Phys.org January 13, 2021 Low-dimensional materials can have a relatively small number of free charges and weak screening compared to 3-D materials. This screening is especially crucial for the development of tunnel field-effect transistors, which heavily rely on the quantum tunneling of electrons across junctions. By atomistic quantum transport simulations researchers in Canada show how bound charges can be engineered at interfaces of Si and low- oxides to strengthen screening. To avoid compromising gate control, low- and high- oxides are used in conjunction. They demonstrated that in Si nanowire tunnel field-effect transistors bound charge engineering increases the on-state current by […]
Tag Archives: S&T Canada
Invisible organic light-emitting diodes reach new world record
EurekAlert November 11, 2020 Inspired by a class of molecules previously used for biomedical imaging researchers in Canada developed two new organic compounds with emission peak at a wavelength of 840 nm. The OLED showed a quantum efficiency of 3.8%. The latter corresponds to the percentage of electrons circulating throughout the device, electrons which are then converted into useable light. The efficiency is more than three times higher than that of the best previously reported fluorescent OLEDs in this spectral range and approaches that achievable with the best platinum‐containing phosphorescent emitters. The device has possible applications in biomedicine, facial recognition, […]
First Photonic Quantum Computer on the Cloud
IEEE Spectrum September 9, 2020 A Canadian company working with their US partners has made a quantum computing platform publicly available. Applicants can access 8, 12, and soon 24 qubit machines over the cloud. In the coming months, the company will release a blueprint for photonic quantum computing that is essentially a primer on how to scale to millions of qubits in a fault-tolerant manner. They use continuous variable quantum computing which relies on “squeezed states” consisting of superpositions of multiple photons. Squeezed states take advantage of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle reducing the uncertainty in the measurements of a given variable […]
Physicists develop technology to transform information from microwaves to optical light
Phys.org July 23, 2020 Researchers in Canada have developed a new technology that can translate data from microwaves to optical light. It works by introducing a strong interaction between microwave radiation and atomic gas. The microwaves are then modulated with an audio signal, encoding information into the microwave. This modulation is passed through the gas atoms, which are then probed with optical light to encode the signal into the light. The transfer of information from the microwave domain to the optical domain is the key result. The wavelengths of these two carrier signals differ by a factor of 50,000. It […]
UBCO researchers create liquid-repelling substance that works on all surfaces
EurekAlert July 15, 2020 Omniphobic–all-liquid repellent–films can repel a broad range of liquids, but the applicability of these coatings has always been limited to silicon wafers or smooth glass. Researchers in Canada have developed a facile procedure to generate an omniphobic coating on any surface, including metals, paper, ceramics, etc. The process involves depositing an ultra smooth, silicon wafer-like silica layer and then treating this layer with a highly reactive chlorosilane, which grafts polydimethylsiloxane chains onto the surface. Negligible contact angle hysteresis (≤1°) for various liquids, including ultralow surface tension oils, alcohols, and fluoro-solvents, was achieved on many different substrates […]
A self-cleaning surface that repels even the deadliest superbugs
EurekAlert December 13, 2019 Researchers in Canada have developed a plastic surface that can be shrink-wrapped onto door handles, railings, IV stands and other surfaces that can be magnets for bacteria such as MRSA and C. difficile. The surface is also treated chemically to further enhance its repellent properties, resulting in a barrier that is flexible, durable and inexpensive to reproduce. It works through a combination of nano-scale surface engineering and chemistry. The surface is textured with microscopic wrinkles that exclude all external molecules. A drop of water or blood or bacteria bounces away when it lands on the surface. […]
Your DNA is not your destiny — or a good predictor of your health
Science Daily December 19, 2019 Researchers in Canada examined two decades of data from studies that examine the relationships between common gene mutations and different diseases and conditions. According to their analysis the vast majority of diseases, including many cancers, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease, have a genetic contribution of 5 to 10 per cent at best, some notable exceptions, include Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, and macular degeneration, which have a genetic contribution of approximately 40 to 50 per cent. Despite these rare exceptions, it is becoming increasingly clear that the risks for getting most diseases arise from an individual’s metabolism, […]
Researchers create blueprint for ‘quantum battery’ that doesn’t lose charge
Phys.org October 25, 2019 Researchers in Canada have provided a theoretical demonstration that creating a loss-free quantum battery is possible—offering an advantage over previously proposed quantum batteries. To realize their idea, the team considered an open quantum network model with high structural symmetry as a platform for storing excitonic energy. Using this model, they showed it is possible to store energy without any loss, despite being open to an environment. The key is to prepare this quantum network in a dark state when the network cannot exchange energy with its environment, the system becomes immune to all environmental influences. The […]
Bacteria-killing gel heals itself while healing you
Phys.org July 25, 2019 Researchers in Canada report hierarchically structured hydrogels of self-organized M13 bacteriophage bundles, composed of hundreds of M13 nanofilaments, which exhibit both long-range and micron-scale order, are visible in electron micrographs of the cross-linked state. They adsorb up to 16× their weight in water, exhibit advanced properties at room temperature, namely, self-healing under biological conditions, autofluorescence in three channels, which decays through biodegradation, potentiating non-destructive imaging capability, and bioactivity toward the host bacteria. The latter is a powerful property, allowing the development of hydrogels with tunable bioactivity when combined with the phage display and/or recombinant DNA technology. […]
We Finally Have Found a Way to Convert Donor Blood Into a Universal Type
Science Alert June 12, 2019 Researchers have known that certain enzymes could remove the sugars from A, B, and AB blood cells, converting them into the more useful Type O. Among the genes encoded in their library of 19,500 expressed fosmids bearing gut bacterial DNA, researchers in Canada identified an enzyme pair that work in concert to efficiently convert the A antigen to the H antigen of O type blood 30 times more efficiently than any previously discovered enzyme. The next step would then be to test the enzyme in a clinical setting, which will help determine if the conversion […]