Phys.org December 23, 2022 Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond can be used to sense magnetic fields with high sensitivity and spatial resolution. Typically, the magnetic field is measured by averaging sequential measurements of single NV centers, or by spatial averaging over ensembles of many NV centers, which provides mean values that contain no nonlocal information about the relationship between two points separated in space or time. A team of researchers in the US (Princeton University, University of Wisconsin) used specially designed diamonds to develop a technique to measure noise in a material by studying correlations and used this information […]
Author Archives: Hema Viswanath
Photonic chip with record-breaking radio frequency dynamic range
Phys.org December 22, 2022 An international team of researchers (the Netherlands, China, Switzerland) has developed a multi-functional photonic integrated circuit that enables programmable filtering functions with record-high performance using versatile complex spectrum tailoring enabled by an all-integrated modulation transformer and a double injection ring resonator as a multi-function optical filtering component. They demonstrated reconfigurable filter functions with record-low noise figure and a RF notch filter with ultra-high dynamic range. According to the researchers their work breaks the conventional and fragmented approach of integration, functionality and performance that currently prevents the adoption of integrated microwave photonic systems in real applications…read more. […]
Researchers show a new way to induce useful defects using invisible material properties
Nanowerk December 23, 2022 Researchers at the University of Illinois constructed a Dirac material consisting of a chain of magnetic-mechanical resonators and demonstrated that when any of these “atoms” was mechanically excited the excitation spread to the rest of the crystal, just like electrons injected into a semiconductor. After demonstrating that a completely uniform Dirac metamaterial does not allow mechanical excitations to pass through, they introduced a specific set of nonlinearities into the system. This new property added sensitivity to the level of the mechanical excitation and could subtly change the resonance energy of the magneto-mechanical atoms. With the right […]
Software lets researchers create tiny rounded objects out of DNA. Here’s why that’s cool
Phys.org December 23, 2022 A team of researchers in the US (Duke University, UCSF, Arizona State University, Rutgers University, NCAR) has developed and automated the application of a set of previously unknown design principles that now includes a multilayer design for closed and curved DNA nanostructures to resolve past obstacles in shape selection, yield, mechanical rigidity, and accessibility. The objects were made from threadlike molecules of DNA, bent, and folded into complex three-dimensional objects with nanometer precision. They designed, analyzed, and experimentally demonstrated a set of diverse 3D curved nanoarchitectures, showing planar asymmetry and examining partial multilayer designs. The automated […]
When research data is shared freely
Phys.org December 21, 2022 In recent years, Norwegian researchers have increasingly published their research in open access journals. Some go one step further and share their data. The Research Council has followed the global open access trend and given Norwegian researchers a little nudge: open publishing, in some form or other, is a prerequisite for project funding, unless the researchers have good reasons for not doing it. In 2017, the Research Council also decided that researchers who received support from them must consider producing a data management plan. This should, among other things, show whether the data will be shared […]
What will it take? Global coalition outlines how to beat the next Disease X pandemic in 100 days
CEPI News November 25, 2022 CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, has issued a report detailing how the world could deliver future pandemic-beating vaccines in 100 Days. COVID-19 vaccines were developed in record time: it took just 326 days from release of the virus’ genetic sequence to get to the authorisation of a safe and effective vaccine. The report, published today, outlines the paradigm shift needed to speed up vaccine development even more, highlighting the crucial scientific and technological innovations that will enable us to develop new vaccines against future pandemic threats in a little more than three months. […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of December 23, 2022
01. Ammonium is the secret ingredient in stable, efficient & scalable perovskite solar cells 02. A diamond-based quantum amplifier 03. Imposter physical particles revealed: A key advance for quantum technology 04. Materials science: A rough start can lead to a strong bond 05. Nanoantennas directing a bright future 06. Signal processing algorithms improved turbulence in free-space optic tests 07. Team creates protein-based material that can stop supersonic impacts 08. Using the power of symmetry for new quantum technologies 09. Scientific highlights 2022 10. Nature’s 10 Ten people who helped shape science in 2022 And others… New strategy proposed for ultra-long […]
Ammonium is the secret ingredient in stable, efficient & scalable perovskite solar cells
EurekAlert December 20, 2022 Controlling the crystallization process of perovskite thin films to obtain a high-quality material is one of the most challenging aspects for upscaling perovskite solar cell (PSC) technology. However, to date, lead acetate has been used exclusively as a precursor for the synthesis of methylammonium (MA) or cesium (Cs) based perovskites, which are unstable and less efficient. Researchers in Australia produced high-quality large-area formamidinium–caesium mixed-cation perovskite films by blade-coating a lead acetate-based precursor formulation in an ambient laboratory environment, with the use of NH4+ as a volatile cation to drive off acetate during annealing, leading to formation […]
A diamond-based quantum amplifier
Phys.org December 16, 2022 Artificial quantum systems, based on superconducting circuits, can now amplify and detect even single microwave photons. However, this requires operating at millikelvin temperatures. Natural quantum systems can also be used for low-noise microwave amplification using stimulated emission effects; but they generate a higher noise, especially when operating above ~1 K. Researchers in Israel have demonstrated the use of electron spins in diamond as a quantum microwave amplifier operating with quantum-limited internal noise, even above liquid nitrogen temperatures. They reported on the amplifier’s design, gain, bandwidth, saturation power, and noise. According to the researchers this capability can […]
Imposter physical particles revealed: A key advance for quantum technology
Phys.org December 16, 2022 Hybrid semiconductor–superconductor devices hold great promise for realizing topological quantum computing with Majorana zero modes. However, multiple claims of Majorana detection, based on either tunnelling or Coulomb blockade (CB) spectroscopy, remain disputed. An international team of researchers (Austria, USA – Princeton University, Spain) devised an experimental protocol that allowed them to perform both types of measurement on the same hybrid island by adjusting its charging energy via tunable junctions to the normal leads. This method reduces ambiguities of Majorana detections by checking the consistency between CB spectroscopy and zero-bias peaks in non-blockaded transport. They observed junction-dependent, […]