/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) researchers have developed a neuromorphic photonic semiconductor neuron capable of processing optical information through self-sustained oscillations. Exploring the use of light to control negative differential resistance (NDR) in a micropillar quantum resonant tunneling diode (RTD), the research indicates that this approach could lead to highly efficient light-driven neuromorphic computing systems. /news/2025-03-powered-artificial-neurons-mimic-brain.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 17 Mar 2025 13:40:14 EDT news661437316 Imagine how a phone call works: Your voice is converted into electronic signals, shifted up to higher frequencies, transmitted over long distances, and then shifted back down so it can be heard clearly on the other end. The process enabling this shifting of signal frequencies is called frequency mixing, and it is essential for communication technologies like radio and Wi-Fi. Frequency mixers are vital components in many electronic devices and typically operate using frequencies that oscillate billions (GHz, gigahertz) to trillions (THz, terahertz) of times per second. /news/2024-09-nanostructures-enable-chip-lightwave-electronic.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 04 Sep 2024 15:57:57 EDT news644684274 A superconductivity theory proposed by a Würzburg physics team has been validated in an international experiment that showed Cooper pairs display wave-like distribution in Kagome metals. The finding will enable new technological applications such as superconducting diodes. /news/2024-08-validation-superconductor-theory-cooper-pairs.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Fri, 23 Aug 2024 08:56:08 EDT news643622160 Scientists from the Department of Â鶹ÒùÔºical Chemistry at the Fritz Haber Institute have made an innovative discovery in nanoscale optoelectronics. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications and titled "Atomic-Precision Control of Plasmon-Induced Single-Molecule Switching in a Metal–Semiconductor Nanojunction," introduces a method for achieving unprecedented control over single-molecule photoswitching. This breakthrough could transform the future of nano-device technology. /news/2024-08-team-method-molecule-photoswitching.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 15 Aug 2024 15:47:03 EDT news642955622 Phosphorus is a vital component of every organism and plays a key role, for example, in energy transfer in the body and within cell membranes, bones and teeth. Phosphorus is also special because it occurs in numerous different forms (allotropes). For example, there is the highly explosive, toxic white phosphorus, the more stable red phosphorus known from match heads, or the crystalline, semi-conducting black phosphorus. The latter has numerous applications in electronic devices. /news/2024-08-2d-layer-phosphorus-pentamers-semiconductor.html Nanomaterials Fri, 09 Aug 2024 06:43:01 EDT news642404578 Electronic states that resemble molecules and are promising for use in future quantum computers have been created in superconducting circuits by physicists at RIKEN. /news/2024-03-quantum-mechanical-molecules-superconducting-devices.html Superconductivity Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 11 Mar 2024 10:32:03 EDT news629371921 Light can excite electron and hole pairs inside semiconducting materials. If the attraction between a negatively charged electron and a positively charged hole (the antiparticle of electron in solid state physics) is strong, they stay bound together, forming states known as excitons. In these states, positively charged holes can be viewed as the vacancies left behind by the electrons they are paired with. /news/2023-09-excitons-moir-superlattices.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Thu, 28 Sep 2023 09:55:02 EDT news615113693 From pterodactyls flying overhead in a game to virtually applying cosmetics prior to making a purchase, augmented reality and other immersive technologies are transforming how we play, observe, and learn. Cheap and ultra-small light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that enable full-color imaging at high resolution would help immersive displays reach their full potential, but are not currently available. /news/2023-09-next-level-realism-immersive-displays.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 07 Sep 2023 15:59:46 EDT news613321184 The fast switching and modulation of light is at the heart, among other things, of modern data transfer, in which information is sent through fiber optic cables in the shape of modulated light beams. It has been possible for several years now to miniaturize light modulators and to integrate them into chips, but the light sources themselves—light emitting diodes (LEDs) or lasers—still pose problems to engineers. /news/2023-07-antenna-nanoscale-sources-unusual-placement.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 03 Jul 2023 13:34:03 EDT news607610041 Semiconductors are foundational components of modern energy, communication, and myriad other technologies. Research on tailoring the underlying nanostructure of semiconductors for optimizing device performance has been ongoing for decades. /news/2023-02-nanoscale-ultra-fast-user-friendly-microscopy.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 21 Feb 2023 09:32:33 EST news596194350 A new way of extracting quantitative information from state-of-the-art single molecule experiments has been developed by physicists at the University of Bath. Using this quantitative information, the researchers will be able to probe the ultra-fast physics of "hot" electrons on surfaces—the same physics that governs and limits the efficacy of silicon-based solar cells. /news/2022-12-technique-capturing-hot-electrons-solar.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 05 Dec 2022 09:26:03 EST news589454761 Replete with tunneling particles, electron wells, charmed quarks and zombie cats, quantum mechanics takes everything Sir Isaac Newton taught about physics and throws it out the window. /news/2022-10-laboratory-explore-quantum-mysteries-nuclear.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 18 Oct 2022 15:33:57 EDT news585326026 Assembling Lego-like, 2D heterostructures can give rise to emergent properties and functionalities very different from the intrinsic characteristics of the constituents. /news/2022-07-hetero-interfaces-optoelectronic-functionalities-large-scale.html Nanomaterials Tue, 26 Jul 2022 08:50:02 EDT news578043675 A group of researchers from Pisa, Jyväskylä, San Sebastian and MIT have demonstrated how a heterostructure consisting of superconductors and magnets can be used to create unidirectional current like that found in semiconductor diodes. /news/2022-05-diodes-superconductors.html Superconductivity Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 11 May 2022 11:28:18 EDT news571487296 In a proof-of-concept study, researchers have created self-assembled, protein-based circuits that can perform simple logic functions. The work demonstrates that it is possible to create stable digital circuits that take advantage of an electron's properties at quantum scales. /news/2022-04-self-assembled-logic-circuits-proteins.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 28 Apr 2022 14:54:15 EDT news570376452 Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Regensburg move packets of energy along a molecular ladder made of hundreds of benzene rings. Such polymers can potentially be used to design new displays based on organic light-emitting diodes, or for solar cells. The extraordinary material is now described in the journal Nature Communications. /news/2021-11-molecules-ziplines-energy.html Polymers Materials Science Wed, 17 Nov 2021 10:05:38 EST news556365926 In a new publication from Opto-Electronic Advances, researchers led by Professor Xu Chunxiang, Southeast University, Nanjing, China discuss nano-buffer controlled electron tunneling to regulate heterojunctional interface emission. /news/2021-09-ultrathin-electronic-barrier-layer-interface.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 24 Sep 2021 08:54:12 EDT news551692448 ECE Ph.D. student Ayush Pandey details the research led by Prof. Zetian Mi on using high efficiency ultraviolet light emitting diodes to sterilize pathogens. This research, "High-efficiency AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN tunnel junction ultraviolet light-emitting diodes," won the 2020 Editor-in-Chief Choice Award from Photonics Research. /news/2021-08-high-efficiency-ultraviolet-emitting-diodes-sterilize.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 23 Aug 2021 08:14:58 EDT news548925294 When molecules are excited, they can give rise to a variety of energy conversion phenomena, such as light emission and photoelectric or photochemical conversion. To unlock new energy conversion functions in organic materials, researchers should be able to understand the nature of a material's excited state and control it. /news/2021-07-single-molecule-laser-nanospectroscopy-technique-micro-electron.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Optics & Photonics Wed, 28 Jul 2021 11:40:02 EDT news546690207 A team of physicists from Germany, the .S. and the U.K. managed to observe the motion of electrons from one atomically thin layer into an adjacent one with nanoscale spatial resolution. The new contact-free nanoscopy concept, which shows great potential for investigations into conducting, nonconducting and superconducting materials, will be introduced in the new volume of the science journal Nature Photonics. /news/2021-05-contact-free-nanoscopy-concept-potential-materials.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 13 May 2021 11:00:12 EDT news540024883 Researchers from Osaka University, Japan and the University of Adelaide, Australia have worked together to produce the new multiplexer made from pure silicon for terahertz-range communications in the 300-GHz band. /news/2021-04-silicon-multiplexer-chip.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 29 Apr 2021 10:00:01 EDT news538905540 Two-dimensional (2D) materials and van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures are flexible materials with distinct atomic layers beyond traditional units of lattice-matching requirements. Nevertheless, the 2D van der Waals structures researchers have hitherto explored are limited to relatively simple heterostructures with a small number of blocks. It is exponentially more difficult to prepare high-order vdW superlattices with a myriad of alternating units due to their limited yield and the material damage associated with restacking or synthesis. /news/2021-04-high-order-superlattices-van-der-waals.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 06 Apr 2021 11:07:10 EDT news536926001 Since the early 2010s, ultrafast probing of materials at atomic-level resolution has been enabled by terahertz scanning tunneling microscopes (THz-STM). But these devices can't detect the dissipation of energy that happens during events such as when photons are emitted via recombination process of an electron-hole pair in a light emitting diode (LED). However, a new technique allows the tracking of just such energy dynamics alongside THz-STM, opening up new avenues of investigation for nanoscale science and technology. /news/2021-03-microscope-ultrafast-nanoscale-tracking-energy.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 09 Mar 2021 15:32:02 EST news534526319 When it comes to microelectronics, there is one chemical element like no other: silicon, the workhorse of the transistor technology that drives our information society. The countless electronic devices we use in everyday life are a testament to how today very high volumes of silicon-based components can be produced at very low cost. It seems natural, then, to use silicon also in other areas where the properties of semiconductors—as silicon is one—are exploited technologically, and to explore ways to integrate different functionalities. Of particular interest in this context are diode lasers, such as those employed in barcode scanners or laser pointers, which are typically based on gallium arsenide (GaAs). Unfortunately though, the physical processes that create light in GaAs do not work so well in silicon. It therefore remains an outstanding, and long-standing, goal to find an alternative route to realizing a 'laser on silicon.' /news/2021-03-key-long-sought-goal-silicon-based-laser.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 08 Mar 2021 16:31:39 EST news534443486 While many research teams worldwide are trying to develop highly performing quantum computers, some are working on tools to control the flow of heat inside of them. Just like conventional computers, in fact, quantum computers can heat up significantly as they are operating, which can ultimately damage both the devices and their surroundings. /news/2021-01-single-quantum-dot-valve.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 12 Jan 2021 09:30:04 EST news529658380 A semiconductor device that is promising for both generating and detecting terahertz radiation has been demonstrated by physicists at RIKEN. This may aid the development of high-performance integrated solutions for terahertz imaging and sensing applications as well as for high-speed, next-generation wireless communications systems. /news/2020-09-resonant-tunneling-diode-oscillators-terahertz-wave.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Optics & Photonics Fri, 18 Sep 2020 09:01:05 EDT news519638460 Molecules are the building blocks of everyday life. Many materials are composed of them, a little like a LEGO model consists of a multitude of different bricks. But while individual LEGO bricks can be simply shifted or removed, this is not so easy in the nanoworld. Atoms and molecules behave in a completely different way to macroscopic objects and each brick requires its own 'instruction manual.' Scientists from Jülich and Berlin have now developed an artificial intelligence system that autonomously learns how to grip and move individual molecules using a scanning tunneling microscope. The method, which has been published in Science Advances, is not only relevant for research but also for novel production technologies such as molecular 3-D printing. /news/2020-09-autonomous-robot-nanolego.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 03 Sep 2020 10:57:17 EDT news518349432 In the vast majority of superconducting materials, Cooper pairs have what is known as even parity, which essentially means that their wave function does not change when electrons swap spatial coordinates. Conversely, some unconventional superconductors have been found to contain odd-parity Cooper pairs. This quality makes these unconventional materials particularly promising for quantum computing applications. /news/2020-06-simultaneous-nodal-superconductivity-broken-time-reversal.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Superconductivity Wed, 17 Jun 2020 09:30:01 EDT news511424587 An international team with ties to UCF has cracked a challenge that could herald a new era of ultra-high-density computing. /news/2020-06-molecular-circuitry-team-one-diode-one-resistor.html Nanomaterials Tue, 02 Jun 2020 12:40:29 EDT news510320425 David Storm, a research physicist, and Tyler Growden, an electrical engineer, both with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, developed a new gallium nitride-based electrical component called a resonant tunneling diode (RTD) with performance beyond the anticipated speed of 5G. /news/2020-05-electronic-diodes-5g.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 12 May 2020 13:01:23 EDT news508507278