Phys.org April 30, 2018 The ability to self-assemble, reconfigure and disassemble in response to chemical signals is a common trait in biological materials, but not in manmade ones. A team of researchers in the US (City University of New York, UC Irvine) started with the base molecule naphthalenediimide (NDI), which is an organic semiconductor, and selectively modified it on both sides by exposing to biochemical signals in the form of simple amino acids. This process allowed the formation and degradation of nanomaterials with wire-like features capable of conducting electrical signals. By using different amino acids, researchers were able to direct […]
Scientists find a new way to make novel materials by ‘un-squeezing’
Nanowerk May 1, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (NERL, University of Colorado, University of Connecticut, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) mixed high-density forms of manganese selenide and manganese telluride that have different crystal structures by sputtering in which fine sprays of atoms were freed from the surfaces of both starting materials and deposited as a thin film on a hot surface, where the new alloy crystallized and grew. The new alloy had the crystal structure of yet another mineral, wurtzite. Finding new routes to synthesize materials that nature cannot make would catalyze progress towards next-generation technologies… read more. […]
Topological insulator ‘flips’ for superconductivity
Science Daily April 30, 2018 Using a novel “flip-chip” technique an international team of researchers (USA – University of Illinois, Japan) prepared single-crystalline Bi2Se3 films with predetermined thicknesses in terms of quintuple layers (QLs) on top of Nb substrates fresh from in situ cleavage. Measurements of the film surface disclosed superconducting gaps and coherence peaks of similar magnitude for both the topological surface states and bulk states and revealed key characteristics relevant to the mechanism of coupling between the topological surface states and the superconducting Nb substrate. This new sample preparation method opens many new avenues in research, building a […]
Towards Quantum Communication from Global Navigation Satellite System
Arxiv April 13, 2018 High-orbit satellites pose a great technological challenge due to the high diffraction losses of the optical channel, and the experimental investigation of quantum channels is still lacking. Researchers in Italy report on the exchange of single photons from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) at a slant distance of 20,000 kilometers, by exploiting the retroreflector array mounted on GLONASS satellites. They observed the predicted temporal spread of the reflected pulses due to the geometrical shape of array. They estimated the requirements needed for an active source on a satellite, aiming towards quantum communication from GNSS with state-of-the-art […]
UChicago researchers lay out how to control biology with light — without genetics
Eurekalert April 30, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (University of Chicago, Northwestern University) laid out a system of design principles for working with silicon to control biology at three levels–from individual organelles inside cells to tissues to entire limbs. They demonstrated each in cells or mice models, including the first time anyone has used light to control behavior without genetic modification. They tested the concept in mice and found they could stimulate limb movements by shining light on brain implants. They developed a map that lays out best methods to craft silicon devices depending on both the […]
‘Valleytronics’ discovery could extend limits of Moore’s Law
Science Daily May 1, 2018 An international team of researchers (USA – UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Singapore, China) has shown that tin(II) sulfide is able to absorb different polarizations of light and then selectively reemit light of different colors at different polarizations. This is useful for concurrently accessing both the usual electronic and the material’s degrees of freedom. SnS possesses selectivity at room temperature without additional biases apart from the excitation light source. With this finding, researchers will be able to develop operational valleytronic devices, which may one day be integrated into electronic circuits. The unique coupling between […]
Water-repellent surfaces can efficiently boil water, keep electronics cool
Nanowerk April 30, 2018 Researchers at Purdue University first submerged the superhydrophobic surface and then heated the surrounding water, being careful to not boil directly from the surface itself. Doing so removed the layer of air that is normally trapped within the texture of the superhydrophobic surface, allowing water to penetrate the texture and fully wet it, as it would for a hydrophilic surface. This resulted in the “pinning” of small bubbles during boiling, making them depart without coalescing into a vapor blanket and help keep the surface wet with liquid water. Hydrophobic materials are also able to form many […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Innovations for the Week of April 27, 2018
01. Playing quantum catch in new research 02. Structured light and nanomaterials open new ways to tailor light at the nanoscale 03. Integrating optical components into existing chip designs 04. Engineers develop technique to make adaptive materials 05. Energy conversion: Optical ‘overtones’ for solar cells 06. For nuclear weapons reduction, a way to verify without revealing 07. 3D Nanoprinting facilitates communication with light 08. Far-red fluorescent silk can kill harmful bacteria as biomedical and environmental remedy 09. Portable device to sniff out trapped humans 10. Graphene sets a new record on squeezing light to one atom And others… 100 Petawatt […]
1100 Petawatt lasers could tear apart vacuum by 2023
Next Big Future April 20, 2018 Researchers in China intend to start building a 100-PW laser known as the Station of Extreme Light (SEL) which would pack more than 1,000 times the power of all the world’s electrical grids combined. By 2023, 100 Petawatts of power will show new way to accelerate particles for use in medicine and high-energy physics. It would also be showing that light could tear electrons and their antimatter counterparts, positrons, from empty space—a phenomenon known as “breaking the vacuum.” Researchers at the University of Rochester in New York, who are developing plans for a 75-PW […]
3D Nanoprinting facilitates communication with light
Nanowerk April 20, 2018 Researchers in Germany have developed a new solution for the coupling of optical microchips to each other or to optical fibers. They use tiny beam-shaping elements that are printed directly onto the facets of optical components by a high-precision 3D printing process. These elements can be produced with nearly any three-dimensional shape and enable low-loss coupling of various optical components with a high positioning tolerance. They produced beam-shaping elements of various designs and tested them on a variety of chip and fiber facets and reached coupling efficiencies of up to 88% between an indium phosphide laser […]