Feature Channels: Nanotechnology

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First known material capable of emitting single photons at room temperature and telecom wavelengths.

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Engineers develop wires that penetrate neurons and measure their activity

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Gel uses nanoparticles for on-demand control of droplet shapes, of interest for energy storage and catalysis.

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Lens technologies have advanced across all scales, from digital cameras and high bandwidth in fiber optics to the LIGO lab instruments. Now, a new lens technology that could be produced using standard computer-chip technology is emerging and could replace the bulky layers and complex geometries of traditional curved lenses. Researchers at Harvard and Argonne National Laboratory have developed a device that integrates mid-infrared spectrum metalenses onto MEMS. They report their work in this week’s APL Photonics.

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Tiny cages can trap and release inert argon gas atoms, allowing their further study and providing a new way to capture rare gases.

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A new University of Chicago study shows how tiny, light-powered wires could be fashioned out of silicon to manipulate electrical signaling between neurons. Published Feb. 19 in Nature Nanotechnology, the study offers a new avenue to shed light on—and perhaps someday treat—brain disorders.

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Computers have helped researchers develop a new phosphor that can make LEDs cheaper and render colors more accurately. An international team led by engineers at UC San Diego first predicted the new phosphor using supercomputers and data mining algorithms, then developed a simple recipe to make it in the lab. Unlike many phosphors, this one is made of inexpensive, earth-abundant elements and can easily be made using industrial methods. As computers predicted, the new phosphor performed well in tests and in LED prototypes.

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Multiple techniques to characterize an enzyme complex shed light on how bacteria create particles and contribute to global cycles.

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Nanotechnology researchers studying small bundles of carbon nanotubes have discovered an optical signature showing excitons bound to a single nanotube are accompanied by excitons tunneling across closely interacting nanotubes.

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Researchers at the Technion have developed a method that could reduce the pain and cost associated with orthodontic work, while shortening the time needed to wear braces to about six months.

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Engineers at Rutgers University–New Brunswick and Oregon State University are developing a new method of processing nanomaterials that could lead to faster and cheaper manufacturing of flexible thin film devices – from touch screens to window coatings, according to a new study. The “intense pulsed light sintering” method uses high-energy light over an area nearly 7,000 times larger than a laser to fuse nanomaterials in seconds.

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Researchers have successfully treated a cancerous tumor using a “nano-factory” – a synthetic cell that produces anti-cancer proteins within the tumor tissue. The synthetic cell could one day be an important part in the personalized medicine trend.

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In a paper published Feb. 9 in Science Advances, scientists at the University of Washington announced that they have successfully combined two different imaging methods — a type of lens designed for nanoscale interaction with lightwaves, along with robust computational processing — to create full-color images.

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A pair of papers published online in two nanotechnology journals this month provide the basis for growing wafer-scale two-dimensional crystals for future electronic devices

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Searching for a power outlet may soon become a thing of the past. Instead, devices will receive electricity from a small metallic tab that, when attached to the body, is capable of generating electricity from bending a finger and other simple movements. That’s the idea behind a collaborative research project led by University at Buffalo and Institute of Semiconductors (IoP) at Chinese Academy of Science (CAS).

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Quantum dots are rapidly taking center stage in emerging applications and research developments, but researchers are still studying how to precisely control the growth of these nanoscale particles and their underlying quantum behavior. For instance, defects form during production of semiconductor materials, so identical dots can differ in composition from one another. To learn more about these defects, a team has demonstrated imaging of an electronically excited quantum dot at multiple orientations.

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Electrical and optical engineers in Australia have designed a novel platform that could tailor telecommunication and optical transmissions. They experimentally demonstrated their system using a new transmission wavelength with a higher bandwidth capacity than those currently used in wireless communication. Reported this week in APL Photonics, these experiments open up new horizons in communication and photonics technology.

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A new study finds that the manufacturing process of novel, nanocrystalline-diamond micro-anvils that can produce a pressure nearly two times greater than that found at the center of the Earth has proved to be “remarkably consistent” and demonstrates “a high level of reproducibility in fabrication.”

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EVANSTON - Northwestern University’s Chad A. Mirkin and Chinese Academy of Sciences Professor Lei Jiang have been named recipients of the prestigious 2018 Nano Research Award.Mirkin is the George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN) at Northwestern.

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Imagine that every time you tapped out a message on your smartphone, it would create electric power instead of sapping your phone’s battery. That scenario could one day be a reality, according to a researcher at Missouri University of Science and Technology.