The increasing popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) has been attributed to their low-carbon and environmentally friendly attributes. Extensive research has been undertaken in view of the depletion of fossil fuels, changes in climatic conditions due to air pollution, and the goal of developing EVs capable of matching or exceeding the performance of today’s internal combustion engines (ICEs). The transition from ICE vehicles to EVs can reduce greenhouse gases significantly over a vehicle’s lifetime. Across the different types of EVs, the widespread usage of batteries is due to their high power density and steady output voltage, making them an excellent energy storage device (ESD). The current downsides of battery-powered electric vehicles include long recharge times, the impact of additional strain on the grid, poor societal acceptance due to high initial costs, and a lack of adequate charging infrastructure. Even more problematic is their short driving range when compared to standard ICE and fuel cell EVs. Battery degradation occurs when the capacity of a battery degrades, resulting in a reduction in travel range. This review article includes a description of battery degradation, degradation mechanisms, and types of degradation. A detailed investigation of the methods used to address and reduce battery degeneration is presented. Finally, some future orientation in terms of EV research is offered as vital guidance for academic and industrial partners.

Over the last decade, manufacturing processes have undergone significant change. Most factory activities have been transformed through a set of features built into a smart manufacturing framework. The tools brought to bear by the fourth industrial revolution are critical enablers of such change and progress. This review article describes the series of industrial revolutions and explores traditional manufacturing before presenting various enabling technologies. Insights are offered regarding traditional manufacturing lines where some enabling technologies have been included. The manufacturing supply chain is envisaged as enhancing the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0 through their integration. A systematic literature review is undertaken to evaluate each enabling technology and the manufacturing supply chain and to provide some theoretical synthesis. Similarly, obstacles are listed that must be overcome before a complete shift to smart manufacturing is possible. A brief discussion maps out how the fourth industrial revolution has led to novel manufacturing technologies. Likewise, a review of the fifth industrial revolution is given, and the justification for this development is presented.

This paper reviews the state of emerging transistor technologies capable of terahertz amplification, as well as the state of transistor modeling as required in terahertz electronic circuit research. Commercial terahertz radar sensors of today are being built using bulky and expensive technologies such as Schottky diode detectors and lasers, as well as using some emerging detection methods. Meanwhile, a considerable amount of research effort has recently been invested in process development and modeling of transistor technologies capable of amplifying in the terahertz band. Indium phosphide (InP) transistors have been able to reach maximum oscillation frequency (f_max) values of over 1 THz for around a decade already, while silicon-germanium bipolar complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) compatible heterojunction bipolar transistors have only recently crossed the f_max = 0.7 THz mark. While it seems that the InP technology could be the ultimate terahertz technology, according to the f_max and related metrics, the BiCMOS technology has the added advantage of lower cost and supporting a wider set of integrated component types. BiCMOS can thus be seen as an enabling factor for re-engineering of complete terahertz radar systems, for the first time fabricated as miniaturized monolithic integrated circuits. Rapid commercial deployment of monolithic terahertz radar chips, furthermore, depends on the accuracy of transistor modeling at these frequencies. Considerations such as fabrication and modeling of passives and antennas, as well as packaging of complete systems, are closely related to the two main contributions of this paper and are also reviewed here. Finally, this paper probes active terahertz circuits that have already been reported and that have the potential to be deployed in a re-engineered terahertz radar sensor system and attempts to predict future directions in re-engineering of monolithic radar sensors.

Contribution: This paper brings forward a paradigm shift in microelectronic and nanoelectronic engineering education. Background: An increasing number of universities are offering graduate-level electrical engineering degree programs with multi-disciplinary Master's-level specialization in microelectronics or nanoelectronics. The paradigm shift from electrical engineering to microelectronics graduate education has been slow, but the technology has now advanced to the point where industry is relying on cyber-physical connectivity, thus providing an opportunity for engineering education to utilize this capability. Research Questions: How are methods deployed when teaching traditional electrical engineering degrees still applicable in microelectronics education, and how are globally ranked institution shifting their online teaching and learning pedagogies for this? Methodology: A survey is presented of current trends in Master's degree programs in microelectronics and related fields, and in electrical engineering degree programs with specialization in microelectronics. The review reveals how Quacquarelli Symonds' top-ranked world universities, and other global universities with established micro- and nanoelectronic degrees, are selecting modules for their curricula and curricula content in attempts to attract and develop engineering students to this specialized field. Findings: The current global trend toward microelectronic education is following a part-coursework, part-dissertation Master's degree model, consisting of several core modules, several electives, a research proposal writing module and a mini-dissertation. Furthermore, following industrial trends, there is a clear shift toward the "fabless" or cyber-physical approach and outsourced manufacturing, with technology-led teaching mediating the possibility of completing both theoretical and laboratory components using online resources and interactivity.