Phys.org June 6, 2024 Ferroelectric materials have switchable electrical polarization that is useful for high density non-volatile memories. However, fatigue hinders practical applications of these materials. An international team of researchers (Canada, China) reported a fatigue-free ferroelectric system based on the sliding ferroelectricity of bilayer 3R-MoS2. The memory performance of the ferroelectric device did not show the “wake-up effect” at low cycles or a substantial “fatigue effect” after 106 switching cycles under different pulse widths. The total stress time of device under an electric field was up to 105 s. According to the researchers their theoretical calculation shows that the […]
Study confirms the rotation of Earth’s inner core has slowed
Phys.org June 12, 2024 The inner core structure influences the pattern of outer core convection and therefore Earth’s magnetic field. A team of researchers in the US (University of Southern California, Cornell University, University of Utah) compiled 143 distinct pairs of repeating earthquakes built from 121 earthquakes between 1991 and 2023 in the South Sandwich Islands. They analysed their inner-core-penetrating PKIKP waves recorded on the medium-aperture arrays in northern North America. They showed that many multiplets exhibit waveforms that change and then revert at later times to match earlier events. The matching waveforms revealed times at which the inner core […]
Study of photons in quantum computing reveals that when photons collide, they create vortices
Phys.org June 6, 2024 All-optical generation of photonic vortices requires sufficiently strong nonlinearity that is typically achieved in the classical optics regime. Researchers in Israel realized quantum vortices of photons that resulted from a strong photon-photon interaction in a quantum nonlinear optical medium. The interaction caused faster phase accumulation for copropagating photons, producing a quantum vortex-antivortex pair within the two-photon wave function. For three photons, the formation of vortex lines and a central vortex ring confirmed the existence of a genuine three-photon interaction. The wave function topology, governed by two- and three-photon bound states, imposed a conditional phase shift of […]
Switching nanomagnets using infrared lasers
Phys.org June 11, 2024 Metal phthalocyanines are topical objects of ongoing research and particularly interesting due to their magnetic properties. However, while the current focus lies almost exclusively on spin-Zeeman-related effects, the high symmetry of the molecule and its circular shape suggests the exploitation of light-induced excitation of 2-fold degenerate vibrational states in order to generate, switch, and manipulate magnetic fields at the nanoscale. The underlying mechanism is a molecular pseudorotation that can be triggered by infrared pulses and gives rise to a quantized, small, but controllable magnetic dipole moment. Researchers in Austria investigated the optical stimulation of vibrationally induced […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of June 07, 2024
01. Ultra-thin infrared filter, thinner than cling wrap, revolutionizes night vision 02. Electrified charcoal ‘sponge’ can soak up CO2 directly from the air 03. Innovative bird-eye-inspired camera developed for enhanced object detection 04. New anti-counterfeit technique packs two light-reactive images into one material 05. Novel crystals enhance mid-infrared laser performance 06. On-chip GHz time crystals with semiconductor photonic devices pave way to new physics and optoelectronic applications 07. Study identifies fungus that breaks down ocean plastic 08. Study reveals potential of superparaelectric materials as gate dielectrics in next-gen microelectronics 09. A technique for more effective multipurpose robots 10. Team of […]
Controlling ion transport for a blue energy future: Research highlights the potential of nanopore membranes
Phys.org May 30, 2024 Nanofluidic channels in a membrane represent a promising avenue for harnessing blue energy from salinity gradients. Surface charge is a central player in the osmotic energy conversion process. An international team of researchers (Japan, Italy) present a field-effect approach for in situ manipulation of the ion selectivity in a nanopore. Application of voltage to a surround-gate electrode allowed precise adjustment of the surface charge density at the pore wall. Leveraging the gating control, they demonstrated perm selectivity turnover to enhanced cation selective transport in multipore membranes, resulting in a 6-fold increase in the energy conversion efficiency. […]
Electrified charcoal ‘sponge’ can soak up CO2 directly from the air
Science Daily June 5, 2024 An international team of researchers (UK, Hong Kong, USA – Cornell University, Italy) introduced a new class of designer sorbent materials known as ‘charged-sorbents’. The materials were prepared through a battery-like charging process that accumulates ions in the pores of low-cost activated carbons, with the inserted ions then serving as sites for carbon dioxide adsorption. The charging process accumulated reactive hydroxide ions in the pores of a carbon electrode, and the resulting sorbent material could rapidly capture carbon dioxide from ambient air by means of (bi)carbonate formation. Unlike traditional bulk carbonates, charged-sorbent regeneration could be […]
Innovative bird-eye-inspired camera developed for enhanced object detection
Science Daily May 30, 2024 Despite notable advances in artificial vision systems that mimic animal vision, the exceptional object detection and targeting capabilities of avian eyes via foveated and multispectral imaging remain underexplored. Researchers in South Korea have developed an artificial vision system that capitalizes on these aspects of avian vision by vertically stacking perovskite photodetector arrays whose designs were optimized by theoretical simulations for the demonstration of foveated and multispectral imaging. The artificial vision system successfully identified colored and mixed-color objects and detected remote objects through foveated imaging. They discussed the potential for its use in uncrewed aerial vehicles […]
New 3D-printed microscale photonic lantern opens opportunities for spatial mode multiplexing
Phys.org June 3, 2024 Photonic lantern (PL) spatial multiplexers enable efficient conversion between multiple single-mode (SM) sources and a multimode (MM) waveguide of the same dimension. PL multiplexers operate by facilitating adiabatic transitions between the SM arrayed space and the single MM space. However, current fabrication methods are forcing the size of these devices to multi-millimeters, making integration with micro-scale photonic systems quite challenging. A team of researchers (Israel, USA – industry) presented the design, fabrication, and characterization of a 6-mode mixing, 375 µm long PL that enabled the conversion between six single-mode inputs and a single six-mode waveguide. The PL […]