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66 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2019 IPC Advanced Certified Interconnect Designer CID+ • September 10–13: Kirkland, WA • September 17–20: Schaumburg, IL • October 21–24: Anaheim, CA • November 2–5: Raleigh, NC • December 3–6: Manchester, NH Note: Dates and locations are subject to change. Contact EPTAC Corporation to check cur- rent dates and availability. A minimum enroll- ment of seven students is required for a class to be held. PCB Design Events AltiumLive 2019 • October 9–11: San Diego, CA PCB Carolina 2019 • November 13: Raleigh, NC The IPC Designers Council is an interna- tional network of designers. Its mission is to promote printed circuit board design as a pro- fession and to encourage, facilitate, and pro- mote the exchange of information and integra- tion of new design concepts through commu- nications, seminars, workshops, and profes- sional certification through a network of local chapters. DESIGN007 Stephen Chavez is a member of the IPC Designers Council Executive Board and chairman of the com- munications subcommittee. To read past columns or contact Chavez, click here. facturer Intel, already predicted it in 1965. But this continued reduction in size also brings with it a number of obstacles. The switches and wires are packed together so tightly that they generate more resistance. This, in turn, causes the chip to consume more energy to send signals. A study led by KU Leuven professor Rob Ameloot (De- partment of Microbial and Molecular systems) shows that a new technique might provide the solution. "We're using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as the insulating substance. These are materials that consist of metal ions and organic molecules. To- gether, they form a crystal that is porous yet sturdy," says Ameloot. "Now, we just have to refine the finishing. The surface of the crys- tals is still irregular at the moment. We have to smoothen this to inte- grate the material in a chip." Once the technique has been perfected, it can be used to create powerful, small chips that con- sume less energy. (Source: Linköping University) Researchers at KU Leuven and imec have successful- ly developed a new technique to insulate microchips. The technique uses metal-organic frameworks, a new type of materials consisting of structured nanopores. In the long term, this method can be used for the development of even smaller and more powerful chips that consume less energy. The team has received an ERC Proof of Concept grant to further their research. Computer chips are getting increasingly smaller. That's not new: Gordon Moore, one of the founders of chip manu- Spreading Light Over Quantum Computers