A research team has discovered the structural origins of mechanical softness in amorphous materials like glass, attributing it to hierarchical ring structures that coexist with medium-range order and local disorder. This finding will accelerate the design of flexible and strong amorphous solids.
Researchers at TU Delft have discovered amorphous silicon carbide, a material with exceptional strength and scalability, making it suitable for ultra-sensitive microchip sensors. Its tensile strength of 10 GPa is unprecedented in materials science.
Researchers used topological mathematics and machine learning to identify a hidden relationship between nano-scale structures and thermal conductivity in amorphous silicon. They found that the persistent homology diagram can be used as a descriptor for machine learning, achieving accurate predictions about thermal conductivities.
A research team at Pohang University of Science & Technology has developed ultra-high refractive index lenses using visibly transparent amorphous silicon. The new material allows for the control of all visible light colors, enabling more efficient and cost-effective virtual and augmented reality devices.
Asrar Damdam, a KAUST Ph.D. student, has developed a silicon-based platform that can change shape and stretch in various directions, exceeding human skin's 20% stretchability limit. Her design has potential for integration into wearable electronics devices and soft robotics.
Researchers have developed a porous amorphous silicon modification that compensates for the disadvantages of crystalline silicon in lithium ion batteries. The resulting material exhibits excellent electrochemical characteristics with a capacity three times better than graphite and much longer cycling stability.
Researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin identify microvoids as a source of 10-15% degradation in amorphous silicon thin film solar cells. The discovery is part of the EPR-Solar network funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research.
A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has developed flexible, low-voltage electronic circuits using cadmium selenide nanocrystals. The new technology offers improved performance and manufacturing cost compared to traditional silicon-based electronics, enabling potential biomedical and security applications.
The EPFL team has achieved a record efficiency of 22.4% for photovoltaic cells by combining amorphous and monocristalline silicon in a 'heterojunction' structure. This breakthrough could lead to cheaper and more efficient solar power, with costs estimated at $100 per square meter.
A new solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system has been developed by Queen's University researchers, generating both electricity and heat. The system uses amorphous silicon cells, which require less material, cost less to manufacture, and offer a higher return on investment.
A new chemical technique has been developed to deposit a non-crystalline form of silicon into ultra-thin pores of optical fibers. This allows for the creation of more-efficient and flexible optical fibers with hydrogenated amorphous silicon, ideal for applications such as solar cells and telecommunications.
Researchers at Harvard University developed a coating that improves nanowire efficiency and sensitivity for photodetectors and energy harvesting applications. The coated wires showed a 90-fold increase in photosensitivity, reducing surface recombination nearly two orders of magnitude.
Researchers at Ames Laboratory are developing new solar cells that can withstand the degrading effects of sunlight. By understanding the atomic origins of this problem, they hope to create materials with improved stability and efficiency. The team's three-step rebonding model offers a promising solution to this challenge.
Scientists at the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research created a more stable silicon layer than traditional amorphous silicon, allowing for faster production. This breakthrough reduces production costs of flat-panel displays and solar cells, potentially benefiting manufacturers and the semiconductor industry.
The discovery shows that confining hydrogen molecules in small spaces creates measurable magnetic interactions, which could lead to a better understanding of solar cell efficiency. The researchers believe this finding has fundamental implications for the study of nanomaterials and their potential applications.