Research News(2017) | Corporate Research & Development Center

Toshiba Develops a Gate dielectric Process Technology for Improving the Reliability of GaN-MOSFET (7 Dec. 2017) Toshiba has developed a gate dielectric process technology for improving the reliability of GaN power devices, which are expected to be the next generation of semiconducting power devices. Application of this technology will greatly reduce the variation in characteristics such as threshold voltage. The use of GaN-MOSFETs with this technology is expected to improve the reliability of GaN power devices and contribute to their further spread. The details of this technology will be presented at the International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM) in San Francisco on 6 December 2017.

Toshiba's Development of Wireless Multi-hop Video Transmission Technology
Capable of Transmitting Full HD Video from Multiple Surveillance Cameras (9 Nov. 2017) Toshiba has developed a wireless multi-hop video transmission technology that applies a bucket brigade method to realize full HD video transmission from multiple wireless cameras without any delay. This technology enables autonomous configuration of wireless networks considering the installation environment of surveillance cameras, making it possible to freely arrange surveillance cameras or construct wide-area video surveillance systems that connect multiple drone-mounted cameras. This technology will be demonstrated on 9 November 2017 at the Toshiba Open Innovation Fair 2017.

Toshiba Develops Next-Generation Lithium-ion Battery with New Anode Material (3 Oct, 2017) ・New battery realizes driving range of electric vehicles boosted to 320km on 6-minute, ultra-rapid recharge, triple that possible with current lithium-ion battery.
・New anode material, titanium niobium oxide achieves double the capacity of the anode of current lithium-ion batteries.

Toshiba Achieves World's Highest Conversion Efficiency in 5 cm X 5 cm Film-based Perovskite Solar Cell Mini-modules
─Technology will reduce cost and increase efficiency of flexible solar cell modules that can be installed on walls and other locations─ (25 Sep,2017) Toshiba has made a significant advance toward the realization of light, flexible solar modules that can be used in diverse locations by fabricating a perovskite solar cell mini module^{(Note 2)} with the highest energy conversion rate yet achieved.

Toshiba's New Gate Insulation Film Process Technology Cuts Resistance in SiC-MOSFETs (Sep. 2017) Toshiba has developed a new gate-insulating film process technology for SiC-MOSFETs that reduces resistance in their channel region by about 40%, and that is expected to reduce total device resistance by as much as 20%. SiC-MOSFETs are widely seen as next generation, advanced semiconductor power devices, and this reduction of power consumption will contribute to their adoption. Details of the technology was announced at the International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials (ICSCRM) in Washington DC, on September 18.

Toshiba Pushes Quantum Key Distribution Speed Beyond 10Mbps (Sep. 2017) TOKYO-Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) and Toshiba Research Europe Limited’s Cambridge Research Laboratory in the UK have brought the enhanced security of quantum cryptography closer to practical realization with development of the world’s fastest quantum key distribution device. The device has achieved a key data distribution speed of 13.7 megabits per second *1. The speed is about seven times the previous fastest quantum key distribution speed: the 1.9Mbps that Toshiba achieved in 2016.

Toshiba Develops Public Key Cryptosystem Based on New Principles That is Difficult to Crack Even with Quantum Computers (Aug. 2017) Toshiba Corporation has developed a post-quantum public key cryptosystem in collaboration with Hokkaido University of Education, Kyushu University, and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. The security of the cryptosystem is based on the problem of finding a small solution to a multivariate non-linear indeterminate equation, which is expected to be computationally hard, even with quantum computers. It is expected to offer security and calculation efficiency equivalent to or better than those of lattice-based cryptosystem, and to offer a promising candidate for post-quantum cryptosystems. Details were presented at SAC2017, an international conference held in Ottawa, Canada, on August 16–18, 2017.

Toshiba's New AI Technology Contributes to Safety and Security in Large Facilities by Tracking Multiple People at Once (Aug. 2017) Toshiba has developed AI technology that uses video feeds from multiple surveillance cameras to track the movements of people in shopping malls, train stations, arenas and other large facilities. Although it receives feeds from cameras in locations throughout the facility, the technology realizes high precision with low computation load, allowing routes taken by multiple people to be tracked at the same time. The technology will be reported at the 20th Meeting on Image Recognition and Understanding (MIRU2017), a major Japanese conference on image recognition, on August 8.

Toshiba and Toshiba Memory are Gold Medal Recipients of the 2016 JSAI Field Innovation Award (Jun. 2017) The success of Toshiba Corporation and Toshiba Memory Corporation (TMC) in boosting output at Yokkaichi Operations, TMC's memory plant in Mie prefecture, was recognized today when the companies were presented with the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence's 2016 Field Innovation Award for "Improvements in Semiconductor Manufacturing Productivity at Yokkaichi Operations."

Toshiba develops a hydrogen sensor with rapid detection and low power consumption for a safer hydrogen society (Jun. 2017) Toshiba has developed a hydrogen gas sensor that consumes less than 1% the power of conventional devices^{(Note 1)} without loss of detection speed. It is based on a Toshiba-developed microelectromechanical system (MEMS) structure that employs a palladium-based metallic glass^{(Note 2)} to realize both rapid detection and low power consumption, overcoming the usual trade-off of conventional sensors. The sensor can be fabricated on semiconductor manufacturing lines, allowing low-cost mass-production. Details on the technology will be presented on 20 June at the Transducers 2017 international conference held in Taiwan.

Toshiba applies spintronics technology to an ultra-sensitive strain-gauge sensor element 2500 times more sensitive than metal strain-gauge sensors and 100 times more sensitive than semiconductor strain-gauge sensors (Jun. 2017) Toshiba has achieved two breakthroughs in spintronics technologies for Internet of Things (IoT) devices: an ultra-sensitive spintronic strain-gauge sensor element for micro-electro-mechanical-system(MEMS^{(Note 1)}) sensors that is 2500 times as sensitive as conventional metal strain-gauges and over 100 times as sensitive as semiconductor strain-gauges; and the world's first^{(Note 2)} spintronic MEMS microphone integrating a spintronic strain-gauge sensor element on the MEMS diaphragm, which has experimentally demonstrated accurate detection of ultrasonic sounds inaudible to the human ear. Details on the technologies will be presented on June 19 at the Transducers 2017 international conference held in Taiwan.

Toshiba Develops Fluorescence Imaging System that Can Observe Cell Cultures Inside an Incubator (Jun. 2017) Toshiba has developed a system that performs fluorescence imaging^{(Note 1)} of cell clusters during culturing in an incubator^{(Note 2)} without using an objective lens. The prototype can distinguish individual cells in clusters, and is the first in the world^{(Note 3)} to achieve a spatial resolution below 10 micrometers(μm), three times finer^{(Note 4)} than that of a previously proposed similar technology. Details of the development will be published on 20 June at the "Transducers 2017" international conference held in Taiwan.

Toshiba Develops Two-dimensional Crystallinity Characterization Technology for Directly Assessing Relationship between Performance and Crystal Structure of Nano-sized Polycrystalline Silicon Thin-film Transistors (Apr. 2017) Toshiba has developed an evaluation technology for visualizing the relationship between the performance of electron conduction channels (current paths) and crystal structures in nano-sized polycrystalline silicon^{(Note 1)} thin-film transistors. This technology allows direct evaluation of relationship between electrical characteristics and crystal structures in polycrystalline silicon transistors in electronic devices, which are difficult to elucidate by conventional methods, and the identification of factors in the deterioration of electrical properties. Details of the technology were announced on April 6, 2017 at the International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS 2017) in Monterey, CA, USA.

Electric Bus with Toshiba's Wireless Charger Cuts CO₂ Emissions by up to 60% in Field Testing (Mar. 2017) TOKYO─Toshiba Corporation (Tokyo: 6502) today announced the results of field tests of electric buses charged with its wireless rapid rechargeable battery system. The tests, carried out with the cooperation of Waseda University, concluded that using the buses to replace standard diesel buses could cut CO₂ emissions from daily operation by up to 60%¹. The project was supported by the Ministry of the Environment's Low Carbon Technology Research and Development Program.

Toshiba Awarded 49^th Ichimura Prize in Industry for Distinguished Achievement -- Development and Commercialization of High Power, Heavy Rare-Earth-Free, Demagnetization Resistant Magnet for Motors-- (Mar. 2017) TOKYO─Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) and Toshiba Materials Co., Ltd. have been awarded the 49^th Ichimura Prize in Industry for Distinguished Achievement for the development of and commercialization of a high power, heavy rare-earth-free, demagnetization resistant^{(Note 1)} magnet for motors.

Toshiba and RIKEN to Collaborate in AI Research and Development (Mar. 2017) TOKYO─Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) today announced that it has agreed with RIKEN, one of a Japan's government funded research institutes, to work together to promote advances in fundamental technologies for AI. The collaborative work will be centered at a new research and development center, RIKEN AIP^*1 Toshiba Collaboration Centre (RATCC), at the RIKEN Centre for AIP Project in Tokyo. By bringing together their leading-edge AI technologies, plus know-how and data Toshiba has built up through years of experience as a leading industrial company in sectors ranging semiconductors to infrastructure, the partners aim to achieve "Autonomous learning AI for innovative productivity".

Toshiba to Unveil World's Most Power Efficient Analog-to-Digital Converter for Next-Generation Wireless LAN (Feb. 2017) Toshiba today announced that it has developed the world's most power efficient^{(Note
1)} analog-to-digital (A/D) converter^{(Note 2)} for next-generation wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11ax^{(Note 3)}). The new technology overcomes a trade-off between conversion accuracy and power efficiency to realize the performance required by A/D converters for next-generation wireless LAN, while achieving three times the power efficiency of current A/D converters^{(Note 4)}. Deployment of the new device is expected to extend the lifetime of wireless LAN devices and to boost communication speeds. Toshiba will announce details of the technology on February 8 at the International Conference on Semiconductor Circuits in San Francisco.