LED control interfaces across packages as small as 4 × 4 mm.


News Apr 03, 2026 by Luke James
Lumotive Debuts ‘World’s First 2D Photonic Beamforming Chip’

Lumotive Debuts ‘World’s First 2D Photonic Beamforming Chip’

The startup's programmable chip uses a metasurface architecture to control light without moving parts.


News Apr 01, 2026 by Luke James
5 Light-Based Technologies Reshaping Computing and Sensing

5 Light-Based Technologies Reshaping Computing and Sensing

Researchers push the boundaries of photonic devices, opening new frontiers in AR, structural monitoring, and quantum applications.


News Mar 31, 2026 by Luke James
Diodes Inc. Releases Multi-Phase SPI Boost Controller for Auto Lighting

Diodes Inc. Releases Multi-Phase SPI Boost Controller for Auto Lighting

Diodes Inc. says the device balances the demands of advanced headlight control units, including power density, efficiency, EMI, and functional safety.


News Mar 30, 2026 by Austin Futrell
Kristina Johnson: Engineering Change From Movie Theaters to Government

Kristina Johnson: Engineering Change From Movie Theaters to Government

To close out Women's History Month, we spotlight Kristina M. Johnson, the mind behind RealD's 3D technology—just one of her 118 patents.


News Mar 26, 2026 by Luke James
Light Research, Heavy Implications: LEDs for Medicine, Displays, & Optics

Light Research, Heavy Implications: LEDs for Medicine, Displays, & Optics

Recent research has pushed LED and OLED performance into new territory, from photothermal cancer therapy to nano-OLEDs capable of directional light control.


News Dec 16, 2025 by Luke James
UCLA and Broadcom Team Up to Craft Wafer-Scale Unidirectional Imager

UCLA and Broadcom Team Up to Craft Wafer-Scale Unidirectional Imager

A new multilayer diffractive optical processor blocks images in one direction while passing them in the other.


News Aug 18, 2025 by Luke James
New Wave of Research Expands View of What Semiconductors Can Do

New Wave of Research Expands View of What Semiconductors Can Do

Recent research breakthroughs are pushing semiconductors far beyond traditional logic and memory roles into chemical catalysis, sustainable manufacturing, and quantum photonics.


News Jul 30, 2025 by Luke James
Max Planck: The Founder of Quantum Theory and Modern Physics

Max Planck: The Founder of Quantum Theory and Modern Physics

Max Planck introduced the idea that energy is quantized, a breakthrough that reshaped modern physics.


News Jun 23, 2025 by Luke James
Silicon Labs Debuts Its First 22 nm SoC Aimed at Smart Lighting and More

Silicon Labs Debuts Its First 22 nm SoC Aimed at Smart Lighting and More

Announced today, the SoC taps a new technology node, enabling it to integrate larger memory blocks and execute at higher frequencies without compromising power efficiency.


News May 21, 2025 by Jake Hertz
Kawasaki Uses Hydrogen to Create Serious ‘Horse’-Power

Kawasaki Uses Hydrogen to Create Serious ‘Horse’-Power

The manufacturer envisions a rideable, hydrogen-powered robotic horse. Is this back to the future?


News May 02, 2025 by Kevin Clemens
Historical Engineers: Isamu Akasaki, Inventor of GaN-Based Blue LEDs

Historical Engineers: Isamu Akasaki, Inventor of GaN-Based Blue LEDs

Nobel prize winner Isamu Akasaki invented efficient blue light-emitting diodes, enabling bright, energy-efficient white light sources.


News Feb 21, 2025 by Luke James
IBM Introduces Co-Packaged Optics, an Optical Link Packaging Scheme

IBM Introduces Co-Packaged Optics, an Optical Link Packaging Scheme

IBM believes its new research may increase the efficiency and density of generative AI computing.


News Jan 14, 2025 by Jake Hertz
How Times Square’s New Year’s Eve Ball Got Its Sparkle

How Times Square’s New Year’s Eve Ball Got Its Sparkle

The Times Square Ball has come far from its first iron-and-wood model. Here's how the New Year's Eve icon has evolved over the past century.


News Dec 31, 2024 by Luke James