Temporarily apart

Extremely thin materials consisting of just a few atomic layers promise applications for electronics and quantum technologies. Researchers have now made remarkable progress with a new experiment: The experts were able to induce an extremely fast switching process between electrically neutral and charged luminescent particles in an ultra-thin, effectively two-dimensional material. The result opens up new perspectives for research as well as for optical data processing and flexible detectors.

Thermal effects in spintronics systematically assessed for first time

Spintronics -- devices that use microscopic magnetism in conjunction with electric current -- could lead to computing technology as fast as conventional electronics but much more energy efficient. As such devices are developed and studied, an important unresolved question is how device operation is affected by heating.

Unique straining affects phase transformations in silicon, a material vital for electronics

Scientists have used pressure with a twisting shear to permanently deform silicon, an important material for electronics. The resulting changes in silicon's microstructure produce material phases that feature different and potentially useful properties.

New battery cathode material could revolutionize EV market and energy storage

A research team has developed a low-cost iron chloride cathode for all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries, which could significantly reduce costs and improve performance for electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage systems.

New age electrode with densely functionalized polymeric binder for high-performance lithium and sodium-ion batteries

Rising demand for electronic devices and electric vehicles has increased the dependence on secondary ion batteries. While lithium-ion batteries are already popular, a promising alternative sodium-ion batteries (SIB) are struggling to get wider acceptance due to slow ion kinetics affecting their performance. A new polymer-based binder called PMAI addresses this issue by forming a functionalized solid electrolyte interphase. The study demonstrated that SIB with PMAI as an anode binder can have exceptional performance and cyclic stability.

BESSY II: Heterostructures for spintronics

Spintronic devices work with spin textures caused by quantum-physical interactions. Scientists have now studied graphene-cobalt-iridium heterostructures at BESSY II. The results show how two desired quantum-physical effects reinforce each other in these heterostructures. This could lead to new spintronic devices based on these materials.

New organic thermoelectric device that can harvest energy at room temperature

Thermoelectric devices are devices that can convert heat into electrical energy. Researchers have now developed a thermoelectric device composed of organic materials that can generate electricity from ambient temperature alone. The device is made from copper phthalocyanine and copper hexadecafluoro phthalocyanine as charge transfer materials and was combined with fullerenes and BCP as electron transport layers.

Charging ahead towards future low-cost polymer zinc-ion batteries

With global demand for lithium-ion batteries fast depleting reserves of raw materials, experts are seeking safe, affordable and reliable alternatives for rechargeable batteries. Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) could be the answer to producing low-cost alternatives from abundant feedstocks, and scientists are paving the way for the production of simple and practical polymer AZIBs using organic cathodes for more sustainable energy storage technology.

Flexible circuits made with silk and graphene on the horizon

Ultra-thin layers of silk deposited on graphene in perfect alignment represent a key advance for the control needed in microelectronics and advanced neural network development.

New understanding of the limits on nano-noise

Thanks to nanoscale devices as small as human cells, researchers can create groundbreaking material properties, leading to smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient electronics. However, to fully unlock the potential of nanotechnology, addressing noise is crucial. A research team has taken a significant step toward unraveling fundamental constraints on noise, paving the way for future nanoelectronics.

New discovery aims to improve the design of microelectronic devices

A new study is providing new insights into how next-generation electronics, including memory components in computers, breakdown or degrade over time.

Mass production of metal nanowires possible by breakthrough technique

Pure metal nanowires (NWs) are nanomaterials with distinctive properties that make them useful for various applications. However, their utilization in modern electronics has been limited by the lack of a mass-production method. Researchers have now succeeded in the mass growth of aluminum NWs. The underlying growth process could in principle be extended to other metals, removing the limitations to the mass production of NWs and ushering in a new era of nanotechnology.

Researchers develop a stretchable, wearable device that lights up an LED using only the warmth of your skin

Researchers have developed a flexible, durable electronic prototype that can harvest energy from body heat and turn it into electricity that can be used to power small electronics, such as batteries, sensors or LEDs. This device is also resilient -- it still functions even after being pierced several times and then stretched 2,000 times.

Microscale robot folds into 3D shapes and crawls

Researchers have created microscale robots less than 1 millimeter in size that are printed as a 2D hexagonal 'metasheet' but, with a jolt of electricity, morph into preprogrammed 3D shapes and crawl.

Researchers advance new class of quantum critical metal that could advance electronic devices

A new study has unveiled a new class of quantum critical metal, shedding light on the intricate interactions of electrons within quantum materials. The research explores the effects of Kondo coupling and chiral spin liquids within specific lattice structures.

Finger wrap uses sweat to provide health monitoring at your fingertips--literally

A sweat-powered wearable has the potential to make continuous, personalized health monitoring as effortless as wearing a Band-Aid. Engineers have developed an electronic finger wrap that monitors vital chemical levels -- such as glucose, vitamins, and even drugs -- present in the same fingertip sweat from which it derives its energy.

Breakthrough in semiconductor patterning: New block copolymer achieves 7.6 nm line width

A recently developed block copolymer could help push the limits of integration and miniaturization in semiconductor manufacturing, report scientists. Chemically tailored for reliable directed self-assembly, the proposed compound can arrange itself into perpendicular lamellar structures whose half-pitch width is less than 10 nanometers, outperforming conventional and widely used block copolymers.