Phys.org November 30, 2024 To enable parallel computations optical computing leverages interference, a cornerstone of quantum computing algorithms. Researchers in South Africa blended quantum computing with classical structured light by formulating the process of photonic matrix multiplication using quantum mechanical principles such as state superposition and demonstrated Deutsch–Jozsa’s algorithm, by elucidating the inherent tensor product structure within the Cartesian transverse degrees of freedom of light. They demonstrated the operation of a Hadamard gate. According to the researchers their approach show it is adaptable to various algorithms, and advances the use of structured light for quantum information processing… read more. Open […]
Self-heating flexible electronics lower manufacturing temperature requirements
Nanowerk December 2, 2024 Researchers in South Korea developed high-performance flexible oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) using SnO2 semiconductor and high-k ZrO2 dielectric, both formed through combustion-assisted sol-gel processes. The method involved the exothermic reaction of fuels and oxidizers to produce high-quality oxide films without extensive external heating. The combustion ZrO2 films had an amorphous structure, a higher proportion of oxygen corresponding to the oxide network, which contributed to the low leakage current and frequency-independent dielectric properties. The zirconium dioxide TFTs fabricated on flexible substrates exhibited excellent electrical characteristics, field-effect mobility, subthreshold swing, and an on/off current ratio of 1.13 × 106 at […]
Simple method can recover and recycle quantum dots in microscopic lasers
Phys.org November 26, 2024 Supraparticles comprising semiconductor colloidal quantum dots as building blocks are a new class of microscopic lasers with a wide host of applications. Despite the recent advances in their fabrication, there have been no reports of their quantum dot components being recovered for use in a circular economy. Researchers in the UK demonstrated a novel method for the recycling of whispering-gallery-mode supraparticle lasers with a quantum dot recovery yield of 85%. The photoluminescence quantum yield of the recycled quantum dots was retained at 83 ± 16% from the initial batch of 86 ± 9%. The recycled quantum […]
An unexpected delay in a standard quantum optical process generates pairs of photons
Phys.org November 29, 2024 Strongly driven nonlinear optical processes such as spontaneous parametric down-conversion and spontaneous four-wave mixing can produce multiphoton nonclassical beams of light which have applications in quantum information processing and sensing. In contrast to the low-gain regime, new physical effects arise in a high-gain regime due to the interactions between the nonclassical light and the strong pump driving the nonlinear process. Researchers in Canada described and experimentally observed a gain-induced group delay between the multiphoton pulses generated in a high-gain type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion source. The researchers concluded that since the group delay introduced distinguishability between the […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of November 29, 2024
01. Quantum-inspired design boosts efficiency of heat-to-electricity conversion 02. The first-ever 2D spintronics device constructed entirely from proximitized structures 03. Making a difference: Efficient water harvesting from air possible 04. Oceans emit sulfur and cool the climate more than previously thought 05. Tunable ultrasound propagation in microscale metamaterials 06. Twisted light gives electrons a spinning kick: Researchers develop a novel way to control quantum interactions 07. Breakthrough in clean energy: Scientists pioneer novel heat-to-electricity conversion 08. Cooling with light: Exploring optical cooling in semiconductor quantum dots 09. Engineers knit a ‘blanket’ of sophisticated radio-frequency antennas 10. Enormous cache of rare […]
The first-ever 2D spintronics device constructed entirely from proximitized structures
Nanowerk November 25, 2024 Pristine graphene is potentially an ideal medium for transporting spin information. Proximity effects can also be used in graphene to generate and detect spins by acquiring spin–orbit coupling or magnetic exchange coupling. However, the development of seamless spintronic devices that are based only on proximity effects remains challenging. An international team of researchers (Spain, Belgium, France) found that a two-dimensional graphene spin valve that was enabled by proximity to the van der Waals magnet Cr2Ge2Te6. Spin precession measurements showed that graphene acquires both spin–orbit coupling and magnetic exchange coupling when interfaced with the Cr2Ge2Te6 leading to […]
Breakthrough in clean energy: Scientists pioneer novel heat-to-electricity conversion
Nanowerk November 26, 2024 Materials with axis-dependent conduction polarity (ADCP), which exhibit electron-like and hole-like conduction along distinct crystallographic axes, have garnered interest as potential candidates for effective transverse thermoelectric (TTE) conversion. However, the challenge of designing materials with ADCP is still unresolved. Researchers in Japan conducted experimental and computational investigations on the ADCP in thermopower of WSi single crystals and found that the ADCP stems from the mixed-dimensionality of the Fermi surfaces, characterized by the coexistence of quasi-one-dimensional electron-like and quasi-two-dimensional hole-like sheets. They demonstrated TTE conversion in WSi single crystals by detecting the electromotive force along the perpendicular […]
Cooling with light: Exploring optical cooling in semiconductor quantum dots
Phys.org November 26, 2024 Highly efficient anti-Stokes (AS) photoluminescence (PL) is observed from halide perovskite quantum dots (QDs) due to their strong electron–phonon interactions. However, the PL quantum efficiency in QDs is primarily dominated by multiparticle nonradiative Auger recombination processes under intense photoexcitation, which impose limits on the optical cooling gain. Researchers in Japan investigated the Auger recombination of dot-in-crystal perovskites and quantitatively estimated the maximum optical cooling gain and the corresponding excitation intensity. Their optical cooling experiments demonstrated a maximum photo cooling of approximately 9 K from room temperature confirming that increasing the excitation intensity led to a transition […]
Engineers knit a ‘blanket’ of sophisticated radio-frequency antennas
Nanowerk November 27, 2024 Lightweight, low-cost metasurfaces and reflect arrays that are easy to stow and deploy are desirable for many terrestrial and space-based communications and sensing applications. A team of researchers in the US ( Columbia University, North Carolina State University, City University of New York) demonstrated a lightweight, flexible metasurface platform based on flat-knit textiles operating in the cm-wave spectral range. By using float-jacquard knitting to directly integrate an array of resonant metallic antennas into a textile, two textile reflect array devices, a metasurface lens (metalens), and a vortex-beam generator were realized. Operating as a receiving antenna, the […]
Exploring new liquid organic hydrogen carrier materials for a safer, more transportable energy source
Phys.org November 22, 2024 Liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) materials play a crucial role in hydrogen storage capacity, reaction kinetics, reaction temperature, and reversibility. However, the development and optimization of LOHC materials is limited due to the use of mass-produced materials for bulk hydrogen logistics. Researchers in the Republic of Korea proposed a molecular engineering approach to overcome the limitations of commercial dibenzyltoluene (DBT)-based LOHC systems which have superior physical properties, low price, and low toxicity. They used a new chemical structure, benzyl-methylbenzyl-benzene (BMB) to overcome the limitations of slow reaction kinetics and analyzed the dehydrogenation/hydrogenation pathways. They proposed a […]