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Electronic Components Uncategorized

The inner workings of a flexible screen

flexible screen

Flexible screens that the consumer can fold or roll were once a complex novelty. Now, they are becoming increasingly more commonplace.

More and more phones and electronic devices are offering flexible screens. Only recently were the newest Samsung Galaxy phones released with folding screens. Oppo, LG and other providers are also beginning to offer flexible screens for their devices.

The first phones with curved displays were produced in 2014 when plastic joined glass as a screen substrate option. The flexible plastic could be bent without breaking, and was much more durable than a thin fragile sheet of glass.

Any kind of screen needs to be durable, but the necessity is increased when flexibility and folding is considered. The other layers of the device have to be just as flexible and durable, which is a factor that has led to a much longer development time.

I don’t believe my eyes!

OLED is currently the display of choice on flexible screens, often being chosen over the LCD alternative. Unlike the backlit LCD screen, the pixels themselves are what emit light in OLED. Thanks to this OLED screens can be much thinner and lighter.

Aside from the cover layer, the glass or plastic layer we interact with, and the OLED, there are two other layers in a flexible touchscreen device:

The substrate layer, which is the bottom layer of the screen, supports the layers that follow. This is usually made of plastic or metal. The most common substrate used for flexible devices is polymide, which has a high mechanical strength and thermal stability. This is also usually used for the cover layer as well.

Powered pixels

The thin film transistor (TFT) layer is between the substrate and the OLED layer. It controls the power delivery to each pixel individually, allowing for high contrast rates and lower power consumption.

Within the TFT layer itself there are also several components that go into its construction. The first layer is glass, metals and polymers and is only microns thick.

Next, there is a gate electrode made of aluminium, gold or chromium. The gate electrode provides a signal to the TFT which begins the contact between the source and drain.

The third layer, an insulator, is used to stop electrical shorting in between the two layers. After that there is another electrode layer and is deposited over the semiconducting surfaces.

Welcome to the fold

As a specialist in day-to-day and obsolete electronic components, Cyclops Electronics can help you source the components you’re looking for. With an extensive stocklist and a dedicated team of account managers, we can guarantee to go above and beyond our competitors. Contact Cyclops today to see what we can do for you on sales@cyclops-electronics.com, or call +44 (0) 1904 415 415.

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Electronic Components Uncategorized

Improvements to smart materials in the works

Thin film semiconductor

A team of scientists and engineers has developed a new way of producing thin film perovskite semiconductors.

This ‘smart material’ can adapt depending on stimuli like light, magnetic fields or electric fields.

This could lead to the material being combined with other nano-scale materials to produce sensors, smart textiles and flexible electronics.

Thin films are usually made via epitaxy: atoms are placed on a substrate one layer at a time.

However, with this method the films stay attached to the host substrate and are less easily utilised. If it can be separated from the substrate it is much more useful.

The team, based at the University of Minnesota, has found a way to create a strontium titanate membrane without several of the usual freestanding membrane issues.

Making freestanding ‘smart’ oxide material membranes comes with certain challenges. Unlike 2D substances like graphene, smart oxide materials are bonded in 3 dimensions.

The method

One way to make them is using remote epitaxy. Graphene is used as an intermediary between the substrate and the membrane. This allows the thin film material to be peeled off the substrate. One issue with this is when using the technique with metal oxides the graphene becomes oxidised and ruins the sample.

A new technique pioneered by the University of Minnesota is hybrid molecular beam epitaxy. This stops the oxidation process by using titanium that is already bonded to oxygen. The team has also been able to introduce automatic stoichiometric control, which no one else has been able to do.

The hope is in future to combine these thin film membranes to create more advanced smart materials. There are certain products already using thin films like gallium-oxide. Other alternatives to thin film include carbon nanotubes, which can be used in layers of only 0.06nm thickness.

A ‘smart’ choice

Cyclops Electronics can provide a huge range of specialist, day-to-day, and hard to find electronic components. We work with our customers to make sure we find what they need and deliver in the quickest time possible.

Contact Cyclops for all your electronic component needs. Call us on +44 (0) 1904 415 415, or email us at sales@cyclops-electronics.com.

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Component Shortage Uncategorized

How electronics shortages may affect Christmas

Christmas Shortages

Christmas is just around the corner, and while many shortages have calmed there are some that persist and will have an impact on the usual holiday festivities.

Despite reports that shortages are ending, more than half of semiconductor industry leaders (56%) are expecting them to continue into 2023.

There are shortages that we have been prepared for as the months counted down to the holidays. However, other shortages may catch some unawares.

Much of the news regarding shortages has revolved around the difficulty producing new, smaller nodes. These are the semiconductors going into new consumer electronics, often purchased as Christmas gifts.

What was expected:

As semiconductor shortages persist, next-gen consumer electronics will be in limited supply. Demand always spikes around the holidays, as consumers prepare for the gifting season. But some will be out of luck since electronics have also been affected by the shortages.

While consumer electronics, including smartphones, smart home devices, and games consoles have become slightly more stable, there will still be shortages in the face of holiday buying and events like Black Friday.

This also affects the manufacture of new cars, both fuel and electricity-powered models. Many car companies have lowered the number of vehicles produced. Although they haven’t been able to meet the increased demand, semiconductor shortages mean they cannot produce more.

What you didn’t expect:

New electronic components are not the only ones that are in short supply. Older components and obsolete electronic parts have also become scarcer.

Embedded flash microcontrollers are one component that has long been used in automotive manufacture. Most of the ones used are still using older nodes, like 90nm. So while new cars are being affected, older cars in need of repair will also be impacted.

Industrial electronics are also at risk due to shortages, since they similarly rely on legacy nodes. Traditionally these would be the more stable of options for electronic components. However, the reserves that have taken years to build are now being drained.

Although companies are planning on investing in legacy nodes, the shortages are expected to last until at least 2024, if not 2025.

The shortages show no sign of stopping, and manufacturers will be dealing with the effects of it for years to come. There are surely plenty of electronic components and markets affected that have not been mentioned here, so this overview is by no means exhaustive.

What to expect

As shortages persist, there’s no better time to get in touch with us.

Cyclops Electronics have an extensive supply of day-to-day and obsolete electronic components. If you have been struggling to source components elsewhere, Cyclops Electronics is there for you.

Let us provide your Christmas miracle this year, call us on +44 (0) 1904 415 415 or email us at sales@cyclops-electronics.com.

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Carbon nanotubes being used to develop ‘Smart Clothes’

Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in 1991, the material has been utilised for commercial purposes in several areas, including anti-corrosion paints, hydrophobic coatings and engineering plastics.

CNTs were one of the materials that made it possible for two-dimensional graphene to be used and researched. On a broader scale, it allowed nanoscience to branch into its own area of study.

The material is made up of a cylindrical tube of carbon atoms, and can be single-walled or multi-walled. On a molecular level, CNTs are 100 times more robust than steel and a fraction of the weight.

But in the last ten years, there have been studies into how the material’s heat and electrical conductive qualities might be used in another everyday product: clothes.

Keeping warm

A recent study by North Carolina State University examined CNTs’ usage as a ‘smart fabric’ in 2020. The researchers investigated how its heating and cooling properties could be harnessed to make a cheaper alternative to the current thermoelectric materials being used.

The plan is to integrate the CNTs into the fabric of the clothes, rather than an extra layer, which means the flexible material has an advantage over others currently available on the market.

The low thermal conductivity of CNTs means that heat would not travel back to the wearer, and the same applies to cool air, when an external current is applied.

Heart racing yet?

 A study from seven years previously studied how CNTs could be used as a built-in electrocardiogram (ECG) within athletic wear. The nanotube fibres sewn into the clothes monitored heartrate and took a continual cardiogram from the wearer.

The Brown School of Engineering lab, who conducted the research, said the shirt would have to be a tight fit to make sure the material touched the skin, but the t-shirt was still – miraculously – machine-washable.

According to the researchers the enhances shirt actually performed better than a chest-strap monitor ECG when compared in a test, and could connect to Bluetooth devices to transmit the collected data.

Recharging…

In 2018 engineers from the University of Cincinnati, in partnership with the Wright-Patterson Air Force Research Laboratory, conducted a study into how CNT clothes could charge a phone.

This study investigated the applications of CNT clothes in the military, where it could be used to charge the electronics that form part of a soldier’s field equipment instead of weighty batteries. Using a similar technique to the other studies, where CNT fibres were sewn into the clothes.

Will it make fashion week?

Not quite yet. Despite the cheaper-by-comparison cost of the material, the quantity of material required for mass production is too high for what is currently available and is still relatively young and untested. The specialist equipment that would also be needed for CNT textile production would be an investment many manufacturers would decide against.

While CNTs may not be a hugely sought-after material just yet, Cyclops can supply you with hard-to-find electronic components when you need them most. Contact us now at sales@cyclops-electronics.com to see how we can help you.

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Memory suppliers to benefit from strong demand and supplier shortages

Memory

While the downsides to electronic components shortages are well known, business is booming for smaller memory suppliers.

Sales of Samsung DRAM grew 26% in Q2 2021 without meaningful production capacity growth, and as supply-demand imbalances grow, memory suppliers like Samsung, Micron, and others are turning to smaller suppliers to fill gaps.

As chip shortages continue, demand grows. Order books get filled off the page, creating longer lead times (up to 40-weeks) and extending standing orders. This is bad news for the end-product manufacturer but great news for suppliers, who see sales rise and bids increase to fuel record turnover and, in some cases, net profits.

The sector as a whole is booming, but no better example of taking the bull by the horns exists than Alliance Memory.  

Alliance Memory is a US-based 30-year old DRAM manufacturer, billed as a legacy SRAM supplier and a leading domestic supplier of DRAM and flash memory. The company’s run rate in 2021 is double what it was in 2020.

In an interview with EPS News, Alliance Memory CEO David Bagby explains why: “we went out to customers struggling to get Samsung. Now we have maybe the best representation of DRAM and SRAM product of anybody out there.”

Memory upturn forecast to continue

IC Insights, the foremost authority on memory and chip demand, has predicted a new record high for memory demand in 2022.

Stronger DRAM pricing is expected to lift total memory revenue 23% in 2021 to $155.2 billion. The memory upturn is forecast to continue into 2022 to $180.4 billion, surpassing the all-time high of $163.3 billion set in 2018.

Demand for memory, including DRAM, SRAM and flash, is being driven by economic recovery and the transition to a digital economy. Unlike other technological cycles, the current cycle of digitalisation weights it, fuelled by innovations in data centres, 5G and space networks, AI, robotics and IoT.

Sequentially, the average price of DRAM rose 8% in the first quarter of 2021. Another increase of 18-23% in Q2 sent memory suppliers into a spin. Demand is outstripping supply, creating a perfect storm for continued price increases.

Price increases expected to continue until late 2022

The price of memory is more sensitive to other electronic components because supply is controlled by a few big players. Smaller memory suppliers fill in gaps in supply, but the big guns like Samsung and Micron rule the roost.

When demand outstrips supply at the big guns, prices explode. We’ve seen it several times before, such as the memory price increase of 2018. Prices fell again in 2019, recovered a little in 2020, then soared again this year.

Memory is a commodity and companies are willing to pay big to get a hold of it. Bidding wars are not uncommon and 40-week lead times are normal today.

However, while the memory upturn is predicted to continue into 2022, Gartner says memory prices will dive at the end of the year, predicting that an “oversupply” of memory chips will develop as demand eases and supply increases.

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Component Shortage Uncategorized

Chip shortage hitting auto jobs

Automotive Industry

The global semiconductor shortage is hitting automotive manufacturers where it hurts, which will inevitably lead to job cuts across the supply chain.

We are already starting to see this with Stellantis, the car company formed by the merger of Fiat and Peugeot, saying it will cut over 1,600 jobs at its Illinois Jeep plant.

Elsewhere, the first sign of job cuts will be found in production cuts. Ford Motor Co has outlined a series of plant shutdowns due to the chip shortage, with five facilities in the US and one in Turkey affected. They have also cut output in Europe.

Meanwhile, GM has been forced into production cuts and Nissan recorded its worst annual loss in decades because of the global chip shortage.

Volkswagen AG has also sounded the horn, warning that chip shortages will curb output in the coming months of 2021. VW expects worsening production from the chip shortage and for it to affect all their cars groups, including SEAT and Audi.

Billions in losses

Job cuts appear to be inevitable across the automotive industry as manufacturers count the cost of production constraints caused by the chip shortage.

It is estimated the global auto industry will take an £80 billion hit in 2021. Several manufacturers have come forward with their own estimates. Ford says the chip shortage will cost them up to $2 billion in 2021 alone.  

Unfortunately, it is ordinary workers who will be punished. With fewer cars to make, workers involved in the manufacturing of cars will be cut first. We have already seen this with Stellantis. Other manufacturers will likely follow.

Why the chip shortage?

Modern cars have more than 1,000 chips in them and the smartest, most connected models, such as those with ADAS systems, have over 3,000 chips. So, even a small supply constraint can set back production.

However, this is no small supply constraint.

It appears that no auto maker is immune to the chip shortage brought about by cancelled orders at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, auto makers cancelled chip orders. Electronics manufacturers filled this gap in demand with soaring sales. Now that auto makers need to ramp up chip orders again, they have nowhere to go because most chip makers are running at 98-100% capacity making chips for other booming sectors.

This has caused a global semiconductor shortage that has affected all industries and all players. Even Samsung, who make their own chips, are struggling. The shortage is predicted to last 1-2 years until new foundries become operational.

Looking ahead

The semiconductor shortage won’t last forever, and people need cars. Production will accelerate in the years to come. However, jobs may still be at risk.

Sadly, the chip shortage could accelerate digital transformation in manufacturing facilities, with the displacement of human workers for machines.

This is commonplace, but traditional brands may now seek a permanent solution to job cuts through technology. Automated plants are inevitable.

In any case, the future of the automotive industry is bright so long as you extend your horizon. The chip shortage is likely to last for the next 2 years. If you work in the automotive sector, strap yourself in. There’s more drama to come.

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Electronic Components Future Uncategorized

How does recycling electronics help create sustainability within the industry?

How does recycling electronics help create sustainability within the industry?

Thanks to advancements in material science and recycling technologies, it’s possible to recycle around 80% of most new electronics. For example, the smartphone in your hand or pocket has around 80% recyclable components.

The most valuable components in electronics are rare and precious metals. The quantity of these metals in your phone is tiny but the number of phones (and other electronics) that enter landfills is huge. This creates a lucrative opportunity for recyclers to invest in processes that can extract the most valuable components efficiently.

Recycling in the electronics industry

Recycling electronics is important to not only reduce e-waste, but also our dependency on the mining and manufacturing of new materials. 

The electronics industry is at odds with environmentalists because the industry that’s pioneering solar and renewable energy technologies generates a lot of e-waste. You can’t have it both ways. If you want technology to fight climate change, it first has to advance to a point where it becomes neutral and self-sustained.

Mass recycling is the process that will enable this in the future. For now, it is a stop-gap to minimise the electronics industry’s impact on the environment. And it’s working, with 15% of e-waste recycled globally in 2019. This figure is rising by 2-3% per year. In 2030 we expect the global e-waste recycling rate to hit 50%.

European legislation requires every manufacturer and producer to arrange and finance the collection, treatment, recycling, and disposal of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment). This is a positive step. In the future, we want to see 100% recycling efficiency, although this will require different materials to those used today.

Excess inventory management

Another area of the electronics industry where recycling is important is excess electronic components. These components are not assigned for manufacturing and have no purpose in production. They take up space and are depreciating assets.

These components tend to be discarded and written off. However, recycling is not the best thing for them. The best thing for them is putting them back into production. The old phrase “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” springs to mind.

This process is known as excess inventory management and it requires an electronic component distributor to purchase unwanted stockpiles of components. These stockpiles are then re-sold through a distribution network.

This provides a few benefits to the seller:

  • An instant, positive cash injection
  • Reduced stockholding costs
  • Reduced time spent managing surplus stock

Over at our sister company, Cyclops Excess who specialise in the purchase and management of excess stock that has been identified for disposition. This process turns unwanted electronic components into cash and introduces new revenue streams for you.

If you have unwanted excess stock contact them today, Excess offers three buying options to suit you and your business needs. Call 01904 415 415,  email our team hello@cyclopsxs.com or visit the website here https://cyclopsxs.com/ 

Where does excess inventory end up?

Most excess inventory ends up on the production line with manufacturers and OEMs to create new products. This puts the components into production and significantly increases the time from manufacture to end of life.

Other components can find no end-user. In this case, the components are sent to specialist recycling centers that purchase the components as scrap. Around 10% of excess inventory is sent on for recycling. The majority enters production.

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Facebook is going to put smart glasses on your face in 2021

You may recall that several years ago (back in 2013 to be exact), Google brought out Google Glass. This was a brand of smart glasses that used touch and voice commands to interact with online content, display directions and act as a phone. The product wasn’t a massive success, but it did kickstart a consumer-focused AR arm’s race.

When we talk about AR or augmented reality, with regards to glasses. We mean eyewear with technology that merges what you see in the real-world with an overlay of virtual information from the internet. Examples include directions to a supermarket when you walk and restaurant reviews when you look at a sign.

The AR market is predicted to be worth $100 billion by 2024 and the technology is advancing at a rapid rate. Facebook is the latest juggernaut to enter the fold, and they have plans to put smart glasses on your face by 2021.

Facebook’s move into AR

Facebook owns Oculus, the company behind some of the world’s most popular VR (virtual reality) headsets. AR goes beyond VR by adding digital elements to real life, as opposed to simulating a new environment entirely.

Oculus practically has the VR market sewn up already, so it hasn’t come as a surprise to us that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently revealed Project Aria, Facebook’s augmented reality research project that will deliver a product by 2021.

Announced during the fittingly remote Facebook Connect event, Zuckerberg said the goal is to “develop some normal-size, nice-looking glasses that you can wear all day, and interact with holograms, digital objects and information while still being present with the people and the world around you.”

It all sounds exciting, and though we have been here before with Google Glass, Facebook has a track record with VR. They could do the same with AR, and Project Aria is the research project that will deliver the technology needed.

The technology driving AR

To create an AR environment, you need sound, video, graphics, networking, and GPS data. AR requires good hardware and software. If Facebook intends to create “normal-size, nice-looking glasses”, the technology will also have to be refined.

Zuckerberg admits “there’s still a lot of work to be done on the foundational technologies,” but adds that “Project Aria is the first research device we’re putting out into the world to help us understand the hardware and software needed.”

To deliver the end product, Facebook has partnered with luxury eyewear giant Luxottica. It is expected that Facebook’s smart glasses will have Ray-Ban branding. This will help the glasses accommodate a wider range of styles.           

Specifications for the 2021 glasses have not been revealed. However, they are expected to be capable of overlaying directions, music recommendations, localised information (such as what’s around the corner), and integrate with some of Facebook’s features. It’s important to note, however, that nothing is certain.

Also, Facebook is working on its own 100% in-house AR eyewear, which it intends to thoroughly test before bringing any product to market. The tech giant has a reputation to uphold with eyewear (they own Oculus), and if their VR headsets are anything to go by, we are in for a treat when Facebook’s AR glasses finally land.

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Cyclops Group Brexit statement (IV) issued October 2020

Operational update

Cyclops group has robust plans in place for a variety of Brexit outcomes. Strategic Brexit planning has evolved over the last 2 years to incorporate the likelihood of several possible outcomes as well as a fully negotiated agreement. For this reason, the Business has been required to undertake a particularly extensive analysis of risk and therefore predicts no change to the essential service provided by Cyclops.

In the event of a no-deal exit, the UK Government has detailed that “The trade you carry out with the EU will broadly follow the customs controls that apply for the rest of the world.” As a business that has traded internationally for many years, we have a wide variety of country-specific trade processes in utilisation.

The most important element for undisrupted trade is the adoption and utilisation of a UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification number (EORI). This has been held by the Business for a number of years.

We have been working closely with our freight partners to ensure that they have sufficient plans in place to minimise any border disruption. We are entirely satisfied that all sensible precautions have been taken such as the recruitment of extra staff at the border. Furthermore, the Business operates from several worldwide locations and has a variety of re-deployment options available to it.

The Business continues to make adaptations as further information becomes available. The prioritization of our customer service delivery is firmly entrenched in our Business model and we seek to reassure our customers of our proactive approach.

Should you wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to make contact me.

David Yodaiken

Commercial Director

Davidy@cyclops-electronics.com

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What the future holds for passive and interconnecting electronic components

While the world economy is in freefall with the COVID-19 pandemic, with mass unemployment and trade plummeting, the global passive and interconnecting electronic components market is expected to continue growing thanks to demand from the developing world and the rise of 5G infrastructure.

Grand View Research has released forecasts for the passive and interconnecting electronic components market, predicting a compound annual growth rate of 5.3% from 2020 to 2027 with a slowdown from 2020 to 2021 due to COVID-19.

The future is by no means certain and we do not know exactly how badly the world economy will be impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. We do however have models that tell us demand will increase for electronics over time. This spells good news for components manufacturers and the wider electronics industry.

Changes in market demand

As the world economy is adversely impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, demand for electronic components in many verticals will slow. This can be traced back to the reality that in times of uncertainty, consumers are warier of spending money. Less demand for products means a slowdown in production and demand.

However, regardless of the world economy, some regions do have a stimulus. The United Kingdom, Japan, China, South Korea, and the US are rolling out 5G network infrastructure and this will stimulate the electronics market. Smartphones, tablets, drones, and other devices that rely on networking will be key beneficiaries.

So, it isn’t by any means doom and gloom for the global passive and interconnecting electronic components market. Growth is predicted from 2020 to 2027 and the COVID-19 outbreak will only slow down this growth temporarily.

How component sourcing has changed

In response to a fall in demand for products, passive and interconnecting electronic component production has slowed. In addition, a lot of stock hasn’t been used and is sitting in storage until such a time it is needed.

Prior to COVID-19, it was easy to think of component production as being in a state of perpetual motion for it was always present. Demand has fallen but that doesn’t mean it has ceased. Passive and interconnecting electronic components are still being sourced, albeit in smaller batches and more carefully than ever.

Another behavior we have witnessed is component hoarding. OEMs are unsure of their partner’s manufacturing capabilities in the face of COVID-19. So, they are hoarding components to ensure they can scale up demand when the time is right. This is considered normal behavior without a global pandemic, but we are seeing more extreme examples as a means to protect manufacturing output. Ultimately, this means there are fewer components to go around, which drives up the cost of certain components.

How we can help you with sourcing

The future may be uncertain but good preparation will help you through it. As your electronic component distribution partner, we can source components for you with access to all major manufacturers. We can source legacy, obsolete, state-of-the-art, and short production run components at prices that suit your margin. Visit our website or click here to use access to our component search and enquire with us. We are here to help you with your electronic component needs.

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