Today's Tech News: Notable or Not?

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/mps/internal/newsandevents?page=1&id=59575 "graphine oxide added to polymer latex spheres... upon drying graphene oxide trapped between spheres... as more graphene added sheets form percolating network within the latex film... heated to 150C to eliminate chemical defects... films become conductive; even more than if had been made entirely from graphene... analogous to the emergence of high-transmission viral variants and could allow us to use epidemic modelling to develop exciting new materials"

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-new-shock-absorbing-gel-can-withstand-supersonic-impacts-180981319/ "once tension is released, talin protein found in human cells folds back up and can do this over and over... creates hydrogel that was placed atop aluminum plate and fired tiny basalt particles and larger bits of aluminum at it... 3X faster than bullet from handgun... protected aluminum plate and captured particles without destroying them... shock-absorbing smartphone cases, bullet-proof vests, space equipment, running shoes, vehicle bumpers, and capturing space debris without destroying it for further study" Related: Breakthrough in material design will help football players, car occupants and hospital patients https://phys.org/news/2023-07-breakthrough-material-football-players-car.html Easy compression, easy flow: Research team designs new granular materials https://phys.org/news/2024-04-easy-compression-team-granular-materials.html

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-spray-on-smart-skin-ai-rapidly.html "millions of nanowires of silver coated with gold... dynamic electrical pathways... biocompatible, breathable, stays on unless rubbed in soap and water... nanowires  get squeezed together and stretched apart, changing electrical conductivity of mesh... measured and analyzed... light-weight Bluetooth module wirelessly transfer... Once algorithm trained, physical keyboard not necessary... recognize sign language or even to recognize objects by tracing their exterior surfaces"

https://scitechdaily.com/relativistic-plasma-mirror-driven-at-a-record-shattering-1000-shots-per-second/ "laser field hurls plasma electrons back and forth nearly speed of light... pulse durations <4 femtoseconds and temporal contrast ratio (between the pulse intensity at its peak and 10 picoseconds before) of 1010... fine control of interaction conditions... preceding laser pulse initiates plasma creation and expansion. Varying time delay after which subsequent main driving pulse fired... control nanometer-range density gradient on plasma mirror surface... usable secondary radiation and particle source"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-explores-topological.html "efficient microlight emitter... displays, solid-state light detection, optical interconnects and telecommunications... efficient micro-light emitters for strong localization, high quantum efficiency and adaptable beam shaping capacity. These properties are significant for numerous applications, including the development of display pixels, laser machining and telecommunications applications. The proposed devices are also capable of functioning as efficient optical detectors"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-bio-friendly-transparent-temperature-sensor-technology.html "can measure even rapid temperature changes in less than a few milliseconds by using the thermoelectric effect, in which a voltage signal is generated by rapid charge transfer triggered by a difference in temperature... rapid generation of local heat," and added, "We look forward to the possibility of in-depth bioengineering analysis and biomedical application by combining it with various bio-electronic chips through micro-semiconductor processes"

https://www.wired.com/story/materials-computing-science/ "room-temperature energy saving low-cost and simple processing requirements. To optimize, manipulate chemical structure and molecular packing... molecular materials designed around carbon-based organic semiconductors... chiral molecular thin, single-handed layers control the spin of electrons at room temperature. At the same time, the long spin coherence times and good thermal and chemical stability of metal phthalocyanines will see them being used to carry quantum information" Related: Evidence for a chiral superconductor could bring quantum computing closer to the mainstream https://phys.org/news/2023-02-evidence-chiral-superconductor-quantum-closer.html Scientists mix and match properties to make new superconductor with chiral structure https://phys.org/news/2024-02-scientists-properties-superconductor-chiral.html

https://www.popsci.com/technology/ford-quantum-ev-battery/ "variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) to simulate the Li2Co2O4 and Co2O4 gas-phase models (basically, the simplest form of chemical reaction possible) which represent the charge and discharge of the battery... accurately simulate complex chemical reactions... lead to longer lasting, faster charging, more powerful batteries... molecules are quantum by nature, and therefore map more accurately onto qubits, which are represented as waveforms"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-next-generation-solid-electrolyte-technology-atmospheric.html "adding gallium and tantalum to pure Lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide electrolytes... LiGaO2 suppresses surface adsorption of moisture and carbon dioxide and promotes growth of particles during thermal treatment preventing growth of lithium carbonate and maintaining lithium ion conduction even when stored for long time in air, and stable performance maintained even after repeated lithium electrodeposition/desorption... helpful in developing high-performance solid-state batteries" Related: Cathode coating reduces degradation of solid-state lithium metal batteries https://techxplore.com/news/2023-04-cathode-coating-degradation-solid-state-lithium.html New study reveals enhanced thermal stability in all-solid-state batteries https://techxplore.com/news/2024-04-reveals-thermal-stability-solid-state.html

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-unexpected-speed-dependent-friction-graphene.html "tip of an atomic force microscope is moved across the surface... weak and almost constant frictional force... Above threshold, friction increases with speed of tip... larger the Moiré superstructure the lower the threshold at which friction becomes speed-dependent... greater resistance at ridges of Moiré superstructures during movement of tip... ridges undergo elastic deformation due to pushing tip before relaxing again when pressure sufficiently high... frictional forces increase with speed of  tip"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-high-visibility-quantum-independent-semiconductor-dots.html "low-noise tunable single-photon frequency conversion with low-dispersion long fiber transmission... single photons generated from resonantly driven single QDs deterministically coupled to microcavities... eliminate QD inhomogeneity; shift emission wavelength to telecommunications band... interference visibility 93%.... extend distance to ~600 km... jumped from the previous QD-based quantum experiments two orders of magnitude larger... solid-state quantum networks"

  https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-tortuosity-electrode-high-performance-lmo-batteries.html "ice-templating adopted to construct low-tortuosity LMO electrode based on CMC binder... straight channels through electrode in cross sectionlow-tortuosity structure enables LMO electrodes' fast lithium-ion diffusion and small concentration polarization, leading to uniform electrochemical reaction... fast lithium-ion transport kinetics and even mesoscopic-scale reactions of low-tortuosity LMO electrode alleviate irreversible phase transition and Mn dissolution... suppress cracks in LMO particles" Related: Researchers develop solvent-free process to make better, cheaper lithium-ion battery electrodes https://techxplore.com/news/2023-05-solvent-free-cheaper-lithium-ion-battery-electrodes.html Unlocking the potential of lithium-ion batteries with advanced binders https://techxplore.com/news/2024-03-potential-lithium-ion-batteries-advanced.html

https://thespacebucket.com/relativity-space-just-tested-the-first-full-scale-aeon-r-engine/ "268,000 pounds of maximum thrust... liquid oxygen plus liquid natural gas eventually easily made on Mars... ilaunching over 20,000kg to low Earth orbit... launch from Cape Canaveral 2024... from raw material to rockets within 60 days... 3D printed 7X faster... horizontal printers print objects up to 120' long and 24' wide, resulting in increased volume capacity of 55X... Reduced print start time and cost... five signed customers for Terran R, including multiple launches and totaling more than $1.2B in backlog" Related: Plasma thrusters used on satellites could be much more powerful than previously believed https://phys.org/news/2023-01-plasma-thrusters-satellites-powerful-previously.html

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-platform-thz-photonics-planarized-low-loss.html "Placing bonding wires on top of extended top metallization over passive BCB-covered area prevents formation of defects or local hotspots... narrow waveguides well below bonding wire size.... narrow waveguide width efficient selection mechanism for fundamental transversal lasing mode and beneficial for heat dissipation and high-temperature continuous wave operation... extended contact facilitates lateral heat flow and eases heat extraction... improved maximum operating temperature"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-ethylene-carbonate-solvent-sodium-iodide.html "ionocaloric refrigeration environmentally safe... repeatedly cooling a material also cool its environment by removing and adding back salt... added mixer to a box... another device performed electrodialysis to remove the salt... approximately as efficient as refrigerators now on the market. The big advantage of the approach is that it does not emit any hydrofluorocarbons or other pollutants. They acknowledge that it does have one drawback—it takes quite a while for the mixed solution to cool" Related: Using lava stones in cooling and freezing facilitates a quantum leap in energy efficiency https://www.liebherr.com/en/int/latest-news/news-press-releases/detail/using-lava-stones-in-cooling-and-freezing-facilitates-a-quantum-leap-in-energy-efficiency.html Scientists develop a cool new method of refrigeration https://phys.org/news/2023-01-scientists-cool-method-refrigeration.html Novel durable copp

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-diamond-based-quantum-amplifier.html "electron spins in diamond quantum microwave amplifier... quantum-limited internal noise above liquid nitrogen temperatures... boost sensitivity compared to non-masing devices... voltage gain bandwidth product of the maser, expected saturation power, and noise temperature... cryogenic, low-noise microwave amplification... quantum-limited amplification performance... multiple echoes and super-radiance; features of significance mainly for research in cavity quantum electrodynamics" Related: Quantum electrodynamics verified with exotic atoms https://phys.org/news/2023-05-quantum-electrodynamics-exotic-atoms.html

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-room-temperature-terahertz-camera-based-cmos.html "patterned conducting layers with sub-micron insulating gaps in which incident THz field enhanced... created using electron-beam lithography... synthesis of quantum dots and their deposition onto the field enhancement structures... THz-detecting camera detected THz pulses with peak fields as low as 10 kVcm-1 at room temperature, with a fast response rate and high bandwidth. The device is also affordable and can be scaled up to wafer size for large-area imaging or other large-scale applications" Related: A new ultrafast camera with multiple applications https://phys.org/news/2023-01-ultrafast-camera-multiple-applications.html Quantum dots with finely-tuned spherical defects could enhance nonlinear optics https://phys.org/news/2023-02-quantum-dots-finely-tuned-spherical-defects.html New Neutron Camera has a Shutter Speed of One Trillionth of a Second https://petapixel.com/2023/03/08/new-neutron-came

https://www.anl.gov/article/making-the-unimaginable-possible-in-materials-discovery "layered structure of sodium, barium, oxygen, copper and sulfur... discovery method yielded 30 previously unknown compounds; ten have structures never seen before... method can be applied to almost any crystalline solid, and to producing many different crystal structures... beamline 17-BM-B of the APS... track evolution of structures for different chemical phases formed during the reaction process... multiple stacked layers, single layer an atom thick and chains of molecules that are not linked"

  https://www.notebookcheck.net/SpinQ-presents-world-s-first-portable-quantum-computers.675200.0.html "flagship model ~US$57,400. Despite the larger case that measures 610 x 330 x 560 mm, this model weighs 40 kg. It offers a more advanced 3-qubit processor with 40+ ms coherence times for extended worktimes, yet the processing power is reduced to 40 gate operations per single qubit, or 8 gate operations per dual or triple-qubit circuits. For the increased coherence times, this model requires 330 W of power... educational solutions introduce users to quantum programming"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-chip-scale-laser-isolator-avenues-photonics.html "passive... requires no external inputs, complicated electronics, or magnetics... made from common semiconductor-based material... shaped like ring... silicon nitride based on silicon... laser enters ring and photons spin around ring... back-reflected beam sent back into ring in opposite direction... laser power input circulates many times... increasing power alters weaker beam, while stronger continues unaffected... reflected light effectively canceled... primary laser exits ring and isolated in desired direction" Related: Driving the era of silicon photonics with integrated lasers https://www.laserfocusworld.com/optics/article/14288068/driving-the-era-of-silicon-photonics-with-integrated-lasers

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-gas-liquid-two-phase-flow-based-triboelectric-nanogenerator.html "charge density of 3789 volts and 859 millicoulombs per cubic meter, respectively. With a high-power output of 143.6 kilowatts per cubic meter, a 24-watt commercial lamp can be directly lighted by a continuous-flow GL-TENG device... ability to drive various electronic devices directly. It has also provided a new strategy for efficiently harvesting energy from water and opened up an avenue for future commercial use for SL-TENGs" Related: Stretching-insensitive stretchable and biocompatible triboelectric nanogenerators https://phys.org/news/2023-02-stretching-insensitive-stretchable-biocompatible-triboelectric-nanogenerators.html Tribotronics: Promising prospects in the development of new functional devices and self-powered microsystems https://phys.org/news/2023-10-tribotronics-prospects-functional-devices-self-powered.html

https://physicsworld.com/a/tiny-beam-shaper-fabricated-on-the-tip-of-a-fibre-creates-twisted-light/ "110 µm high, 60 µm diameter optical device printed from organic photosensitive polymers on end of optical fibre... generated Gaussian–Bessel beam with initial width of 10 expanded to 30 µm along 2 mm distance... Gaussian beam with identical initial width will reach a width of 270 µm over the same distance, demonstrating that the beam is a diffracting-free beam... orbital angular momentum value of 1 ħ per photon, as expected. The incoming laser beam had no orbital angular momentum"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-spin-orbit-parity-coupled-superconductivity-thin-2m-ws2.html   "anisotropic two-fold symmetry... in-plane magnetic field direction... tunneling spectroscopy collect measurements revealed superconducting gap in atomically thin 2M-WS2 possesses anisotropic magnetic response along different in-plane magnetic field directions persists much above Pauli limit... strong spin-orbit-parity coupling arising from topological band inversion in 2M-WS2... pins spin of states near topological band crossing and renormalizes effect of external Zeeman fields anisotropically"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-nanostructure-de-ices-aircraft-wings-turbine.html "carbon nanotubes embedded into structure without need to cure in autoclave... generates heat under electrical current... sensor for structural health monitoring or heater for anti-icing or de-icing... unchanged thickness, no added porosity... mechanical properties improved, not compromised... without wasting energy on heating entire volume conserve 99% of power" Related: Optical coating approach prevents fogging and unwanted reflections https://phys.org/news/2023-01-optical-coating-approach-fogging-unwanted.html Penguin feathers help inspire new de-icing techniques https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-penguin-feathers-de-icing-techniques.html Special microscope shows different anti-icing strategies of plant leaves https://phys.org/news/2023-01-special-microscope-anti-icing-strategies.html Conducting supercooled droplet experiments to design and engineer superhydrophobic ice-repellent surfaces http

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-battery.html "changing the CBD structure network could help prevent the worsening of contacts between the CBD (a porous grid of fluoropolymer and carbon atoms that holds the active materials of an electrode together) and active materials, making batteries last longer—a hypothesis that engineers can now follow up with physical experiments... study even thicker cathodes, as well as carrying out additional modeling on how to slow electrode degradation"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-simple-diy-air-filter-effective.html "Corsi-Rosenthal boxes... four MERV-13 filters, duct tape, a 20-inch box fan and a cardboard box... protect against illness caused not only by viruses but also by chemical pollutants...  PFAS, a type of synthetic chemical found in a range of products including cleaners, textiles and wire insulation, decreased by 40% to 60%; phthalates, commonly found in building materials and personal care products, were reduced by 30% to 60%.... reduce particles carrying the SARS-CoV-2" Related: Scientists Destroyed 95% of Toxic 'Forever Chemicals' in Just 45 Minutes, Study Reports https://www.vice.com/en/article/akep8j/scientists-destroyed-95-of-toxic-forever-chemicals-in-just-45-minutes-study-reports A magnetic method to clean PFAS contaminated water https://phys.org/news/2023-01-magnetic-method-pfas-contaminated.html Farewell to 'forever': Destroying PFAS by grinding it up with a new additive https://

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-next-generation-anode-boost-lithium-ion-batteries.html "replacing liquid electrolyte  lithium-based medium that allows transport of ions between anode and its positive counterpart, cathode) with solid electrolyte composed of carbon-incorporated lithium phosphorus oxynitride, or LiCPON... various unwanted side reactions associated with metal lithium avoided, but a better interface is produced between anode and electrolyte... boost to the anode of almost 83 percent over a prelithiation electrode using a liquid electrolyte" Related: Solid-state battery: New material class with excellent ion conductivity https://phys.org/news/2023-02-solid-state-battery-material-class-excellent.html New study takes close look at energy storage https://techxplore.com/news/2023-02-energy-storage.html Batteries: Passivation Layer Mystery Solved https://www.kit.edu/kit/english/pi_2023_008_batteries-passivation-layer-mystery-solved.php Utilizing the capacity below 0

https://discovery.kaust.edu.sa/en/article/1298/self-assembled-power "repeatedly soak up and release large quantities lithium ions... fast-charging, long-lived... earth abundant molybdenum disulfide anode... convert 2D MoS2 nanosheets into a robust 3D... squeezed the foam to 50 percent of its usual height, rather than collapse, the foam sprang back, recovering 95 percent of its original height... wearable and implantable electric devices"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-multi-band-5g-radio-communication.html "harmonic-selection technique extending operational bandwidth of 5G NR communication... harmonic-selection technique enabled operation between (24.25—71) GHz while showing above 36-dB inter-band blocker rejection... low power consumption (36 mW, 32 mW, 51 mW, and 75 mW at frequencies of 28 GHz, 39 GHz, 47.2 GHz, and 60.1 GHz, respectively)... frequency coverage compatible with existing 5G bands, as well as 60 GHz... 

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-photonic-chip-record-breaking-radio-frequency.html "integrated, broadband, enormous dynamic range, possible to use just a single photonic circuit for various frequency ranges... programmable filter functions with a record-low noise figure of 15 dB and a radio frequency notch filter with an ultra-high dynamic range of more than 123 dB in 1 Hz bandwidth... next-generation communication systems (6G) and satellite communications"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-deconvoluting-density-electric-layers.html "CP-3D-AFM, enables spatial charge distribution of both local electrode surface and electric double layers. The team used CP-3D-AFM to determine the charge rearrangements of ionic liquid/HOPG and WiS/HOPG interfaces and observed sub-nanometer variations in charge density, which is crucial for capacitive energy storage and other electrochemical functions of these systems... applicable to practical electrochemical devices including batteries, fuel cells, electrolyzers, and supercapacitors"

https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/10.0015389 "high concentration solution sodium iodide in water sprayed from nozzle as thin sheet... liquid excited with powerful blue laser... switch functioned at terahertz frequencies... water for short time behaves almost like metal... signal comparable to ones from solid-state material... could someday enable much faster computing, and water-based technology could offer a more environmentally-friendly alternative to rare-earth metals"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-quantum-mechanics.html "transmon devices, large superconducting circuits that show quantum behavior...  detect microwave pulses generated by classical instruments... added quantumness using higher energy level of transmon... quantum coherence of resulting system as resource... diagnosing microwave-photon states in memory elements... extracting information without disturbing the quantum processor... communication between two parties without physical particles transferred... computation result obtained without running computer"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-coherent-qubits-room-temperature.html "Polarized hole spins obtained by sub-picosecond electron scavenging, to surface-anchored molecular acceptors, following circularly-polarized femtosecond pulse excitation... transverse magnetic field induces coherent Larmor precession of hole spins... off-resonance femtosecond pulse coherently rotates... enabled by strong light-matter interaction of perovskite QDs... full quantum-state control of single-hole spins at room temperature... scalable and sustainable future of spin-based quantum information processing"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-strategy-spin-orbit-torque-exchange-bias.html "spin dynamics of spin-orbit torque (SOT)-based memory devices with time resolution much better than 100 ps... adopting time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr microscopy, combined with micromagnetic simulations... discovered multi-level switching process of magnetization and exchange bias in SOT devices on sub-nanosecond timescales... flexibly control the key processes underpinning the functioning of MRAM devices, ultimately improving their stability"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-3d-hologram-technology-field-hospitals "combining vertical nanowire with microring laser made from semiconductor nanostructures... single system integrated on a chip, consuming minimal power, ability to shift beam into free space and control the beam shape, and has a tuneable wavefront,... combined an InP microring laser cavity with a vertical InP nanowire antennae that sits in its center and directs photon into freespace with specific beam shapes... less than 5 microns in size and could eventually form a single hologram pixel" Related:  Skip Zoom? Holographic tech allows you to 'beam' into your next meeting https://interestingengineering.com/science/skip-zoom-holographic-tech-allows-you-to-beam-into-your-next-meeting Direct field-to-pattern monolithic design of holographic metasurface https://phys.org/news/2023-03-field-to-pattern-monolithic-holographic-metasurface.html Orbital angular momentum boosts multiplexed holography https://phys.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-12-photoacoustic-microscopy-technique-depth-field.html "NB-PAM 3D imagery without refocusing and better image samples with uneven surfaces... improves depth of field using a beam of laser light that is longer thinner and needle shaped...  reshape the beam of light that is used for imaging, so that it no longer focuses to a sharp point along the propagation axis but is instead drawn out into a long thin neck. Consequently, it is able to clearly image objects over a greater range of depths... studying tissue samples during surgery" Related: Speckle-illumination proves useful in photoacoustic microscopy https://phys.org/news/2023-03-speckle-illumination-photoacoustic-microscopy.html Contrast-enhancing agents to overcome physical and practical challenges of photoacoustic imaging https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03-contrast-enhancing-agents-physical-photoacoustic-imaging.html

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-cheaper-method-recycle-carbon.html "Fe-PAC-based adsorption-regeneration... relatively low cost of ≈$0.35 kg-1 shows higher regeneration efficiency (70.5–92.7%), lower loss rate of absorbent (≈8.25% per cycle), as well as lower H2O2 dosage (2.31 g g(PAC)-1)... atomic dispersion sites in PAC regeneration. This promising strategy for PAC regeneration shows bright and broad application prospects in large-scale cost-effective wastewater treatment including contaminants like methylene blue and crystal violet" Related: Recycled roads pave the way to a sustainable future https://techxplore.com/news/2023-08-recycled-roads-pave-sustainable-future.html From waste to resource: New sustainable process transforms sewage sludge into activated carbon https://techxplore.com/news/2024-02-resource-sustainable-sewage-sludge-carbon.html IMDEA Materials demonstrates breakthrough recyclability of carbon nanotube sheets https://www.jeccomposites.com/news/spotted-by-jec

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-team-laser-high-resolution-high-efficiency-nanofabrication.html "fabricated 3D structures, including nonperiodic cubic frames, hexagonal grids, wire structures, and spherical architectures, all demonstrating exceptional resolution... flexibility of the system and allows the rapid fabrication of complex, nonperiodic patterns and structures... parallel scanning reduces time cost to fabricate large-scale, complex structures and patterns... lithography efficiency that is twice that of conventional systems, regardless of whether the structure is uniform or complex"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-unique-modulator-mid-infrared-photonic.html "MIR all-optical modulator... acetylene-filled hollow-core fiber... exploiting photo-thermal effect in acetylene-filled anti-resonant hollow-core fiber... PT effect in gas-filled HCFs exploited for ultra-sensitive gas detection... larger phase modulation and better gas sensitivity over free-space systems... AR-HCFs have broadband transmission... narrow absorption lines of gas materials, makes possible to develop ultra-broadband all-optical modulation devices from NIR to MIR"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-spinning-induced-next-generation-acoustic-devices-phonon.html "incident beams affected scattering induced by spinning object... radiation torque and force... single beam striking spinning cylinder produced negative radiation force... simple configuration involving single beam sufficient to build acoustic tweezers... additional uses of spinning fluids, such as nonreciprocal waveguiding and acoustic equivalents of the optical fiber to bring acoustic telecommunications one step closer to practical applications"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-space-frequency-polarization-division-multiplexing-metasurface-powerful-wireless.html "reflection-type polarization-independent phase-controllable anisotropic STCM... converted two baseband signals into linearly time-varying control voltage sequences with different slopes, respectively, and applied them to two polarization channels of anisotropic STCM... improves channel capacity and space utilization by using space-frequency-polarization-division multiplexing, which provides low-cost and high-integration scheme for constructing multiple-user collaborative wireless communication networks"

https://www.laserfocusworld.com/fiber-optics/article/14286781/sound-waves-propagating-in-one-direction-break-light-transmission-reciprocity "boosts signal quality and purity of optical vortices—signals transmitted in optical communications... mode-division-multiplexed communications, optical tweezers, vortex lasers, or quantum manipulation systems... device by design nonreciprocal—it’s based on light-sound interactions within spiral optical fiber to naturally break reciprocity of light waves propagating forth and back... nonlinear interaction, Brillouin scattering... light-sound interactions for OAM modes... nonreciprocal isolator or one-way amplifier"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-compound-production-plastics.html "to make BoCb3 uses a simple one-step process and only three commercially available chemicals, "like making a one-pot meal," Martin said. Combining them, the result is a powerful Lewis acid that is easier to make, produces less waste and is less harmful to the environment as it is halogen free, lacking fluorine or chlorine... this technology will be really attractive to the petroleum industry"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-x-ray-superfast-nanoelectronics.html   "tool to control X-ray-induced demagnetization. Using XSPIN, it is now possible, for a specific multilayer material, to adjust the parameters of the laser pulses (their energy, duration and intensity) so that demagnetization occurs on the spatial and/or temporal scale specified by the needs... ultrafast magnetic switches controlled by laser pulses. Another potential area of application seems to be dynamic computer memories"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-vertically-aligned-single-walled-carbon-nanotubes.html "membrane separation, thermal management, fiber spinning, electronic interconnects and energy storage... Transitioning growth of high-quality CNTs to metal foils... economical, large-scale, semicontinuous and roll-to-roll manufacturing of multifunctional CNT composites, nanoporous membranes and electrochemical devices... high-capacity, high-rate electrochemical applications... VA-SWCNT LIB anode displayed stable cycling for hundreds of cycles and large capacity even at high cycling rates"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-physicists-two-dimensional-ferrimagnetism-graphene.html "increasing energy efficiency and speed without silicon... control magnetization of the atoms of individual sublattices through selective interaction with structural defects of substrate... information transmitted as spin currents... reduces power consumption and increases speed of information transfer... strengthening spin-orbit  explained by presence of gold atoms under graphene. At certain ratio of magnetic and spin-orbit interaction... move from familiar state of graphene to novel, topological one"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-single-atom-catalyst-boosts-zinc-air-battery.html "zirconium can replace platinum... improves charging and discharging performance... durable: after 130 hours retained 92% original current... have also oxygen atom as additional coordination leads to further interaction with electronic structure of zirconium... stable, finely distributed metal clusters with high catalytic activity... isolated synthesized material on surface of quartz spheres... porous structure... aversion of zirconium to agglomeration... record-breaking power density among all zinc-air" Related: Researchers develop an oxygen-ion battery https://techxplore.com/news/2023-03-oxygen-ion-battery.html Boosting the capacity and voltage of zinc-air batteries https://techxplore.com/news/2023-05-boosting-capacity-voltage-zinc-air-batteries.html Research team creates revolutionary new batteries that are safer, cleaner, and last longer than lithium-ion https://www.thecooldown.com/green

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-all-optical-approach-chip-based-nanolasers.html "optical driver creates programmable patterns light via interference... pump light travels through optical fiber onto which nanolasers are printed... multiple nanolaser arrays driven using light traveling through single fiber... printed nanolaser arrays could be fully controlled by the pump beam interference patterns... also be applied to chip-based silicon photonics systems, which could play a key role in the development of chip-to-chip or on-chip optical interconnects"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-team-obstacles-commercializing-next-generation-batteries.html "nano-spinbar that responds to external magnetic field... electrolyte turned to dynamic state added to electrolyte generate micro-convection... rotate NSBs distributed throughout electrolyte applying external rotating magnetic field to transmit power remotely... facilitated fast ion transport while reducing ion diffusion by 32% enabling homogeneous ion transportation... controlling dendrite formation even at high charging rates... dramatically improve the battery's lifespan compared to the existing system"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-strategy-ultra-long-lithium-ion-battery.html "sulfur doping and in-situ growth of coherent spinel phase synchronously on the surface of lithium-rich manganese-based materials combining with oxygen vacancy optimization strategies... after 600 cycles, the capacity retention rate of coin battery can reach 82.1%, the energy density of the packed full battery assembled with commercial graphite anode can reach 604 Wh kg-1, and the capacity retention rate is 81.7% after 140 cycles" Related: Record breaking 711 Wh/kg energy density battery breakthrough https://innovationorigins.com/en/record-breaking-711-wh-kg-energy-density-battery-breakthrough/ EV battery material breakthrough could cut charging times to 6 minutes https://www.freethink.com/energy/ev-batteries

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-solar-energy-sides-boosts-efficiency.html "tiny amount silver to lower melting point CIGS alloy and to obtain absorber layers with good electronic properties 350 degrees deposition temperature... bifacial CIGS solar cell on flexible polymer substrate... light weight and flexibility widens spectrum of potential applications... combined CIGS and perovskite solar cells to produce bifacial tandem cell... 19.8% for front illumination and 10.9% for rear illumination; potential energy conversion efficiencies beyond 33%" Related: A strategy to boost the efficiency of solar cells based on thin-film bifacial Cu(In,Ga)Se2 https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-strategy-boost-efficiency-solar-cells.html Harnessing solar energy: New method improves readings of double-sided panels https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-harnessing-solar-energy-method-double-sided.html A novel approach for power enhancement of vertical mounted bifacial photovoltaic system using

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-laser-ultra-fast-liquid-terahertz.html "converts water into conductive state within less than a trillionth of a second during which time it behaves almost like a metal... fastest known switching speed of a semiconductor... like squeezing a gardening hose to make the jet of water broad and flat, only on a much smaller scale... short yet powerful laser pulse is then directed through this water jet. The laser frees electrons from the salt dissolved in the water so that the water becomes suddenly conductive at terahertz frequencies"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-gtub3-microporous-metal-organic-solid-photoluminescent.html "materials cheap, available in large quantities and non-toxic... equally conductive in all three spatial directions and temperature-resistant up to 400 C... supercapacitors... very high power density... can be charged many times faster than conventional batteries. While supercapacitors store far less energy than batteries these new electrode materials are intended to reduce this gap.... also suitable for the thin-film processes often used in industry for application on substrates... LEDs and solar cells"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-laser-islands-fully-vcsels-silicon.html "VCSELs directly on silicon microelectronics using epitaxial transfer... more compact, perform better, and are less prone to overheating... attaching unprocessed VCSEL device structures to temporary platform etching distinct islands of material for individual lasers, bonding material was placed on top... turned over and placed on main silicon platform, causing islands to stick. After removing temporary platform, what remained was array of epitaxially transferred islands ready to be processed into VCSEL devices" Related: New research sheds light on enhanced performance of thin-film VCSELs on composite metal substrate https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-thin-film-vcsels-composite-metal-substrate.html

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-extremely-broadband-source-bright-spanning.html "tabletop coherent source... spectral brightness five orders of magnitude higher... removing need for mechanically tuning or synchronizing numerous narrow spectrum sources... enables wide variety of strong field, ultrafast and molecular spectroscopy... simultaneously identifying toxic molecular compounds in pharmaceuticals or investigating origins of high-temperature superconductivity... optically probe nonlinear signatures quantum phase transitions in quantum materials... directly identify various quantum properties"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-years-advanced-chip-ultrafast-tech.html "fractional delay method... added common reference path... enables stable and accurate measurements of lengths (phases, time delays) and losses of workhorse paths... separate out wanted from unwanted information for more precise applications... ensuring that the circuits can robustly be used for applications such as pattern recognition"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-strategy-maximize-photocurrent-photovoltaics-suppressing.html "longer exciton diffusion lengths to make PMHJ films, in which donor and acceptor show larger domain size and more distinct phase separation... limit chances for separated electrons and holes to reencounter in OPVs through reduced donor:acceptor interfaces... more opportunities for collection by electrodes to generate electricity... high power conversion efficiencies of 18–19%... T1 concentration in devices composed of identical materials can be simply altered through device engineering strategy"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-2d-material-enable-ultra-sharp-cellphone.html "molybdenum disulfide sensitivity to low light, which is important for the dynamic range of the sensor... strong signal conversion, charge-to-voltage conversion and data transmission capabilities... active pixel sensor that can do both light sensing and in-sensor image processing... 900 pixels in nine square millimeter array... each pixel 100 micrometers... do not require any additional circuitry or energy use... denoising to clear up the fog" Related:  Image denoising using a diffractive material https://phys.org/news/2024-02-image-denoising-diffractive-material.html

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-scientists-electrode-material-volume-ideal.html "binary system composed of optimized portions of lithium titanate and lithium vanadium dioxide ball-milled down to nanometers... high capacity... nearly same volume when fully charged and fully discharged... dimensional stability retained during cycling... tested this new positive electrode material in all-solid-state cell by combining  with an appropriate solid electrolyte and negative electrode... capacity 300 mAh/g with no degradation over 400 charge/discharge cycles... drastically reduce battery costs"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-synthesis-silicon-integrated-framework.html "molecular synthesis integrating silicon atoms into small organic molecules by allowing molecules to react with silicon deposited on surface of gold substrate... succeeded for the first time in synthesizing a silicon-integrated COF film (i.e., carbon nanofilm).potential applications, from battery materials to catalysts and materials capable of separating small molecules... synthesize carbon nanofilms with characteristics suitable for the development of next-generation electronics"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-x-rays-reveal-elusive-chemistry-electric.html "three components for more accurate and controllable interphase for lithium metal batteries: (1) formation of lithium hydride... controlling composition of lithium hydride in lithium metal anode.will help design interphase with highest performance. (2) lithium fluoride, important for electrochemical performance, can be formed at large scale in low concentration electrolytes which is cost effective. (3) Controlling composition of lithium hydroxide to understand how it is consumed during battery cycling" Related:  An ingredient in toothpaste may make electric cars go farther https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-ingredient-toothpaste-electric-cars.html Direct synthesis of fluorinated carbon materials via solid-state mechanochemical reaction between graphite and PTFE https://phys.org/news/2023-09-synthesis-fluorinated-carbon-materials-solid-state.html Computer vision reveals unprecedented physical an

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-ultrafast.html "ultrafast light pulses allowed us to shift the north and south poles of the magnetic domains, which made it possible to skip the electronic intermediate step. It's also possible now to know in advance with certainty whether you'll write a '0' or a '1,' and all without having to know the bit's initial state. That makes it even more efficient... extra atomic layer of the ferromagnetic metal terbium works really well"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-experimental-nanosheet-material-generation-low-power.html "vertically stacking MoS2 and Bi2Te3... growth of MoS2 monolayer, molybdenum trioxide and sulfur placed at center and upper stream of furnace, piece of Silicon dioxide substrate downstream of quartz tube... Bi2Te3 powder and as-grown MoS2 nanosheets center and downstream of quartz tube, respectively. After 5 minutes of growth, MoS2/Bi2Te3 heterostructures obtained... good performance at room temperature, outperformed gold contacts... more powerful, lower energy consumption electronics" Related: Scaling Up Nano for Sustainable Manufacturing https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2023/11/08/scaling-up-nano-for-sustainable-manufacturing/ The 'one-pot' nanosheet method catalyzing a green energy revolution https://phys.org/news/2023-12-one-pot-nanosheet-method-catalyzing-green.html Joint research team develops edge-to-edge assembly technique for 2D nanosheets https://phys.org/news/2024-02-joint-tea

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-materials-future.html "barium tin oxide (BaSnO3) combines optical transparency with high electrical conductivity...  transparent, conductive perovskite oxides create switching elements with directly linked electrical and optical properties... transistors switched with light...  angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy at beamline of Swiss Light Source"discovers 2D electronic state of BaSnO3... much more powerful and versatile than silicon"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-11-method-scale-stretchy-semiconductors.html "lateral phase separation induced micromesh... mixing semiconductor and rubber... spin coating... triggers lateral phase separation, generating micromesh structures in seconds...  p-type and n-type semiconductors, whose majority charge carriers are holes and electrons, respectively... soft transistors, inverters and photodetectors that can stretch... rubbery bioelectronic device known as an epicardial patch and implanted it in a rodent" Related: Stretchable rubber diode opens possibilities for medical, electronic devices https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-stretchable-rubber-diode-possibilities-medical.html Developing thermally evaporated environment-friendly semiconductors https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-thermally-evaporated-environment-friendly-semiconductors.html 'Lego-like' universal connector makes assembling stretchable devices a snap https://techxplore.com/news/2023-02-lego-like-u

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-economical-eco-friendly-fabrication-high-efficiency.html "aqueous spray deposition in an air environment and developed a CIGSSe solar cell with power conversion efficiency (PCE) larger than 17 %... indium sulfide-based buffer that is cadmium free, eco-friendly... cost-effective and easily scalable as it does not require a vacuum environment... revolutionize application of CIGSSe cells in integrated photovoltaic and vehicle integrated photovoltaic devices, and as energy sources for internet of things devices" Related: First Class Solar Unveils Latest Solar Panels NI Technology for a More Sustainable Northern Ireland https://www.altenergymag.com/news/2023/05/15/first-class-solar-unveils-latest-solar-panels-ni-technology-for-a-more-sustainable-northern-ireland/39501 How Swansea University scientists made a major breakthrough in solar technology https://nation.cymru/news/how-swansea-university-scientists-made-a-major-breakthrough-in-solar-techn

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-optical-approach-ultrafast.html "million times faster... circularly polarized light input signal... logic gates crystalline materials sensitive to handedness of circularly polarized light beam...serves as basic building block for one type logic gate (XNOR), and remaining types built by adding filters or other optical components... a single device contain all chirality logic gates operating simultaneously in parallel... chirality logic gate could be controlled and configured electronically, a necessary step for hybrid electrical/optical computing"

https://news.mit.edu/2022/ultrathin-solar-cells-1209 "entirely printable using slot-die coater, deposits layers onto substrate 3 microns thick. Using screen printing... much thinner than human hair, are glued to strong, lightweight fabric... easy to install on a fixed surface... decouples the solar cell manufacturing from its final integration... 18 times more power-per-kilogram than conventional solar cells... rolling and unrolling a fabric solar panel more than 500 times, the cells still retained more than 90 percent of their initial power generation capabilities" Related: MIT makes a super thin solar cell that can turn any surface into a power plant https://interestingengineering.com/ie-originals/ie-explainer/season-4/ep-24-mit-makes-a-super-thin-solar-cell-that-can-turn-any-surface-into-a-power-plant Bila Solar’s lightweight 17 pound panels: 30% of the weight and 95% thinner https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/bila-solar-panels-lightweight/

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-alkoxy-substitution-asymmetric-conjugated-molecule.html "doped into PM6:BTP-eC9-based binary organic solar cells as third component... power conversion efficiency 18.1%... synthesized three asymmetric skeleton non-fullerene acceptors, i.e., TB-S, TB-S1, and TB-S1-O, and employed them as the third component in the host binary system of PM6:BTP-eC9, respectively... possessed wide band gap, stable planar conformation, high surface energy, excellent compatibility with host materials, and large ordered stacking domain" Related: Modeling superfast processes in organic solar cell material https://phys.org/news/2023-03-superfast-solar-cell-material.html New findings pave the way for stable organic solar cells that may enable cheap and renewable electricity generation https://techxplore.com/news/2023-04-pave-stable-solar-cells-enable.html Boosting solar cell energy capture efficiency with a fullerene-derivative interlayer https://techxplore.com/news

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-reconfigurable-device-based-2d-van.html "partial floating-gate field-effect transistor... graphene acting as floating gate hexagonal boron nitride and tungsten diselenide... as transistor (subthreshold swing 64 mV dec–1 and on/off current ratio 108) or as memory (erase/program ratio 108) can be switched between p- and n-type... lower power consumption... perform linear and nonlinear binary operations... fabricate complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor circuits, and linear and nonlinear logic gates with in situ storage... device-efficient half-adder circuits"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-stable-kilowatt-scale-aqueous-batteries.html "free radicals generated by comproportionation reactions between oxidized and reduced states... optimized electrolyte tuning interaction between components increasing battery capacity... oxidation resistance of MB radicals and reduced states improving redox reversibility and air-stability by combining ex-situ electron paramagnetic resonance with theoretical calculation.... assembled ten 1000 cm2 AOFBs stacks... discharge power 1 kW and cycling capacity 32 days" Related: The Army has a new flow battery; it could change military power https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/infrastructure/a42387838/flow-battery-army-testing Researchers Create Smaller, Cheaper Flow Batteries for Clean Energy https://research.gatech.edu/researchers-create-smaller-cheaper-flow-batteries-clean-energy GES, reshaping the energy transition in the Redox flow battery sector https://www.zeroemission.show/ges-reshaping-th

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-space-time-coding-antenna-6g-wireless.html "waveguide and successfully suppressed the undesired harmonics, achieving a high-directivity beam and enabling secure communication... controlling on-off sequences and duration of switches through software... high-directivity beam... wide range of radiation performance without having to redesign except for using different STC inputs... can be focused to focal point with fixed or varying focal lengths... real-time imaging and radar... smaller integrated circuits at lower cost and in a wider range of applications" Related: Design review for ngVLA antenna clears way for prototype construction https://phys.org/news/2022-12-ngvla-antenna-prototype.html Nearly 50-meter laser experiment sets record in university hallway https://phys.org/news/2023-01-meter-laser-university-hallway.html Additive manufacturing creates new options for high-powered RF waveguides https://techxplore.com/news/2023-02-additive-options-h

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-on-demand-storage-photonic-qubits-telecom.html "fiber-integrated quantum memory telecom wavelengths laser-written waveguide erbium-doped yttrium silicate... glued and integrated ordinary single-mode fibers at both ends of waveguide... electronic evaporation on-chip electrodes... 5X increase (up to 10.9%) photon storage efficiency... fidelity of on-demand quantum storage 98.3% reducing loss in long-distance optical fiber transmission... construction of large-scale quantum networks based on existing fiber networks"

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-nm-ipma-hexa-mtj-technology-scalable.html "low resistance area MgO... low temperature dependence recording layer... low damage fabrication process... stable reference layer... 20+ years of data retention characteristics... solder reflow capability... Endurance reached at least 1 X 107 cycles... 25 nm MTJ... can replace eFlash for X nm generation CMOS logic... ultra-low-power consumption, excellent scalability, and high reliability of application processors in a wide range of fields, such as IoT, AI, and harsh environmental applications" Related: A greener internet of things with no wires attached https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-greener-internet-wires.html Engineer discusses the next generation of micrometer-scale batteries https://techxplore.com/news/2023-03-discusses-generation-micrometer-scale-batteries.html Breakthrough Tackles IoT's Rising Demand on Mobile Networks https://www.miragenews.com/breakthrough-tackles-iots-rising-dema

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-energy-efficient-tiny-magnetic-vortices.html "Brownian reservoir computing... solid-state metallic thin films exhibiting magnetic vortice skyrmions...  like particles, can be driven by electrical currents... behavior of skyrmions influenced not only by the applied current but also by their own Brownian motion, which can result in significantly increased energy savings as the system is automatically reset after each operation and prepared for the next computation... prototype easy to produce from... can be reduced to nanometers" Related: Brain-inspired computing system based on skyrmions 'reads' handwriting https://techxplore.com/news/2023-02-brain-inspired-based-skyrmions.html

https://www.laserfocusworld.com/lasers-sources/article/14286434/ultrafast-infrared-laser-bursts-enable-writing-inside-semiconductor-chips "take semiconductor manufacturing from a largely 2D world to high-density 3D integrated devices... shortwave-infrared wavelengths for 3D processing inside semiconductors, which penetrates the material so the semiconductors are fully transparent... extremely high repetition rate that helped to solve the nonlinearity problems during laser propagation in semiconductors... direct and digital fabrication of 3D architecture monolithic photonics systems inaccessible by current manufacturing technologies" Related: Using lasers to bond semiconductor electronics components https://phys.org/news/2022-12-lasers-bond-semiconductor-electronics-components.html High-performance γ-MnO₂ dual-core, pair-hole fiber for ultrafast photonics https://phys.org/news/2023-03-high-performance-mno-dual-core-pair-hole-fiber.html

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-harvest-untapped-source-freshwater.html "harvesting oceanic water vapor.... condensing it into fresh water... can do that at large scale... subtropical regions nearby oceans continuously evaporating water because there is enough solar radiation due to very little cloud coverage... offshore structures 210 meters in width and 100 meters in height... works like the natural water cycle"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-quantum-source-pave-internet.html "single-photon sources with operating wavelengths compatible with existing fiber communication... molybdenum ditelluride semiconductor layers atoms thick on top of array of nano-size pillars... tunable light sources suited to use in telecommunications systems... integrate quantum light sources 2D into existing communication networks... 2D easy to construct devices layer by layer... integrate into emerging quantum computers... larger, modular computing systems and achieve quantum advantage"

https://phys.org/news/2022-12-technique-capturing-hot-electrons-solar.html "physical mechanism responsible not only for the charge transport across a silicon surface but also for the final manipulation step, where a molecule excited by an electron is ejected from the silicon surface, but crucially only after the hot electron has already lost its excess thermal energy. For the first time, we've linked the energy dependence of this manipulation step to the underlying surface electronic band structure... creating defects alter energy landscape, or regulating the material temperature"