https://phys.org/nanotech-news/nano-physics en-us The latest science news on nanophysics, nanotechnology, nanotech and nanoscience. Researchers at the National Graphene Institute have made a discovery that could revolutionize energy harnessing and information computing. Their study, published in Nature, reveals how electric field effects can selectively accelerate coupled electrochemical processes in graphene. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-electric-fields-boost-graphene-potential.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 19 Jun 2024 11:50:04 EDT news638016601 A new nonlinear optical property of tiny particles has been discovered by an international team of scientists led by physicists at the University of Bath, with important implications for researchers working in fields as diverse as display technology, chemical catalysis and medicine. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-physicists-optical-property-tiny-helices.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 17 Jun 2024 10:53:04 EDT news637840382 A research group led by Prof. Cao Liang from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with collaborators, has introduced an additional translational degree of freedom in layered transition metal dichalcogenide crystals, enabling fine-tuning of their physical properties. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-method-fine-tune-properties-layered.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 17 Jun 2024 09:49:03 EDT news637836542 A study published in Nano Letters demonstrates the use of quantum dots to create metasurfaces, enabling two objects to exist in the same space. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-method-quantum-dots-metasurfaces-luminescence.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 12 Jun 2024 11:23:06 EDT news637410183 When molecules are irradiated with infrared light, they begin to vibrate due to the energy supply. For Andreas Hauser from the Institute of Experimental Physics at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), this well-known phenomenon was the starting point for considering whether these oscillations could also be used to generate magnetic fields. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-nanomagnets-infrared-lasers.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 11 Jun 2024 09:24:03 EDT news637316641 Researchers have for the first time demonstrated that a specific class of oxide membranes can confine, or "squeeze," infrared light—a finding that holds promise for next generation infrared imaging technologies. The thin-film membranes confine infrared light far better than bulk crystals, which are the established technology for infrared light confinement. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-infrared.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 10 Jun 2024 11:03:10 EDT news637236187 When compressed, nanoribbons of titanium and sulfur can change properties dramatically, turning into materials with the ability to conduct electricity without losing energy, according to a study published in the journal Nano Letters. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-compressed-titanium-sulfur-nanoribbons-transmit.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 10 Jun 2024 10:27:38 EDT news637234055 Research groups from the University of Tsukuba and the University of Rennes have discovered a novel phenomenon in which a nested structure of carbon nanotubes enveloped in boron nitride nanotubes facilitates a unique electron escape route when exposed to light. This finding introduces promising avenues for various applications, including the creation of high-speed optical devices, rapid control of electrons and other particles and efficient heat dissipation from devices. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-unveiling-energy-phenomena-exposure-layered.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 07 Jun 2024 10:38:03 EDT news636975482 The University of Manchester's National Graphene Institute has spearheaded an international team to engineer a novel approach for controlling thermal emission, detailed in a paper published in Science. This breakthrough offers new design strategies beyond conventional materials, with promising implications for thermal management and camouflage technologies. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-approach-thermal-emission.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 07 Jun 2024 10:28:03 EDT news636974881 In an increasingly health-conscious society, data is a hot commodity. Tracking step counts with an old-school pedometer has turned into monitoring heart rates, sleep cycles and blood oxygen levels with wearable fitness trackers, a market that has exploded in recent years. But one critical aspect of health monitoring has yet to become mainstream, because continuous air quality data is currently tied to spaces and not people. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-tech-individuals-exposure-gases.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 07 Jun 2024 09:29:03 EDT news636971341 Researchers at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with research groups from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and Fudan University, have developed a fatigue-free ferroelectric material based on sliding ferroelectricity. The study is published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-fatigue-free-ferroelectric-material.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 06 Jun 2024 14:00:01 EDT news636883519 Van der Waals (vdW) dielectrics are widely used in nanoelectronics to preserve the intrinsic properties of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors. However, achieving aligned growth of 2D semiconductors and their direct utilization on original vdWs epitaxial dielectrics to avoid disorders poses significant challenges. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-potential-2d-materials-advance-generation.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 06 Jun 2024 08:36:04 EDT news636881762 When chiral gold nanoparticles are irradiated with near-infrared femtosecond pulses, visible emission of luminescence is observed. In a study published in Advanced Optical Materials, this luminescence was found to yield high selectivity for left- or right-handed circularly polarized light, depending on the chirality of the nanoparticles, with a dissymmetry factor of approximately 0.7. This finding suggests the potential to elevate various applications using circularly polarized light to practical levels. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-gold-nanoparticles-emit-left.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 05 Jun 2024 09:39:39 EDT news636799177 A research team led by Prof. Zhang Dongguo from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) developed an optical module that consists of cascaded momentum-space polarization filters based on vector light field modulation. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-momentum-space-polarization-filters-enable.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 03 Jun 2024 11:02:58 EDT news636631372 Materials that can maintain a magnetized state by themselves without an external magnetic field (i.e., permanent magnets) are called ferromagnets. Ferroelectrics can be thought of as the electric counterpart to ferromagnets, as they maintain a polarized state without an external electric field. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-year-puzzle-reveal-dimensional-vortex.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 31 May 2024 10:44:03 EDT news636371041 Lenses are used to bend and focus light. Normal lenses rely on their curved shape to achieve this effect, but physicists from the University of Amsterdam and Stanford University have made a flat lens of only three atoms thick that relies on quantum effects. This type of lens could be used in future augmented reality glasses. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-scientists-thinnest-lens-earth-enabled.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 30 May 2024 11:06:03 EDT news636285961 National University of Singapore (NUS) physicists have developed a computational imaging technique to extract three-dimensional (3D) information from a single two-dimensional (2D) electron micrograph. This method can be readily implemented in most transmission electron microscopes (TEMs), rendering it a viable tool for rapidly imaging large areas at a nano-scale 3D resolution (approximately 10 nm). https://phys.org/news/2024-05-lens-unmasks-hidden-3d-2d.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 29 May 2024 12:11:37 EDT news636203495 Recently, a team of chemists, mathematicians, physicists and nano-engineers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands developed a device to control the emission of photons with unprecedented precision. This technology could lead to more efficient miniature light sources, sensitive sensors, and stable quantum bits for quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-device-precisely-photon-emission-efficient.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 29 May 2024 09:30:57 EDT news636193855 New work by researchers from the ARC Center of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) and City University of New York (CUNY) published May 27 in Nature Communications realizes a new, tunable edge-detecting filter for flat-optic imaging systems that can switch between an image of an object's outline and a detailed infrared image. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-metasurface-based-edge-filter-remote.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 28 May 2024 10:13:04 EDT news636109982 Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have fabricated a device no wider than a human hair that will help physicists investigate the fundamental nature of matter and light. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, could also support the development of more efficient lasers, which are used in fields ranging from medicine to manufacturing. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-topological-quantum-simulator-device-strong.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 24 May 2024 05:00:01 EDT news635696900 Researchers from TU Delft and Brown University have engineered string-like resonators capable of vibrating longer at ambient temperature than any previously known solid-state object—approaching what is currently only achievable near absolute zero temperatures. Their study, published in Nature Communications, pushes the edge of nanotechnology and machine learning to make some of the world's most sensitive mechanical sensors. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-nanostrings-vibrate-longer-previously-solid.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 22 May 2024 11:51:03 EDT news635597461 Polarized light waves spin clockwise or counterclockwise as they travel, with one direction behaving differently than the other as it interacts with molecules. This directionality, called chirality or handedness, could provide a way to identify and sort specific molecules for use in biomedicine applications, but researchers have had limited control over the direction of the waves—until now. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-molecules-metamaterials.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 21 May 2024 09:14:03 EDT news635501641 Superconductors are materials that can conduct electricity with zero resistance when they are cooled below a certain critical temperature. They have applications in several fields, including magnetic resonance imaging, particle accelerators, electric power, and quantum computing. However, their widespread use is limited by the need for extremely low temperatures. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-superconductivity-graphene-calcium-superconductors.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 20 May 2024 13:07:21 EDT news635429238 The shimmering of butterfly wings in bright colors does not emerge from pigments. Rather, photonic crystals are responsible for the play of colors. Their periodic nanostructure allows light at certain wavelengths to pass through while reflecting other wavelengths. This causes the wing scales, which are in fact transparent, to appear so magnificently colored. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-dna-origami-diamond-lattice-future.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 17 May 2024 11:22:56 EDT news635163772 In a novel study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of Twente have made significant strides in understanding the behavior of micro- and nanobubbles on electrodes during water electrolysis. This process is crucial for (green) hydrogen production. These tiny bubbles form on the electrodes, blocking the flow of electricity and reducing the efficiency of the reaction. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-nanobubble-green-hydrogen-production.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 16 May 2024 11:35:02 EDT news635078101 Scientists have made a breakthrough in significantly improving the sharpness of X-ray imaging and potentially boosting the speeds at which X-ray scans can be processed. This lays the groundwork for both better medical imaging and faster security clearance. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-golden-layer-sharper-imaging-faster.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 16 May 2024 04:00:01 EDT news634980361 In a first for communications, researchers in Sweden 3D printed silica glass micro-optics on the tips of optic fibers—surfaces as small as the cross section of a human hair. The advance could enable faster internet and improved connectivity, as well as innovations like smaller sensors and imaging systems. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-thousand-smaller-grain-sand-glass.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 15 May 2024 10:19:02 EDT news634987141 Twinned nanoparticles have regions of clear symmetry that share the same crystal lattice, separated by a clear boundary. Changing the twin structure can affect the properties of the nanoparticles, which makes controlling twinning to create tailored nanomaterials an active area of research. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-uneven-strain-detwinning-penta-twinned.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 14 May 2024 10:54:03 EDT news634902841 When an ordinary electrical conductor—such as a metal wire—is connected to a battery, the electrons in the conductor are accelerated by the electric field created by the battery. While moving, electrons frequently collide with impurity atoms or vacancies in the crystal lattice of the wire, and convert part of their motional energy into lattice vibrations. The energy lost in this process is converted into heat that can be felt, for example, by touching an incandescent light bulb. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-electron-vortices-graphene.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 13 May 2024 09:49:15 EDT news634812552 Researchers have delved into the composition of nanocomposites for ultraviolet metasurface fabrication and determined the ideal printing material for crafting them. Their findings are featured in the journal Microsystems & Nanoengineering on April 22. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-optimal-conditions-mass-production-ultraviolet.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 09 May 2024 11:06:03 EDT news634471562