news

"Nature" Study: Phosphorene Nanoribbons Combine Magnetic and Semiconductor Properties at Room Temperature A recent study published in the scientific journal Nature has examined the remarkable properties of phosphorene nanoribbons (PNRs). These atom-thin ribbons made of phosphorus exhibit both magnetic and semiconductor properties at room temperature, making them promising candidates for future electronic applications and paving the way for a new generation of energy-efficient technologies.

McGill team discovers a surprising electrical effect that remains stable despite dramatic changes in temperature Electronic devices rely on materials whose electrical properties change with temperature, making them less stable in extreme conditions. A discovery by McGill researchers that challenges conventional wisdom in physics suggests that bismuth, a metal, could serve as the foundation for highly stable electronic components.

For the first time, scientists have 'photographed' a rare plasma instability, where high-energy electron beams form into spaghetti-like filaments. A new study, published in Physical Review Letters , outlines how a high-intensity infrared laser was used to generate a filamentation instability - a phenomenon that affects applications in plasma-based particle accelerators and fusion energy methods.

If you start with a two-dimensional ribbon and make it narrower and narrower, when does it stop being a ribbon and start being a one-dimensional line? Scientists from Utrecht University and the University of Twente made one-atom-thick ultrathin nanoribbons consisting of germanium atoms. They have shown that this system exhibits amazing properties that can be useful, for example, in quantum computing.

A landmark development led by researchers from the University of Glasgow could help create a new generation of diamond-based transistors for use in high-power electronics. Their new diamond transistor overcomes the limitations of previous developments in the technology to create a device much closer to being of practical use across a range of industries which rely on high power systems.

Thanks to new high-frequency electrical stimulation that blocks spasticity, two paralyzed patients suffering from muscle stiffness after spinal cord injury benefit from rehabilitation protocols for walking again.

Scientists at the University of Würzburg and the German national metrology institute (PTB) have carried out an experiment that realizes a new kind of quantum standard of resistance. It's based on the Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect. The precise measurement of electrical resistance is essential in industrial production or electronics - for example, in the manufacture of high-tech sensors, microchips and flight controls.

New materials designed by a University of Illinois Chicago graduate student may help scientists meet one of today's biggest challenges: building superconductors that operate at normal temperatures and pressures. Superconductors are used widely in everyday applications from MRI machines to power transmission.

Researchers are leveraging quantum mechanical properties to overcome the limits of silicon semiconductor technology. Silicon transistors, which are used to amplify and switch signals, are a critical component in most electronic devices, from smartphones to automobiles. But silicon semiconductor technology is held back by a fundamental physical limit that prevents transistors from operating below a certain voltage.

By emulating a magnetic field on a superconducting quantum computer, researchers can probe complex properties of materials. Quantum computers hold the promise to emulate complex materials, helping researchers better understand the physical properties that arise from interacting atoms and electrons. This may one day lead to the discovery or design of better semiconductors, insulators, or superconductors that could be used to make ever faster, more powerful, and more energy-efficient electronics.

For the first time since the discovery of the material MnBi2Te4 (MBT), researchers at the University of Twente have successfully made it behave like a superconductor. This marks an important step in understanding MBT and is significant for future technologies, such as new methods of information processing and quantum computing.

An international research team has achieved a breakthrough in atomically thin antiferromagnetic tunnel junctions. This shows the great potential of antiferromagnetic materials for storage technology. Spintronics (spin electronics) deals with the use of electron spin in electronic devices. In contrast to conventional electronics, which only uses the charge of the electrons, spintronics also uses the spin of the electrons, i.e. a "direction of rotation" at the atomic level, to store and process information.

Groundbreaking research that used a NASA-equipped plane to fly over thunderclouds has described a new kind of radiation New research into the causes of lightning strikes, which could lead to better understanding and real-time forecasting of thunderstorms in the future, has been released today. Two studies published in Nature conclude that gamma ray generation from thunderstorms may be more common and take more forms than previously thought.

Spin waves with short wavelengths make magnonic computer components possible A new study by the University of Vienna, the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart and the Helmholtz Centres in Berlin and Dresden represents an important step towards further miniaturizing computer components and making them more energy-efficient.

Thanks to innovations in design, control and production technology, brushless drives for pumps and ventilation systems work more efficiently and quietly.

New Computer Simulations Help Scientists Advance Energy-Efficient Microelectronics " layout="backlink-only" Key Takeaways Researchers have developed FerroX, a new open-source, 3D simulation framework that could advance record-breaking energy efficiency in microelectronics by unveiling the microscopic origins of a physical phenomenon called negative capacitance in ferroelectric thin films.

The newly developed robotic leg is inspired by living creatures and jumps over different terrains much more manoeuvrable and energy-efficiently than previous robots Researchers have developed the first robotic leg that is powered by artificial electro-hydraulic muscles and automatically adapts to uneven terrain.

Physicists from Würzburg present a nanometre-sized light antenna with electrically modulated surface properties - a breakthrough that could pave the way for faster computer chips. Today's computers reach their physical limits when it comes to speed. Semiconductor components usually operate at a maximum usable frequency of a few gigahertz - which corresponds to several billion computing operations per second.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems have developed a robotic leg with artificial muscles. Inspired by living creatures, it jumps across different terrains in an agile and energy-efficient manner. Inventors and researchers have been developing robots for almost 70 years.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have managed to make sound waves travel only in one direction. In the future, this method could also be used in technical applications with electromagnetic waves. Be it water, light or sound: waves usually propagate in the same way forwards as in the backward direction. As a consequence, when we are speaking to someone standing some distance away from us, that person can hear us as well as we can hear them.