Phys.org August 18, 2023 Metal contacts to MoS2 field-effect transistors play a determinant role in the device electrical characteristics and need to be chosen carefully. However, they suffer from high contact resistance because of the Schottky barrier and the Fermi level pinning effects that occur at the contact/MoS2 interface. To overcome this issue an international team of researchers (the Netherlands, India) investigated 2D metallic TiSx (x ∼ 1.8) as top contacts for MoS2 FETs using atomic layer deposition for the synthesis of both the MoS2 channels as well as the TiSx contacts and assessed the electrical performance of the fabricated […]
Scientists develop fermionic quantum processor
Phys.org August 23, 2023 Although qubit-based quantum computers can potentially simulate the properties of many-body fermionic systems more efficiently than classical devices, encoding nonlocal fermionic statistics introduces an overhead in the required resources, limiting their applicability on near-term architectures. An international team of researchers (Austria, USA – Harvard University, University of Colorado) has demonstrated a fermionic quantum processor, where fermionic models were locally encoded in a fermionic register and simulated in a hardware-efficient manner using fermionic gates. They considered fermionic atoms in programmable tweezer arrays and developed different protocols to implement nonlocal gates, guaranteeing Fermi statistics at the hardware level. […]
Scientists trap light inside a magnet
Science Daily August 16, 2023 Recent studies were able to modify some of the most defining features of light utilizing the strong coupling of light and matter in optical cavities. An international team of researchers (City College of New York, City University of New York, University of Washington, University of Michigan, MIT, Spain) studied the magneto-optical properties of a van der Waals magnet that supports strong coupling of photons and excitons even in the absence of external cavity mirrors. In the layered magnetic semiconductor CrSBr polaritons were shown to substantially increase the spectral bandwidth of correlations between the magnetic, electronic, […]
Team develops way to integrate electro-optic modulator device on end faces of a single-mode optical fiber jumper
Phys.org August 23, 2023 Digitalizing optical signals through electric driving signals, electro-optic modulators (EOMs) are one of the cardinal elements in modern optical communications. Most of current EOM devices are targeting on-chip integrations, which routinely suffer from high coupling losses, complex optical alignments, and single-band operations. Researchers in China integrated a lumped EOM device on the end faces of a single-mode optical fiber jumper for fast amplitude modulations. Taking advantage of the ultrathin and high quality-factor plasmonic metasurfaces, nanofabrication-friendly and highly efficient EO polymers and coupling-free connections with fiber networks, the EOM was demonstrated to allow dual-band operations and high-speed […]
‘Topological gardening’ to achieve unexpected spin transport
Nanowerk August 22, 2023 In topological materials the interaction between the bulk state and edge states can be tuned to manipulate edge transport behavior, especially in topological crystalline insulators (TCI) which have multiple degrees of topological protection. This can open opportunities for novel electronic and spintronic applications. Researchers in Australia investigated how bulk-edge interactions can influence the edge transport in planar bismuthene, a TCI with metallic edge states protected by in-plane mirror symmetry. By exploring the impact of various perturbation effects, such as device size, substrate potentials, and applied transverse electric field, they examined the evolution of the electronic structure […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of August 18, 2023
01. An algorithm that shapes objects to cause them to roll down ramps following a desired path 02. Arrays of quantum rods could enhance TVs or virtual reality devices 03. Carbon-based quantum technology 04. Chromium replaces rare and expensive noble metals 05. Decoding how molecules ‘talk’ to each other to develop new nanotechnologies 06. From light to motion: Shaping surfaces with light 07. Magnonic computing: Faster spin waves could make novel computing systems possible 08. Nanomaterial offers new way to control fire 09. New paint gives extra insulation, saving on energy, costs, and carbon emissions 10. New property of hydrogen […]
An algorithm that shapes objects to cause them to roll down ramps following a desired path
Phys.org August 12, 2023 The rolling paths of oloids, sphericons, polycons, platonicons and two-circle rollers are all sinusoid-like and their diversity ends there. To find out if a more general problem is solvable, an international team of researchers (South Korea, Switzerland) developed an algorithm to design such bodies (they called ‘trajectoids’) and validated these designs experimentally by three-dimensionally printing the computed shapes and tracking their rolling paths, including those that close onto themselves such that the body’s centre of mass moves intermittently uphill. According to the researchers the existence of trajectoids for most paths has unexpected implications for quantum and […]
Arrays of quantum rods could enhance TVs or virtual reality devices
MIT News August 11, 2023 Scalable fabrication of two-dimensional (2D) arrays of quantum dots (QDs) and quantum rods (QRs) with nanoscale precision is required for numerous device applications. However, self-assembly–based fabrication of such arrays using DNA origami typically suffers from low yield due to inefficient QD and QR DNA functionalization and it is challenging to organize solution-assembled DNA origami arrays on 2D device substrates while maintaining their structural fidelity. Researchers at MIT reduced manufacturing time from a few days to a few minutes by preparing high-density DNA-conjugated QDs/QRs from organic solution using a dehydration and rehydration process. They used a […]
Carbon-based quantum technology
Science Daily August 15, 2023 Graphene nanoribbons synthesized using bottom-up approaches can be structured with atomic precision, allowing their physical properties to be precisely controlled. For applications in quantum technology, the manipulation of single charges, spins or photons is required. However, achieving this at the level of single graphene nanoribbons is experimentally challenging due to the difficulty of contacting individual nanoribbons, particularly on-surface synthesized ones. An international team of researchers (Switzerland, UK, Germany, China) has attached electrodes to individual atomically precise nanoribbons paving the way for precise characterization of the ribbons and their possible use in quantum technology. The approach […]
Chromium replaces rare and expensive noble metals
Science Daily August 14, 2023 Researchers in Switzerland developed chromium compounds, very similar to those used in the past, that can replace the noble metals osmium and ruthenium. When irradiated with a red lamp the new chromium compounds the energy from the light could be stored in molecules which could serve as power source. They demonstrated it by building the chromium compounds into a stiff organic molecular framework consisting of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen. The stiff framework ensured that the chromium atoms were well packaged. The tailor-made environment minimized energy losses due to undesired molecular vibrations and to optimize the […]