Technology Update
The replication of DNA involves conformational changes are that are greatly affected by its mechanical properties. Tethering DNA has profound effects on its mechanical properties, but there are few studies that attempt to quantify this change. Researchers at Virginia Tech have developed and refined a technique that allows high-sensitivity force measurements of dynamic systems, and […]
Researchers at the University of Manchester, UK have made the first autonomous chemically powered synthetic small-molecule motor
Single-crystal graphite appears to be a better contact material for graphene than conventional metals. So say researchers at Columbia University in New York who have found that the contact resistivity of the graphite–graphene interface can be as low as 6.6 Ωμm2. A reduced contact resistance could not only be useful for improving devices made from […]
Bringing together the best of two types of quantum computer for the first time, researchers at Google have created a prototype that combines the architecture of both a universal quantum computer and an analogue quantum computer. By digitizing the traditionally analogue computations that can be done with an adiabatic quantum computer, the team’s system is […]
Nanoparticles containing silencing RNA (siRNA) molecules could help reduce vascular inflammation after a heart attack and so lessen the risk of dangerous complications that might result. This is the new finding from researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston and the German Heart Center Munich, who have succeeded in supressing inflammation within atherosclerotic […]
A new material called “magnetic-charge ice” has been created by physicists in the US. The magnetic properties of the material can be manipulated at the nanometre scale and the material could someday be used to encode data at higher densities than current magnetic memories. The techniques used to create and control the new material could […]
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and the University of Cambridge in the UK have accidently discovered how to enhance the charge-carrier mobility in conjugated polymer thin films by simply adding an ionic additive. The new films, which have a hole mobility that is 24 times higher than those without the ionic […]
The handedness of individual chiral nanoparticles made of metallic dumbbells can be determined by their optical properties alone. So say researchers in Texas in the US and Donostia-San Sebastian in Spain, whose new work could help in the development of highly efficient miniaturized nanoscale sensors for studying the structure of chiral molecules and biomolecules like […]
The natural, high-strength glue found in English ivy is made up of nanospherical arabinogalactan proteins, according to new experiments by researchers at the Ohio State University in the US. The finding might help make artificial adhesives for military, medical and cosmetic applications……. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/65147
A metallic quantum dot sandwiched between two superconductors – which functions as an electronic turnstile, only permitting one electron through at a time –
Thanks to photocurrent spectral atomic force microscopy (PCS-AFM), researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they have been able to observe photoactive pixels switching on and off in a heterostructure made of two different 2D materials. The technique might help in the design of new electronic and optoelectronic devices based on these atomically […]
Using a technique called optical two-beam super-resolution lithography, researchers in Australia have succeeded in making photonic “gyroid” nanostructures similar to those found in butterfly wings. The artificial structures, which outperform their natural counterpart in many ways, might be used in a variety of photonics and optics technologies…. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/64982 Comparing an artificial and natural gyroid structure
t least five “hot carriers” are produced for every photon absorbed by superlattices made from graphene and boron nitride. This new result from researchers in New York, Tallahassee and Seattle, means that the carbon sheet could be used to make flexible optoelectronics devices such as ultrafast and highly efficient photodetectors and solar cells…. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/64988 Moiré […]
Researchers in Australia and Singapore are the first to have measured the electronic properties of topological Dirac semimetal thin films, which are 3D analogues of graphene. These films, made from sodium bismuth, have high charge carrier mobilities and could be used to make new electronic devices like topological transistors…….. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/64999 Na3Bi thin films
Physicists in Germany have taken mechanical miniaturization to the ultimate limit by producing a heat engine – one of the key inventions of classical thermodynamics – made of only one atom, and have measured its output
A new ultrathin and ultraflexible coating that can be made into an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display for use as electronic skin, or e-skin, has been developed by researchers at the University of Tokyo. Once applied to the skin, the coating can measure blood oxygen levels and heart rates……… http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/64708 Ultra-thin electronic skin
A new way to control light using liquid crystals has been developed by researchers in Japan, who believe that their method offers many of the advantages of an artificial “metasurface” while being much easier to fabricate on an industrial scale. Among other applications, the researchers believe the work could be useful for the production of […]
A new technique to make thin films from suspensions of ball-milled coal has been developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The films, which retain the rich carbon chemistry of the starting coals, could be used to fabricate a range of nanoelectronics devices, including transistors, photovoltaics and battery anodes…. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/64744 Making organic […]
A single carbon nanotube has been used as a scalable and tunable light source and integrated into a nanoscale waveguide by researchers in Germany. The nanotubes are part of a photonic-crystal waveguide that converts electric signals into light. The researchers hope their work could advance the field of optoelectronics and help to produce faster computer […]
Researchers at the University of Toronto and University Health Network in Canada have performed the first full clinical study showing that quantum-dot barcodes can be used to diagnose patients infected with the hepatitis B virus. The new work is a “critical step” to translating quantum-dot technology into medical applications, they say…. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/64760 In the lab
Nanolayers Research Computing aims to bridge the gap between academic physics and real world products. The company was founded in 2015 to provide consultancy in modelling and simulations rather than “black box” software development, and business opportunities are already piling in…….. http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/64525 Work on “CritCat” in June 2016
