Today's Tech News: Notable or Not?

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-future-bendable-concrete-3d.html#google_vignette "no heavy machinery placing steel/ wood beam frame... longer-lasting less maintenance... resist tension/ compression... precisely mixed, measured/ printed... polyvinyl alcohol, fly ash, silica fume  ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibers... 4 different mixes with up to 11.9% higher strain capacity... large quantities short polymeric fibers... technology could help astronauts explore planets... greater resilience to natural disasters"

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-temperature-copper-bonding-advances-gen.html "valuable for industrial mass production... overcomes many grain boundaries where impurities tend to concentrate, with gentle heating grains grow on the top surface but not bottom... strategic dual-layer design where coarse-grain layer impurity sink, preventing void formation near copper seed layer.... Nanocrystalline copper over coarse-grain layer... integrate different types of chips—especially those sensitive to heat—into compact, high-density 3D structures... AI, 5G networks, AR, VR"

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-tuning-magnetism-voltage-path-spintronic.html "lanthanum strontium manganite magnetic/ metallic at low temperatures but non-magnetic/ insulating when relatively warm... properties due to quantum mechanics... splits into regions with distinct magnetic properties.... energy-efficient... another approach tunes resistance to switch from low to high/ vice versa... small applied voltage change induced large oscillation frequency change... artificial intelligence, smarter, faster, and more energy-efficient information processing technologies" Related:  Anomalous Hall spin-torque: Brand new physics for next-generation spintronics https://phys.org/news/2025-01-anomalous-hall-torque-brand-physics.html#google_vignette

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-science-tiny-timescales-solar-cell.html "attosecond, intense laser pulses cause target to emit very fast-moving electron particles along with UV and X-ray allowing real-time electron motion observation... can then measure/ predict how these electrons move... 43 attosecond world record for the shortest light pulse... free-electron laser reaches electrons deep inside cores... enables probing fundamentals of quantum physics under a wider range of conditions"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1070626 "manipulate magneto-optical cerium-substituted yttrium iron garnet optical properties within the material... 100X faster switching speeds, consume about one-tenth the power, reprogrammable >2.3 billion times for different tasks... matrix-vector multiplication, which lies at the core of any neural network”

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1070603 "scalable, enhances liquid transport properties... cost-effective vinyl masking (produces surfaces with high-resolution wettability contrast, improved phase-change heat transfer) lacquer resin, physical/ chemical surface treatments create patterned aluminum surfaces... improved droplet shedding during condensation... wettability behaviors from superhydrophobic to hydrophilic... fine-tunes condensation heat transfer... intricate patterns on larger surfaces... industrial applications, data servers,condensers, heat exchangers"

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-fabric-woven-metal-fibers-cold.html "avoids heaters, which often lead to reduced driving range... applies plane heating element generating heat by supplying power to interior parts of vehicle, reducing energy consumption required to reach optimal temperature while maintaining longer heat retention, overcoming reduced driving winter range... weaves warp/ weft threads, metal fiber (50 μm diameter) fabric applied to vehicle seats... generating heat over large area for 10–30% higher heating performance... even if a break, performance is maintained"

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-fast-methods-enable-fidelity-superconducting.html "enables sustained computation through quantum error correction... fast gates reduce impact of decoherence, but can introduce counter-rotating dynamics error because of way qubits are controlled using electromagnetic waves... overcome with low-frequency qubits such as fluxonium, by controlling the relative phase of charge and flux drives of the superconducting qubit... circularly polarized drives immune to counter-rotating errors"

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-oled-stacks-enable-exceptionally-bright.html "highly efficient, monochrome OLED microdisplay with >70K Nits brightness... individual OLED units series connected increasing brightness with each additional unit without raising current density in component... either achieves extremely high brightness or, at a given brightness, significantly reduces current density that determines lifetime... 5% brightness drop improves lifetime from 900 to 1300 hours... pectral emission can be specifically adjusted, enabling use in  waveguides or holographic elements"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1070348 "bridges macroscopic/ microscopic, high performance nonlinear/ quantum optics... scalable, highly efficient on-chip integrable devices such as tunable 3.4 µm thick entangled-photon-pair generator on silicon chip... 6 layers thin crystal van der Waals semiconducting transition metal molybdenum disulfide, with each piece rotated 180° relative to layers above/ below (periodic poling)... quasi-phase-matching manipulates properties introduced light, creating paired photons... satellite-based distribution, smartphone quantum communication"

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-molecular-velcro-covalent-bonds-2d.html "better than van der Waals: stronger bonding,wider broadband optical detection especially from UV to near IR, enhanced optoelectronic intensity... overcomes MoS2 poor IR absorbance... 3 key features: (1) MoS2 large lateral size in µm range combined with ultrathin thickness <5 nm, (2) palladium nanosheets 2D morphology enables strong IR absorbance, (3) chemical connection between the 2 facilitated via bifunctional molecule... robust against solvents/ heat... medical monitoring, video imaging, optical communications"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1070233 "supercontinuum generation using octave-spanning coherent light at deep-subwavelength scale (<100 nm), employing phase-matching-free 2nd-order nonlinear optical frequency down-conversion in ultrathin gallium selenide/ niobium oxide crystals... difference-frequency generated coherent light with -40 dB spectral width from 565 to 1906 nm, 5 orders magnitude thinner, 2 to 3 orders magnitude less excitation power needed, ringe visibility >0.9 demonstrating superior coherence... metrology, spectroscopy, telecommunications"

  https://phys.org/news/2025-01-covalent-frameworks-considerable-potential-efficient.html#google_vignette "high diffusion coefficients/ several hundred ns diffusion length diffusions adapted through targeted selection of their components to efficiently transport energy... both coherent/ incoherent transport, even across structural defects (grain boundaries)... coherence occurs in orderly motion waves, undisturbed over long distances, allowing fast low-loss energy transfer... incoherent are disordered, random motion requiring thermal activation, often less efficient... photocatalysis, optoelectronic: PV and OLED"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069796 "compact, high performing/ efficient deep learning... unlike traditional large models that rely on billions of parameters... based on delay embedding theorem, small model framework with spatiotemporal information transformation and multiple delayed feedback. This approach ensures precise forecasting while requiring, on average, only 0.035% of the parameters used in large models. Applications range from time-series prediction to image classification tasks"

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202501/12/WS6783a061a310f1265a1da4ee.html "enhanced performance/ safety... monoclinic m-Li2ZrF6 nanoparticle additives successfully construct a solid electrolyte interphase with excellent electrochemical properties on the surface of lithium metal anodes. This enables lithium metal batteries maintain 80 percent of their capacity after 3,000 cycles at a 2C charging rate, achieving the highest level in the same category. The synthesis process of m-Li2ZrF6 nanoparticles is simple and scalable, providing a solution for the widespread application of lithium metal batteries"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1070119 "conductive/ magnetic molecular crystals having low impurity concentrations link charge ordering to superconductivity... molecules at triangular lattice vertices, a valence electron assigned to each vertex... charge fluctuations drive superconductivity... relates to quantum spin liquids where electron spins remain disordered even at extremely low temperatures... as temperature decreased, number of pairs increased, remaining electrons an antiferromagnetic arrangement... superconductivity, magnetic resistance, spintronics"

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-smart-glasses-era-sleeker-prices.html "$300 Meta's camera Ray-Ban $50 > standard Ray-Bans... $200 Vue with voice assistant/ music capabilities... XReal focuses on augmented reality projecting smartphone, computer, gaming console displays, moving move away from bulk headset, even if with cable connection... Halliday's $489 model, launching in March, displays text in upper corner, using AI suggesting responses during conversations, real-time translation, discrete teleprompter... Realities no speaker or camera, focuses on valued-added screen"

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-quantum-breakthrough-sustainable-chiral-spintronics.html "hydrogen cations manipulating relativistic electronic bandstructures in magnetic Weyl semimetal MnSb₂Te₄ unveils ability to tune/ enhance electronic transport chirality... enables new quantum platforms harnessing emergent topological states for chiral nano-spintronics/ fault-tolerant quantum computing... heals system's Mn-Te bond disorder/ lowers internode scattering. enabling electrical charges to move differently when in-plane magnetic field rotated, generating desirable low-dissipation currents... topological magnets"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069799 "light interacts with single-atom layer of metal alloys, enabling more environmentally friendly data storage, ultra-fine 2D spintronics,... spin-polarized current direction restricted to 1 direction in thallium-lead alloy single-atom layer irradiated at room temperature... circular photogalvanic effect:: light conversion to spin-polarized current, where electron spins align in 1 direction depending on light polarization... ultra-high vacuum avoids adsorption/ oxidation revealing its true colors”

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-neuromorphic-chip-benefit-industry.html#google_vignette "energy efficient, increased computational power, fast, decentralized data analysis... memristors process not just 0 and 1,' but values in between, enabling algorithms simulating neural networks...artificial synapses of bismuth/ iron oxide handle complex computations such as matrix multiplication... current prototype has 32 memristors, next phase more than 200 to model complex neural networks... autonomous vehicles. predictive machine maintenance, industrial sensor systems, edge computing" Related: Ultra-small neuromorphic chip learns and corrects errors autonomously https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-ultra-small-neuromorphic-chip-errors.html

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-hidden-pathways-graphene-paving-generation.html "nonlocal transport/ edge states exploit externally applied electric fields modulating electronic band gap, essential for electron transport... valleytronics enables faster, more efficient data handling than conventional electronics or spintronics... nonlocal resistance in regions lacking direct current flow... dual-gate graphene device, enabling precise band gap control... etching-processed edges exhibited nonlocal resistance exceeding natural edges by 2 orders magnitude... valleytronics Hall effect device design and development"

https://www.surrey.ac.uk/news/breakthrough-2d-material-growth-opens-doors-cleaner-energy-and-next-generation-technology "hBN blocks electrical currents, withstands extreme temperatures/ resists chemical damage, protects delicate microchips, nanoporous (structured voids: selective absorption, advanced catalysis),... combines density functional theory/ microkinetic modelling hBN growth process from borazine precursors... examines diffusion, decomposition, adsorption, desorption, polymerisation, dehydrogenation... filtering pollutants, sensing, advanced energy systems, (hydrogen storage, electrochemical catalysts for fuel cells"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1070030 "reactive site structure affects single atom catalyst’s ability to speed reaction rate, much faster than with current methods... single platinum atom catalysts stabilized on magnesium oxide support, using extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy revealing active site number/ distance of neighboring atoms... automated analysis by combining data with theoretical calculations (density functional theory)...  overnight on local computer instead of few days to months "

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069649 ">18% efficient in structure-inverted solar cells with 1cm2 area... 24,700 hour (predicting 16 year) lifespan... structure-inverted, or n-i-p solar cells, are more stable... zinc oxide bottom contact creates narrow recombination area leading to photocurrent loss... overcome applying thin, solvent-processed silicon oxide nitrate passivation layer on bottom contact, eliminating recombination area, improving efficiency... potential for using the method in the large-scale production of efficient and stable organic solar cells"

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-graphene-technique-ultrathin-flexible-electronics.html "no deformation, wrinkling, leftover residues even when film thickness below 5 μm, ultrathin displays separated smoothly without carbon residue... integrates chemical vapor layer deposition-grown graphene between 2.9 μm thick ultrathin PI substrate/ its glass carrier... graphene absorbs UV distributing heat laterally enables clean lift off... consistent current density-voltage-luminance before/ after lift-off... improved efficiency, reduced costs... rollable displays, OLEDs, wearable/ stretchable sensors, implantable photonics"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069750 "low-cost, efficient real-time monitoring, like tracking manufacturing robots' condition/ detecting refineries' gas leaks... backscattering central reader sends signal to sensor tag gathering information, tag reflects back to reader... sub-THz high frequency enables less signal confusion when more signals introduced... high-speed, broad bandwidths... antennas allow automatic signal direction change responding to frequency change... smart cities (monitor air quality, traffic flow/ sign placement), agriculture (soil sensors)"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069612 "large electric current switching magnetization vectors during writing, resulting in Joule heating/ energy consumption, overcome by multiferroic heterostructure with magnetization vectors switched by electric field... heterostructure responds with large amount of converse magnetoelectric coupling coefficient; causing strong magnetization... ultra-thin vanadium layer between ferromagnetic/ piezoelectric layers enabling magnetic anisotropy Co2FeSi layer. control... non-volatile binary state achieved at zero electric field"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069624 "overcomes tradeoff where larger switches handle higher speeds/ more data but use more energy/ large/ costly... 85 X 85 µm, fast 100 ps... tunes material's gain/ loss guiding optical signal towards right information highway exit... tame light flow on chip, enabling precise control over any light-based network’s connectivity... redirects in trillionths of second with minimal power consumption... silicon substrate, Indium Gallium Arsenide Phosphide semiconductor to manipulate IR... speeds up streaming movies, training AI"

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-door-derived-redox-batteries.html "1-pot reaction of waste into energy-storing molecule... electrons pack tightly together without losing losing negligible capacity after >350 cycles... first instance of utilizing phosphine oxides as the redox-active component in battery research... raditionally, reduced phosphine oxides are highly unstable, now overcome with molecular engineering, paving the way for their application in energy storage"

https://energynews.biz/hydrogen-ion-batteries-for-sustainable-energy/ "organic tetraamino-benzoquinone anode enhances rapid proton movement, increasing energy density/ power output... effective even in cold temperatures... excellent performance, 3,500 charge-discharge cycle lifespan paired with tetraamino-benzoquinone cathode... also facilitates more efficient hydrogen transportation by storing protons... future: scalability/ affordability"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069531 "can improve energy conversion processes in semiconductor devices. The team aims to develop more efficient materials for solar cells and other optoelectronic applications by understanding the thermoelastic response to different light wavelengths and studying the stability of all physical variations for more effective solar cells. This research has the potential to advance sustainable energy technologies and reduce the environmental impact of electronic devices... renewable energy, optoelectronic devices"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069528    "doping process/ location differ depending on dopant type... outstanding optical/ electrical properties... high doping efficiency... overcomes dopant absorption onto semiconductor surface during its growth, not penetrating interior effectively... stable/ precise doping in ZnSe semiconductor nanocrystals... avoids toxic/ unstable CdSe... optoelectronic devices: displays, transistors"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069491 "micron to millimeter scale high-density large-mode-area integrated waveguide amplifier on silicon photonics... high optical energy storage capacity... reduces system size, weight and cost by several orders of magnitude compared to the conventional fiber or solid state-based systems ... high-speed data centers,  small-scale space satellites allowing multiple cost-effective space missions with highly enhanced capabilities not possible before"

https://scitechdaily.com/revolutionizing-quantum-tech-scientists-achieve-collective-motion-in-macroscopic-oscillators/ "macroscopic oscillators enable ultra-sensitive sensors/ advanced quantum computing components, large-scale quantum systems... as low as 0.1% disorder among mechanical frequencies in superconducting platform... asymmetric cooling enables observation of quantum effects... increasing coupling between microwave cavity and oscillators transitions from individual to collective dynamics... dark mechanical modes not interacting with system’s cavity/ retaining higher energy... multi-partite entanglement"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069417 "overcomes transmission photon loss, enabling construction of large-scale quantum networks... rare-earth ion doped crystals... spin-wave storage stores photons into spin-wave excitation in ground states, enabling on-demand retrieval with storage time extended to spin coherence lifetime... separates single-photon-level signal from noise induced by strong control pulses using direct femtosecond-laser writing fabricating circularly-symmetric waveguide in Eu:YSO crystal, enabling polarization-based noise filtering"

https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/01/04/sudden-transition-in-superconductors-could-shift-quantum-technology-into-high-gear/ "superconductors with increasing disorder undergo abrupt first-order quantum phase transitions to insulating, sharp drop in superfluid stiffness (not electron pairing strength, consistent with pseudogap regime of preformed) at critical disorder (temperature)... improve stability/ performance of superconducting circuits/ superinductors... future: better understanding of role of repulsive interactions between Cooper pairs and emergence of localized Cooper-pair glass—a state where electron pairs are immobilized"

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-discovery-bistable-nanocrystals-faster-energy.html "can be quickly toggled from light to dark and back, using low power to rapidly process/ store information using light particles... avalanching nanoparticles feature extreme non-linearity, emitting light whose intensity can increase massively with small increase in laser intensity... nanocrystals composed of neodymium doped: potassium, chlorine, lead... intrinsic optical bistability: can be either bright or dark under exactly same laser excitation wavelength/ power...  once emitting light, can cut back on power but retain same intensity"

https://www.republicworld.com/tech/are-single-crystal-electrodes-the-future-of-lithium-ion-batteries-in-evs "lithium-ion battery with this new type of electrode charging/ discharging repeatedly 20K times (6 years) retains 80% original capacity... can be cycled 8X longer than regular lithium-ion battery, equivalent to EV driving 5 million miles... placed long-lasting single-crystal electrode with a more commonly utilized polycrystalline electrode... after 2.5 years constant cycling, polycrystalline electrode full of tiny cracks limiting storage"

https://interestingengineering.com/science/breakthrough-quantum-circuit-cuts-power-waste "every bit of information lost during computation must be converted into a minimum amount of heat... 6 new parity-preserving reversible blocks maintain information integrity throughout calculations, ensuring input/ output mathematical properties remain consistent... optimizes multiplication operations, improved efficiency... 25% less quantum cost, 21% less wasted outputs, 51% fewer gates for specific operations...  medicine, materials science, AI... future: integrate into quantum computing systems"

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-plastic-crystals-greenhouse-gases-refrigerators.html "R-134a hydrofluorocarbon largely replacse freon, while not breaking down Earth's ozone layer, is greenhouse gas... replacement with plastic organic ionic crystals, whose moleculest when pressurized move from disorganized to neat grid, absorbing heat/ chilling surrounding air... when pressure released returns to disorganized... pulls heat from air ranging from -37 to 10°C... compression chamber repeatedly squeezes/ un-squeezes crystals, added fan blows chilled air into area around device... future: less pressure/ cost"

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3293038/china-beats-starlink-hi-res-space-ground-laser-transmission-6g-standard "accomplished between truck-mounted ground station and 1 of 117 satellites of Jilin-1, world’s largest sub-metre commercial remote sensing satellite constellation, owned by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co... plan to deploy these laser communication units across all satellites in the Jilin-1 constellation to improve their efficiency, with a goal of networking 300 satellites by 2027... satellite positioning, ultra-high resolution remote sensing"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069428 "coprecipitation method encapsulates molybdate ions into zeolitic imidazolate framework-8, followed by electrospinning/ calcination creating free-standing porous carbon fibers with zinc single atom sites/ molybdenum carbide clusters...  230.6 mAh g−1 specific capacity at 0.5 C (1 C= 0.211 mA cm−2) current density, 90% capacity retention after 20K cycles... demonstrates manipulation of electrocatalytic activity of MoC clusters via Zn-N4 site incorporation for iodine redox reaction"

https://investors.ionq.com/news/news-details/2024/IonQ-and-Oak-Ridge-National-Laboratory-Unveil-Novel-Approach-to-Scalable-Quantum-Computing/default.aspx "collaboration between IonQ (high-performing, enterprise-grade trapped-ion technology) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (world-class quantum technologies expertise)... scalable quantum computing/ hybrid quantum algorithm based on Quantum Imaginary Time Evolution principle... optimization problems... outperforms in time-to-solution/ circuit depth... energy grid optimization, unit commitment, contingency planning, financial risk management, fraud detection, logistics/ supply chain, drug discovery"

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-microshells-melody-tuning-vibrations-tiny.html "functionally graded: enhanced resistance to thermal and mechanical stresses... porosity (microscale voids) alter structural integrity/ vibrational dynamics... vibrational behavior of functionally graded microshells affected by composition, imperfections, small-length scale coefficients... 5-parameter shear deformable model analyzing free vibrations of doubly curved imperfect functionally graded microshells, blueprint for optimizing micro-electromechanical systems/ biomedical applications... automotive, medicine"

https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/blog/revolutionizing-heat-management-with-high-performance-cerium-oxide-thermal-switches/ "5.8 on/off thermal conductivity ratio, 10.3 W/m·K thermal conductivity (κ)-switching width... 2.2 W/m·K minimal (off-state) thermal conductivity, but rises to 12.5 W/m·K in oxidized (on-state)... consistent after 100 reduction/ oxidation cycles... cerium oxide abundant/ ecologically sustainable... scalable... regulate IR heat transfer, contribute to energy-efficient systems... electronic cooling, renewable energy systems, waste heat recovery, advanced displays" Related: Nanofluids, Turbulators May Boost Renewables, Cut Fossil Use https://www.miragenews.com/nanofluids-turbulators-may-boost-renewables-cut-1386921/

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069246 "predicting properties such as electronic band gaps, formation energies, mechanical properties, needs training data which is limited because testing expensive time consuming... transfer learning predicts values: large model pre-trained on large dataset, then fine-tuned adapting to smaller target dataset, first learning simple task... performs much better than models trained from scratch... Multi-property Pre-Training on 7 different bulk 3D material properties... predict: band gap values, semiconductors forming point defects" Related: Machine learning algorithm enables faster, more accurate predictions on small tabular data sets https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-machine-algorithm-enables-faster-accurate.html Tech companies are turning to 'synthetic data' to train AI models—but there's a hidden cost https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-tech-companies-synthetic-ai-hidden.html

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069189 "high sensitivity/ spatial resolution, remotely from subsurface/ interfacial sites, large dynamic range... luminescent nanocrystals change intensity/ color when pushed/ pulled... no wires/ connections... 100X better force sensitivity, no rare-earth ions, range of force spans >4 orders magnitude, 10-100X larger... from subcellular to whole-system level... biocompatible, deeply penetrating IR... nanosensors built exploiting photon-avalanching effect within nanocrystals... robotics, cellular biophysics/ medicine, space travel"

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1145303_gm-working-on-mixed-chemistry-ev-battery-packs "following handful of other automakers/ battery firms... patent filed... combines nickel manganese cobalt (higher power/ energy density) with lithium iron phosphate (cheaper) or other similar chemistries (faster charging), split into discreet modules, with different usable capacities... controller monitors temperature/ state of charge, potentially bypassing a chemistry, balancing performance/ cost... other companiesw: CATL faster charging plug-in hybrids, Our Next Energy 600 mile range in BMW iX... also: Mercedes-Benz"