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APRIL 2021 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 91 DesignCon 2021 August 16–18, 2021 San Jose, CA SMTA International 2021 Nov. 1–4, 2021 Minneapolis, MN Productronica Nov. 16–19, 2021 Munich, Germany PCB Carolina 2021 Nov. 10, 2021 Raleigh, NC Del Mar Electronics & Manufacturing Show May 4–5, 2022 Del Mar Fairgrounds, San Diego, CA Spread the word. If you have a significant electronics industry event that you would like to announce, please send the details to kelly. dack.pcea@gmail.com, and we will consider adding it to the list. Conclusion Sometimes we can find ourselves at the crossroads of several career unknowns. During these times, we need comfort and confidence that things will work out regardless of which path is followed. ankfully, we have various opportunities to join a network of peers who can help us pivot if the road begins to spiral downward. Belonging to any or many of the electronics industry's meaningful trade organi- zations can help us to chart our paths onto the high road for success through communication and collaboration, which can lead to opportu- nities to be educated, then to educate—to be inspired and then to inspire. See you next month or sooner! DESIGN007 Kelly Dack, CIT, CID+, is the communication officer for the Printed Circuit Engineering Association (PCEA). To read past columns or contact Dack, click here. The recent synthesis of one-dimensional van der Waals heterostructures, a type of heterostructure made by layering two-dimensional materials that are one atom thick, may lead to new, miniaturized electronics that are currently not possible, accord- ing to a team of Penn State and University of Tokyo researchers. Engineers commonly produce heterostructures to achieve new device properties that are not available in a single material. A van der Waals het- erostructure is one made of 2D materi- als that are stacked directly on top of each other like Lego-blocks or a sand- wich. The van der Waals force, which is an attractive force between uncharged molecules or atoms, holds the materials together. The team's research, published in ACS Nano, sug- gests that all 2D materials could be rolled into these one-dimensional heterostructure cylinders, known as hetero-nanotubes. The University of Tokyo research- ers recently fabricated electrodes on a hetero-nano- tube and demonstrated that it can work as an extremely small diode with high performance despite its size. "Diodes are a major type of device used in opto- electronics — they are in the core of photodetectors, solar cells, light emitting devices, etc.," Rotkin said. "In electronics, diodes are used in several specialized circuits; although the main element of electronics is a transistor, two diodes, connected back-to-back, may serve as a switch, too." This opens a potential new class of materials for miniaturized electronics. "It brings device technology of 2D materials to a new level, potentially enabling a new generation of both elec- tronic and optoelectronic devices," Rot- kin said. Rotkin's contribution to the project was to solve a particularly challenging task, which was ensuring that they were able to make the one-dimen- sional van der Waals heterostructure cylinder have all the required material layers. (Source: Pennsylvania State University ) Sushi-like Rolled 2D Heterostructures May Lead to New Miniaturized Electronics