Apr 21, 2023 (Nanowerk Spotlight) Van der Waals (vdW) integration refers to a physical assembly strategy that was originally applied in the two-dimensional (2D) materials and nanotechnology community to construct vdW heterostructures and electronic devices. This method circumvents the fundamental limit of lattice matching and process-compatibility in heteroepitaxy by leveraging...
Fungal genetics could help develop novel biotechnologies
Apr 21, 2023 (Nanowerk News) An essential pillar of Earth’s ecological system, fungi have long been used to better the lives of humans. While these organisms are still vastly understudied, a new review paper suggests that their unique genomes could be used to make progress in the biotech industry. “The...
Heat highway in graphite ribbons
Apr 21, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Scientists from the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo studied the flow of thermal energy in purified ribbons of graphite and showed that heat can move more like a liquid, rather than diffusing randomly, under certain conditions (Nature Communications, "Observation of phonon...
Synthetic biology meets fashion in engineered silk
Apr 21, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Scientists have long been intrigued by the remarkable properties of spider silk, which is stronger than steel yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. Now, Fuzhong Zhang, a professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis,...
Is Deep Learning a necessary ingredient for Artificial Intelligence?
Apr 20, 2023 (Nanowerk News) The earliest artificial neural network, the Perceptron, was introduced approximately 65 years ago and consisted of just one layer. However, to address solutions for more complex classification tasks, more advanced neural network architectures consisting of numerous feedforward (consecutive) layers were later introduced. This is the...
Time-varying orbital angular momentum generated by a metasurface
Apr 20, 2023 (Nanowerk News) The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of electromagnetic waves — a kind of “structured light” — is associated with a helical or twisted wavefront. The helical modes are characterized by a topological charge. OAM beams with distinct topological charges are mutually orthogonal, which allows them to...
A particular ‘sandwich’ of graphene and boron nitride may lead to next-gen microelectronics
Apr 20, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Moiré patterns occur everywhere. They are created by layering two similar but not identical geometric designs. A common example is the pattern that sometimes emerges when viewing a chain-link fence through a second chain-link fence. For more than 10 years, scientists have been experimenting with...
Thermomechanical nanomolding of nanowires spur unanticipated phases
Apr 20, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Sometimes to make big breakthroughs, you have to start very small. One way that scientists can get the most out of certain quantum materials is by fabricating nanoscale structures that generate new properties at the material’s surfaces and edges. Cornell researchers used the relatively straightforward...
Team creates ‘quantum composites’ for various electrical and optical innovations
Apr 20, 2023 (Nanowerk News) A team of UCR electrical engineers and material scientists demonstrated a research breakthrough that may result in wide-ranging advancements in electrical, optical, and computer technologies. The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering research group, led by distinguished professor Alexander Balandin, has shown in the...
Creation of thinnest freestanding film with ferroelectric properties ever opens the door to smaller, more efficient devices
Apr 20, 2023 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at the Institute for Future Materials and Systems at Nagoya University in Japan have successfully synthesized barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanosheets with a thickness of 1.8 nanometers, the thinnest thickness ever created for a free-standing film. Given that thickness is related to functionality, their findings...