Articles tagged with Thin Films
A new form of thin-film device technology using alternative semiconductor materials could contribute to a more sustainable IoT. Wireless power harvesting from the environment using photovoltaic cells and RF energy harvesters is being explored.
Researchers at Exciton Science have created perovskite solar cells with 21% efficiency, the best results ever recorded for a non-halide lead source. The novel use of lead acetate enables scalable and industrial-scale manufacturing.
Researchers created a protective coating of glass, gallium-oxide to reduce vibrations in graphene devices. The oxide improves device performance and provides a new method of protection.
Researchers at ETH Zurich developed a gold-based transparent coating that absorbs infrared radiation selectively, heating up to 8 degrees Celsius. The coating is thinner, pliable, and more efficient than traditional antifogging methods, requiring minimal gold material costs.
Researchers at Oxford University and Exciton Science created stable perovskite solar cells with comparable stability to commercial silicon photovoltaics. The new synthesis process led to thin films of greater quality, reduced defects, and enhanced stability.
Experimental physicists discovered that water impurities become entrapped within icicles, creating chevron patterns and ripple effects. The study reveals that internal patterns are connected to external shapes, leading to a deeper understanding of natural ice formations.
Researchers developed a process using nanoscale structures to improve reverse osmosis processes for seawater desalination. The polyamide membrane showed superior water permeance and comparable salt rejection.
Scientists at Tel Aviv University have developed a method to create the thinnest possible ladder steps made of distinct electric potentials, which can be used as independent information units. The discovery enables the creation of novel devices with potential applications in electronics and optomechanics.
Researchers at TU Wien found that ceramic coatings do not fatigue under extreme load conditions, but instead break down due to fracture toughness. The discovery changes the approach to measuring and improving thin film durability.
Researchers have developed a method for centimeter-scale color printing using grayscale laser writing, achieving vivid and fine-tunable colors. The technique leverages pixelated optical cavities to generate transmission colors with a transmission efficiency of 39-50%.
Researchers at Monash University found that electric fields and applied strain can turn magnetism on and off in two-dimensional metal-organic frameworks. This discovery could lead to applications in magnetic memory, spintronics, and quantum computing.
Researchers review emerging field of 2D ferroelectric materials with layered van-der-Waals crystal structures, offering new properties and functionalities not found in conventional materials. These materials show easily stackable nature, making them attractive as building blocks for post-Moore's law electronics.
A europium-based thin-film coating has been developed to convert UV light to red light, accelerating plant growth. The technology was tested on Swiss chard plants and Japanese larch trees, showing a 1.2-1.4 times greater plant height and biomass in winter conditions.
A research team at UNIST has developed a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell with a special textured anti-reflective coating, increasing its power conversion efficiency to 23.50%. The device maintains its initial efficiency for 120 hours, outperforming existing devices which drop to 50% after 20 hours.
Researchers from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology have developed a method to eliminate residual organic metal-binding ligands from transition metal oxide thin films, resulting in improved device stability and performance. The technique achieved a 20-fold enhancement in electrical conductivity and a 17.6% increase in efficiency.
Kyusang Lee's new sensor system uses artificial intelligence to process different types of signals, mimicking human biology, and can detect viruses. The system meets challenges of data bottlenecks, energy consumption, and data protection, making it a breakthrough in the Internet of Things.
A team at Nagoya University has created a new type of mechanochromic material, fluorenylidene-acridane (FA), which changes color in response to mechanical pressure. The material's unique properties allow it to be quantitatively analyzed, enabling the measurement of its color change and structural changes with high spatial resolution.
Scientists developed a cellulose nanofiber-carbon fiber composite film with excellent in-plane anisotropic thermal conductivity, improving heat dissipation in thin-film devices. The material also exhibits recyclability and can be reused after burning the cellulose matrix.
A team of University of Missouri researchers is working to understand why solid-state lithium-ion batteries struggle with performance issues. They will use a specialized electron microscope and thin film polymer coatings to study the interface between the battery cathode and electrolyte, with the goal of developing an engineered interf...
Scientists at Drexel University have created a new secondary-ion mass spectrometry technique to study the atomic layers of MXenes and MAX phases. The technique allows for deeper understanding of the materials' structure and composition, leading to breakthroughs in their properties and potential applications.
Researchers found that fatty acids in cooking emissions form a stable film on surfaces, protecting trapped pollutants from breakdown. This film can become rougher and attract water, trapping toxins underneath.
Researchers from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology developed a method to control active layer morphology in organic solar cells using water treatment. This approach led to more uniform thin films and higher power conversion efficiencies compared to non-treated samples. The study paves the way for large-scale, efficient organi...
Scientists have analyzed the interaction between highly charged ions and graphene at a femtosecond scale, revealing complex processes involved in material response. The study provides fundamental new insights into how matter reacts to short and intense radiation exposure.
Researchers at Rice University have developed a method to create a thin film coating on lithium anodes using powder brushing, which improves battery life and capacity. The coated anodes retained 70% more capacity after 340 charge-discharge cycles than off-the-shelf batteries.
Scientists develop a new model to predict when a droplet will splash upon hitting a solid surface, considering factors like wettability and roughness. The study could enable advances in agriculture, epidemiology, and printing technology.
Researchers have developed a new method to produce ultrathin layered double hydroxide nanosheets with improved properties, enabling their application in photodetectors. The new technique allows for the creation of large quantities of nanosheets with uniform thickness and broad light absorption range.
Researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have discovered that nickelate superconductors are always magnetized, whether in their normal or superconducting state. This finding highlights the fundamental properties of these materials and provides insight into how unconventional superconductors carry electric current with no loss.
Researchers developed a thermoelectric device with an array of π junctions, generating voltages over 0.5V. The device was fabricated using semiconductor microfabrication technology, enabling precise micro-scale π junctions.
Researchers observe a significant increase in electrical conductivity when mica is thinned down to few molecular layers, exhibiting semiconductor-like behavior. The findings suggest that thin mica flakes have the potential to be used in two-dimensional electronic devices with exceptional stability and durability.
Researchers at Rice University have successfully created the first heat-tolerant, stable fibers from boron nitride nanotubes using a wet-spinning process. The fibers assemble themselves into liquid crystals, making them easier to process and suitable for large-scale applications in aerospace, electronics, and energy-efficient materials.
Lithium niobate photonics has developed rapidly, enabling compact devices with high performance. Thin film lithium niobate (TFLN) structures have shown significant improvements in refractive index contrast, paving the way for more integrated photonic devices.
Researchers developed a thin-layer version of barium titanate, enabling faster switching and lower voltages for next-gen memory and logic devices. The findings could pave the way for more sustainable computing power with reduced energy consumption.
Rice University engineers have developed a novel approach to manipulating the magnetic and electronic properties of 2D materials by stressing them with contoured substrates. The technique, inspired by recent discoveries in twisted 2D materials, allows for unprecedented control over quantum effects.
New research develops a low-index BaF2 thin film-based microspectrometer technology for LWIR spectral sensing. The study demonstrates the use of flat and stress-free free-standing distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) for high-performance wavelength discrimination in the long-wave infrared region.
KAUST researchers have developed a method to manufacture high-performance flexible heaters using graphene domains in nanoscale-thick graphite films. The heaters can reach temperatures of several hundred degrees within seconds when applying a small voltage, and they exhibit excellent stability and cooling rates.
Researchers at MIT have created a paper-thin loudspeaker that produces sound with minimal distortion while using a fraction of the energy required by traditional loudspeakers. The device, which is as thin as a dime and weighs about the same, can generate high-quality sound on any surface it is bonded to.
Scientists at KAUST have studied charge carrier behavior in perovskite thin films using laser pulses and terahertz radiation. They found that increased density of charge carriers narrows the energy gap for electrons to be excited by light, and charge carriers become more localized at higher densities.
Researchers have developed a novel method called 'dative epitaxy' for growing thin layers of crystals made from different materials on top of each other. This technique allows for the formation of special chemical bonds to fix crystal orientation, overcoming limitations of conventional and van der Waals epitaxial techniques.
Researchers have developed a new type of coating that can limit the flammability of wood used in construction, potentially providing more time to escape fires and curb their spread. The environmentally friendly flame retardant could also be used for other flammable materials.
Researchers at Pusan National University have developed oxidation-resistant copper thin films, which could potentially replace gold in semiconductor devices. The films' flat surface reduces the growth of copper oxides on its surface, making them resistant to corrosion.
For the first time, researchers have imaged the full structure of trapped excitons, a breakthrough that could lead to new semiconductor technologies. The study reveals detailed insights into the behavior of excitons, including their size, motion, and stability.
Researchers from Ruhr-University Bochum, Yale, and Bielefeld have successfully produced a layer of two-dimensional silicon dioxide with natural pores. This material can be used as a fine-mesh sieve for molecules and ions, offering potential applications in desalination, fuel cells, and sustainable energy solutions.
A team of scientists led by Samuel Dunning has developed an original technique to predict and guide the ordered creation of strong, yet flexible, diamond nanothreads. The innovation allows for easier synthesis of the material, which has potential applications in space elevators, ultra-strong fabrics, and other fields.
Scientists have developed a new spectroscopy technique to directly measure the binding energy of biexcitons in WS2, providing insights into their dynamics and characteristic energy scales. The findings inform the development of novel devices such as compact lasers and chemical sensors.
Researchers at UCLA have created highly flexible yet mechanically robust bioelectronic membranes using van der Waals thin film technology. The membranes can be stretched and flexed over irregular geometries, making them ideal for wearable health-monitoring devices and diagnostic sensors.
Researchers have developed an unsolved problem in microelectronics by creating the world's smallest battery, which can power tiny sub-millimeter-scale computers for about ten hours. The Swiss-roll process enables on-chip batteries for dust-sized computers with high energy density and integrability.
Scientists have developed a metasurface lens with tunable focus using a piezoelectric thin film, enabling compact and lightweight optics. The new technology could be used in various applications such as portable medical diagnostic instruments, drone-based 3D mapping, and miniaturized cameras.
Researchers developed a method to directly bond gold electrodes onto separate ultra-thin polymer films without adhesives or high temperatures. The new technique, called water-vapor plasma-assisted bonding, creates stable bonds between gold electrodes printed into ultra-thin polymer sheets.
Researchers have developed a method to fabricate ITZO TFTs without CO impurities, resulting in high-mobility and stability. This breakthrough could pave the way for next-generation display technologies and replace more expensive silicon-based technologies.
Scientists developed an all-season smart-roof coating that automatically switches between cooling and heating, outperforming commercial cool-roof systems in energy savings. The technology uses vanadium dioxide to regulate its rate of radiative cooling, overcoming the problem of overcooling in winter.
A new battery-free wearable device detects nicotine in real-time and sends data wirelessly to smartphones, allowing users to measure their exposure to vaporized nicotine. The device uses a thin film of vanadium dioxide to detect conductivity changes caused by nicotine concentration.
Osaka University researchers developed an ultra-thin film of magnetite with superior crystallinity and conductive properties, overcoming challenges in spintronics technology. The discovery enables the film to undergo a temperature-dependent resistivity change, crucial for implementation in quantum computing technologies.
Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a new approach to modify the surface of copper catalysts, improving the conversion of carbon dioxide into useful fuels. The technique involves coating the copper with thin films of ionomers, which steer the reaction towards generating carbon-rich products.
A RMIT-led collaboration demonstrates large in-plane anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) in monolayer WTe2, a quantum spin Hall insulator. The team successfully fabricates devices and observes typical transport behaviors, showing promise for future low-energy electronics.
Researchers created a sulfur-selenium alloy that outperforms traditional coatings in protecting steel from corrosion and oxidation. The material's self-healing properties allow it to recover from scratches and damage, making it suitable for infrastructure applications.
UNSW researchers stabilize a new intermediate phase in a room-temperature multiferroic material under stress, boosting electromechanical response by double its usual value. This breakthrough has exciting implications for next-generation devices and provides a valuable technique for international material scientists.
Scientists have developed a method to precisely map the polarization pattern in thin ferroelectric layers, revealing new insights into the physics of these objects. The technique, combined with machine learning, allows for the spatial resolution of ferroelectric domains below 10 nanometers.
Scientists discovered structural and surface chemistry defects in superconducting niobium qubits that may cause loss. The study pinpointed these defects using state-of-the-art characterization capabilities at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials and National Synchrotron Light Source II.
Researchers at Incheon National University have developed a compact and robust optical sensor that can convert light to digital signals, suitable for flexible electronics. The new design architecture enables superior chip area efficiency and large-area scalability.
Researchers at Aalto University created intricate shapes like letters by manipulating tiny metal balls with vibrating plates and energy fields. The smart algorithm efficiently guided the particles to achieve desired shapes, inspired by natural phenomena like wind and water.