Algorithms empower metalens design

May 17, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Compact and lightweight metasurfaces — which use specifically designed and patterned nanostructures on a flat surface to focus, shape and control light — are a promising technology for wearable applications, especially virtual and augmented reality systems. Today, research teams painstakingly design the specific pattern of...

New silicon nanowires can really take the heat

May 17, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Scientists have demonstrated a new material that conducts heat 150% more efficiently than conventional materials used in advanced chip technologies. The device – an ultrathin silicon nanowire – could enable smaller, faster microelectronics with a heat-transfer-efficiency that surpasses current technologies. Electronic devices powered by microchips...

Magnetic nanoparticles in biological vehicles individually characterized for the first time

May 17, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Magnetic nanostructures are promising tools for medical applications. Incorporated into biological structures, they can be steered via external magnetic fields inside the body to release drugs or to destroy cancer cells. However, until now, only average information on the magnetic properties of those nanoparticles could...

Scientists map how energy flows in organic solar cells

May 17, 2022 (Nanowerk News) Efficient and environmentally friendly solar cells are required for a transition to a fossil-free energy supply. Researchers at Linköping University have mapped how energy flows in organic solar cells, something that previously had been unknown. The results, which can contribute to more efficient solar cells,...

A technology to realize ‘urban gold mining’

May 17, 2022 (Nanowerk News) In South Korea, which relies on imports for 99.3% of metal resources, the per capita consumption of metal resources is the highest in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), and consumption of precious metals in various industries such as renewable energy, healthcare, and...

Model predicts how nanoparticles interact with proteins

May 16, 2022 (Nanowerk News) With antibiotic-resistant infections on the rise and a continually morphing pandemic virus, it’s easy to see why researchers want to be able to design engineered nanoparticles that can shut down these infections. A new machine learning model that predicts interactions between nanoparticles and proteins, developed...