Showing Spotlights 713 - 720 of 2879 in category All (newest first):
One of the most pervasive reliability problems facing the computer chip industry is ESD (electrostatic discharging) failure caused by the rapid, spontaneous transfer of electrostatic charge induced by a high electrostatic field. A novel above-IC graphene based nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) switch structure for on-chip ESD protection utilizes the unique properties of graphene. This switch is a two-terminal device with a vacuum gap between a conducting substrate at the bottom and a suspended graphene membrane on top serving as the discharging path.
Dec 4th, 2018
Over the past several years, metal nanoparticles photosensitization over semiconductors with a large band gap has emerged as a promising strategy for developing visible-light responsive photocatalytic materials. In new work, researchers demonstrate a new plasmonic metamaterial can absorb nearly 100% of incident light (of a specific color) and use this energy to accelerate the production of chemicals. In constructing the near-perfect absorber, the researchers employ gold nanoparticles, TiO2 as the spacer layer, and a continuous gold thin film as the rear reflective layer.
Nov 28th, 2018
In a groundbreaking study, researchers have successfully developed a method that could lead to unprecedented advances in computer speed and efficiency. Through this study, researchers successfully developed a method to make a version of biological patterning for nonvolatile memory technology using the M13 bacteriophage - a virus. This possibility leads the way to the nanosecond storage and transfer delays needed to progress modern computing.
Nov 27th, 2018
Scientists report the experimental results of studying the response characteristics in a millimeter wave band whispering gallery mode sapphire resonator to single-layer graphene at different distances of graphene from the resonator. They found that the evanescent field of the resonance system is extremely sensitive to the environment, surrounding materials and disk coatings. A series of experiments showed that such whispering gallery mode resonance can be used to detect the conductivity and thickness of the materials deposited on top and/or can even be used for advanced biosensing.
Nov 21st, 2018
Recently, researchers have engineered a next-generation battery technology - known as metal-air batteries - which can be easily fabricated into flexible and wristband-like cells. Although metal-air batteries powered devices still are not ready yet for commercial applications, the current studies have established solid evidence that these devices have provided enormous opportunities to develop the next generation of flexible, wearable and bio-adaptable power sources. Researchers now report a solution to overcoming the current limitation on sluggish reaction kinetics of air cathodes in Mg-air batteries.
Nov 20th, 2018
A novel nanoscale additive manufacturing technique termed Nanotribological Printing creates structures through tribomechanical and tribochemical surface interactions at the contact between a substrate and an atomic force microscope probe, where material pattern formation is driven by normal and shear contact stresses. This technique advances the field of nanomanufacturing by providing a versatile and easily accessible method for creating complex (multi-material) nanostructures, with high precision and uniquely superior mechanical properties.
Nov 13th, 2018
In recent years, black-phosphorus-analogue (BPA) two-dimensional materials have been demonstrated to exhibit promising optoelectronic performances and distinguished ambient stabilities, holding great promise in practical applications. In new work, researchers demonstrated that ultra-small 2D beta-lead oxide quantum dots showed fast carrier dynamics and significantly high photocurrent density and excellent ambient stability. These findings hold great potential for high-performance BPA-based optoelectronic devices.
Nov 6th, 2018
The ability to produce ammonia efficiently from air and water at room temperature and ambient pressure is of great interest in agriculture where it is used in fertilizers. In particular, the electrochemical reduction of nitrogen, in which the conversion of nitrogen to ammonia takes place under mild conditions, is highly relevant for the chemical industry that needs to cope with increasing demands for ammonia and at the same time is under pressure to reduce its ecological footprint. A new study describes novel single-atom catalysts as fascinating electrocatalysts for the application in nirtogen reduction.
Nov 5th, 2018
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