Science Daily July 6, 2018 With phase one of 5G global industry standards just being completed which focuses on 5G enhanced mobile broadband, research is now moving to address 5G technology to support ultra-reliable and ultra-low-latency connectivity for “vertical industries”. Researchers in the UK focus on the new frontiers of 5G, as well as investigating future deployment by operators, including indoor coverage and spectrum coexistence in newly assigned 5G frequencies in 3.5 Ghz and lower mm-wave bands. They have successfully completed the measurements of the indoor coverage of 5G signals. 5G is expected to be commercially available as early as […]
Bacteria-powered solar cell converts light to energy, even under overcast skies
Science Daily July 5, 2018 Researchers in Canada have genetically engineered E. coli to produce large amounts of lycopene that is particularly effective at harvesting light for conversion to energy. The pigment‐producing cells are coated with TiO2 nanoparticles and the mixture is applied to a glass surface. With the coated glass acting as an anode at one end of their cell, they generated a current density of 0.686 milliamps per square centimetre — an improvement on the 0.362 achieved by others in the field. According to the researchers the hybrid materials can be manufactured economically and sustainably. With sufficient optimization, […]
Berkeley engineers develop origami electronics from cheap, foldable paper
UC Berkeley July 6, 2018 An international team of researchers (USA – UC Berkeley, Redstone Arsenal, China) has developed a direct‐write laser‐patterning technology to engrave random shapes of metal‐carbide–graphene composites (MCG) on different types of paper (A4, wiper, filter paper, etc.). These commercial papers are soaked with solutions containing metal ions in gelatin media, which is the major component of the “jelly”. The MCG–paper substrates are applied in a 3D foldable energy generator, electrochemical sensors, and supercapacitors. They see many potential applications for the new, disposable paper electronics, circuitry to detect heavy metal contamination could be “written” on paper to […]
Electrons slowing down at critical moments
Nanowerk July 7, 2018 An international team of researchers (USA – Argonne National Laboratory, Northwestern University, University of Illinois, Ireland) has shown an unusual slowing down of the recovery of an electronic phase across a first-order phase transition. Following optical excitation, the recovery time of both transient optical reflectivity and X-ray diffraction intensity from the charge-ordered superstructure in a La1/3Sr2/3FeO3 thin film increases by orders of magnitude as the sample temperature approaches the phase transition temperature. In this regime, the recovery time becomes much longer than the lattice cooling time. According to the researchers the abnormal behavior of electrons is […]
Fiber-optic transmission of 4,000 km made possible by ultra-low-noise optical amplifiers
Eurekalert July 5, 2018 The capacity and reach of long-haul fiber optical communication systems is limited by in-line amplifier noise and fiber nonlinearities. An international team of researchers (Sweden, Estonia) has demonstrated a multi-channel-compatible and modulation-format-independent long-haul transmission link with in-line phase-sensitive amplifiers with an improvement of 5.6 times at optimal launch powers with the phase-sensitively amplified link operating at a total accumulated nonlinear phase shift of 6.2 rad. The link transmits two data-carrying waves, thus occupying twice the bandwidth and propagating twice the total power compared to the phase-insensitively amplified link… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
For The First Time, Scientists Achieve ‘Liquid Light’ at Room Temperature
Science Alert July 7, 2018 An international team of researchers (Italy, Canada, Finland, UK) sandwiched a 130-nanometre-thick layer of organic molecules between two ultra-reflective mirrors and blasted it with a 35 femtosecond laser pulse to combine the properties of photons – such as their light effective mass and fast velocity – with strong interactions due to the electrons within the molecules. The flow of polaritons is not disturbed like waves under regular circumstances. According to the researchers, the findings pave the way not only to new studies of quantum hydrodynamics, but also to room-temperature polariton devices for advanced future technology, […]
Heat-conducting crystals could help computer chips keep their cool
Science Daily July 5, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (UT Dallas, University of Illinois, University of Houston) has found high thermal conductivity of 1000 ± 90 W/m/K at room temperature in cubic boron arsenide grown through modified chemical vapor transport technique. The thermal conductivity is a factor of 3 higher than that of silicon carbide and surpassed only by diamond and the basal plane value of graphite. Boron arsenide could be a potential revolutionary thermal management material… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
High-power thermoelectric generator utilizes thermal difference of only 5C
Phys.org July 6, 2018 Long silicon nanowires needed in the silicon-based thermoelectric generators to secure temperature difference across the silicon wire weakens the strength of the devices. To overcome this, researchers developed thermoelectric generator eliminating the cavity structure but instead shortened the silicon nanowires to 0.25 nanometers. Thermal resistance was suppressed, and the power density multiplied ten times by thinning the generator’s silicon substrate from the conventional 750 nanometers to 50 nanometers with backside grinding. The device has applications in IoT… read more.
Manipulating single atoms with an electron beam
Eurekalert July 9, 2018 An international team of researchers (Austria, Norway, Belgium) used the advanced electron microscope to move single silicon atoms in graphene with atomic precision. They have taken the first steps towards automation by detecting the jumps in real time. The new results also improve theoretical models of the process by including simulations. In total, the researchers recorded nearly 300 controlled jumps. Silicon impurity could be moved back and forth between two neighboring lattice sites separated by one tenth-billionth of a meter, like flipping an atomic-sized switch. In principle, this could be used to store one bit of […]
The NSF 2026 Idea Machine!
NSF July 5, 2018 The NSF 2026 Idea Machine is a competition to help set the U.S. agenda for fundamental research in science and engineering. Participants can earn prizes and receive public recognition by suggesting the pressing research questions that need to be answered in the coming decade, the next set of “Big Ideas” for future investment by the National Science Foundation (NSF). It’s an opportunity for researchers, the public and other interested stakeholders to contribute to NSF’s mission to support basic research and enable new discoveries that drive the U.S. economy, enhance national security and advance knowledge to sustain […]