Micromachine twists 2D materials at will

Aug 22, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Just a few years ago, researchers discovered that changing the angle between two layers of graphene, an atom-thick sheet of carbon, also changed the material’s electronic and optical properties. They then learned that a “twist” of 1.1 degrees — dubbed the magic angle — could...

New open-source Python tool revolutionizes design and modeling of micro optical elements

Aug 23, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Researchers at International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), in collaboration with Bosch Car Multimedia and Bosch Security Systems, recently published an article in Computer Physics Communications ("pyMOE: Mask design and modeling for micro optical elements and flat optics"), where they introduce a new open-source Python software...

Turning wastewater into valuable proteins

Aug 23, 2024 (Nanowerk News) The growing world population means that the environment is under great strain. Agriculture takes up large land areas and discharges nutrients to the surrounding environment. At the same time, there is tremendous pressure on the aquatic environment from all forms of industrial production that emits...

Metasurfaces that control thermal radiation in unprecedented ways

Aug 23, 2024 (Nanowerk News) In a groundbreaking advancement, researchers with the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have experimentally demonstrated that metasurfaces (two-dimensional materials structured at the nanoscale) can precisely control the optical properties of thermal radiation generated within the metasurface itself. This pioneering...

Hydrogel material shows unexpected learning abilities

Aug 22, 2024 (Nanowerk News) In a study published in Cell Reports Physical Science ("Electro-Active Polymer Hydrogels Exhibit Emergent Memory When Embodied in a Simulated Game-Environment"), a team led by Dr Yoshikatsu Hayashi demonstrated that a simple hydrogel - a type of soft, flexible material - can learn to play...

Brain-inspired technologies paving the way

Aug 22, 2024 (Nanowerk News) In the ever-evolving field of robotics, a groundbreaking approach has emerged, revolutionizing how robots perceive, navigate, and interact with their environments. This new frontier, known as brain-inspired navigation technology, integrates insights from neuroscience into robotics, offering enhanced capabilities and efficiency. A review on this topic...

Innovative perovskite waveguides with edge lasing effect

Aug 22, 2024 (Nanowerk News) Integrated photonic circuits operating at room temperature combined with optical nonlinear effects could revolutionize both classical and quantum signal processing. Scientists from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, in collaboration with other institutions from Poland as well as Italy, Iceland, and Australia,...