01. First-ever wireless device developed to make magnetism appear in non-magnetic materials 02. Hybrid nanomaterials promise a sustainability boost across multiple industries 03.Physicists turn pencil lead into metaphorical ‘gold’ 04. ‘Plug and play’ nanoparticles could make it easier to tackle various biological targets 05. Researchers demonstrate solution for long-term challenge, bringing benefits to spintronics and data storage technologies 06. The right twist and strain for graphene to form 1D moirés 07. Study uncovers giant fluctuation-enhanced phonon magnetic moments in a polar antiferromagnet 08. A superatomic semiconductor sets a speed record 09. Clear holographic imaging in turbulent environments 10. Controlling waves […]
Breakthrough synthesis method improves solar cell stability
Science Daily October 26, 2023 2D multilayered halide perovskites have emerged as a platform for understanding organic–inorganic interactions, tuning quantum confinement effects and realizing efficient and durable optoelectronic devices. However, reproducibly synthesizing 2D perovskite crystals with a perovskite-layer thickness using existing crystal growth methods is challenging. An international team of researchers (Rice University, Houston, Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, France) demonstrated a kinetically controlled space confinement for the growth of phase-pure Ruddlesden–Popper and Dion–Jacobson 2D perovskites. Phase-pure growth was achieved by progressively increasing the temperature for a fixed time or the crystallization time at a fixed temperature, which allowed for […]
Clear holographic imaging in turbulent environments
Phys.org October 30, 2023 The existing deep-learning methods for holographic imaging often depend solely on the specific condition based on the given data distributions. One critical problem is how to guarantee the alignment between any given downstream tasks and pretrained models. Researchers in China analyzed the physical mechanism of image degradation caused by turbulence and proposed a swin transformer-based method, termed train-with-coherence-swin (TWC-Swin) transformer, which used spatial coherence (SC) as an adaptable physical prior information to precisely align image restoration tasks in the arbitrary turbulent scene. They designed light-processing system (LPR) which enabled manipulation of SC and simulation of any […]
Controlling waves in magnets with superconductors for the first time
Science Daily October 26, 2023 For spintronics spin-waves have emerged as a promising platform that can offer new functionalities because of their wave nature. However, control of the spin-waves has remained a formidable challenge. Researchers in the Netherlands used superconducting diamagnetism to shape the magnetic environment governing the transport of spin waves in a thin-film magnet. Using diamond-based magnetic imaging, they observed hybridized spin-wave–Meissner-current transport modes with strongly altered, temperature-tunable wavelengths and then demonstrated local control of spin-wave refraction using a focused laser. According to the researchers their results demonstrate the versatility of superconductor-manipulated spin-wave transport and have potential applications […]
First-ever wireless device developed to make magnetism appear in non-magnetic materials
Phys.org October 30, 2023 Magneto-ionics is a unique approach to control magnetism with electric field for low-power memory and spintronic applications. So far, magneto-ionics has been achieved through direct electrical connections to the actuated material. Researchers in Spain have shown that such control can be achieved wirelessly. Without direct wire contact inducing polarization in the conducting material immersed in the electrolyte, promoted wireless bipolar electrochemistry, an alternative pathway to achieve voltage-driven control of magnetism based on the same electrochemical processes involved in direct-contact magneto-ionics. They achieved significant tunability of magnetization for cobalt nitride thin films, including transitions between paramagnetic and […]
Hybrid nanomaterials promise a sustainability boost across multiple industries
Nanowerk October 27, 2023 Polyoxometalate (POM)-based binary and ternary hybrids are key materials in photoelectrocatalysis. These composites combine the properties of two or three functional nanoscale materials, resulting in a wide range of applications, including catalysis, energy conversion and storage, molecular sensors, and electronics. An international team of researchers (Germany, China) summarized the latest progress in POM-based binary nanohybrids (POM/metal, POM/semiconductor, and POM/nanocarbon) and ternary nanohybrids (metal/POM/nanocarbon), particularly in energy materials for photocatalysis, fuel cells, biosensors, and photoelectrochemical devices. Current applications were critically assessed, and promising target systems were discussed… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
New quantum computing architecture achieves electron charge qubit with 0.1 millisecond coherence time
Phys.org October 26, 2023 Electron charge qubits built on conventional semiconductors and superconductors suffer from severe charge noise that limits their coherence time to the order of one microsecond. A team of researchers in the US (Argonne National Laboratory, University of Chicago, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, NSF Institute… MA, MIT, Northeastern University, Stanford University, University of Notre Dame) reported electron charge qubits exceeding the charge noise limit, based on isolated single electrons trapped on an ultraclean solid neon surface in a vacuum. Quantum information was encoded in the motional states of an electron that was strongly coupled with microwave photons […]
Physicists turn pencil lead into metaphorical ‘gold’
Phys.org October 30, 2023 Rhombohedral-stacked multilayer graphene hosts a pair of flat bands touching at zero energy, which should give rise to correlated electron phenomena that can be tuned further by an electric field. An international team of researchers (USA – MIT, Harvard University, Japan) measured electron transport through hexagonal boron nitride-encapsulated pentalayer graphene down to 100 mK and observed a correlated insulating state with resistance at the megaohm level or greater at charge density n = 0 and displacement field D = 0. By increasing D, they observed a Chern insulator state with C = −5 and two other states with C = −3 at a magnetic field […]
‘Plug and play’ nanoparticles could make it easier to tackle various biological targets
Phys.org October 30, 2023 Despite their inherent versatility and ability to enable complex biological applications, there is considerable interest in augmenting the performance of membrane-coated nanoparticles (CNP) through the introduction of additional functionalities. Researchers at UC San Diego developed and demonstrated a genetic-engineering-based modular approach to CNP functionalization. The cell membrane coating was engineered to express a SpyCatcher membrane anchor that could readily form a covalent bond with any moiety modified with SpyTag. They generated three unique targeted CNP formulations using different classes of targeting ligands, including a designed ankyrin repeat protein. In vitro, the modified nanoparticles exhibited enhanced affinity […]
Researchers demonstrate solution for long-term challenge, bringing benefits to spintronics and data storage technologies
Phys.org October 30, 2023 Transition-metal oxides (TMOs) with strong ferrimagnetism provide new platforms for tailoring the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) beyond conventional concepts based on ferromagnets, and particularly TMOs with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) are of prime importance for today’s spintronics. In this study researchers in Germany reported on transport phenomena and magnetic characteristics of the ferrimagnetic TMO NiCo2O4 (NCO) exhibiting PMA. The entire electrical and magnetic properties of NCO films were strongly correlated with their conductivities governed by the cation valence states. The AHE exhibited an unusual sign reversal resulting from a competition between intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms depending […]