Novel porous silicon microfabrication technique increases sensing ability
Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have developed a novel method for improving silicon-based sensors used to detect biochemicals and other molecules in liquids. The simplified approach...
View ArticleRipple patterns in silicon can enhance solar cell efficiency
A*STAR scientists have produced a uniform nanoscale ripple pattern over a wide area on a silicon surface by scanning a femtosecond laser beam across it. Given that a rippled surface is much less...
View ArticleCheap, environmentally friendly solar cells are produced by minimizing...
By tailoring the interface between the two sections of a solar cell, A*STAR researchers have produced a high-performance solar cell from the abundant and cheap materials of copper (II) oxide and silicon.
View ArticleEngineers use liquid drops to make solids stiffer
(Phys.org)—Engineers at Yale University have discovered that the stiffness of liquid drops embedded in solids has something in common with Goldilocks: While large drops of liquids are softer than the...
View ArticleSelf-assembled nanotextures create antireflective surface on silicon solar cells
Reducing the amount of sunlight that bounces off the surface of solar cells helps maximize the conversion of the sun's rays to electricity, so manufacturers use coatings to cut down on reflections. Now...
View ArticleGold 'nano-drills'
Spherical gold particles are able to 'drill' a nano-diameter tunnel in ceramic material when heated. This is an easy and attractive way to equip chips with nanopores for DNA analysis, for example....
View ArticleNovel non-stick material joins portfolio of slippery surface technologies
More than 80 percent of microbial infections in the human body are caused by a build-up of bacteria, according to the National Institutes of Health. Bacteria cells gain a foothold in the body by...
View ArticleNew technology makes metal wires on solar cells nearly invisible to light
A solar cell is basically a semiconductor, which converts sunlight into electricity, sandwiched between metal contacts that carry the electrical current.
View ArticleSilicon chip with integrated laser: Light from a nanowire
Physicists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a nanolaser, a thousand times thinner than a human hair. Thanks to an ingenious process, the nanowire lasers grow right on a...
View ArticleNew environmental cleanup technology rids oil from water
A new technology that is easy to manufacture and uses commercially available materials makes it possible to continuously remove oils and other pollutants from water, representing a potential tool for...
View ArticleA type of nanostructure succeeds in increasing the efficiency of...
Sagrario Domínguez-Fernández, a telecommunications engineer, has managed to increase light absorption in silicon by means of nanostructures etched onto photovoltaic cells. This increases the efficiency...
View ArticleLithium ion batteries may benefit from porous amorphous silicon anodes
Next-generation anodes for lithium ion batteries will probably no longer be made of graphite. Silicon, which is a related material, can provide a much higher capacity than graphite, but its...
View ArticleFilming light and electrons coupled together as they travel under cover
In a breakthrough for future optical-electronic hybrid computers, scientists at EPFL have developed an ultrafast technique that can track light and electrons as they travel through a nanostructured...
View ArticleBiomedical 'skin-like bandage' is stretchy, durable and long lasting
A skin-like biomedical technology that uses a mesh of conducting nanowires and a thin layer of elastic polymer might bring new electronic bandages that monitor biosignals for medical applications and...
View ArticleTowards new IT devices with stable and transformable solitons
Unavoidably, each digital information we send around the globe is prone to be lost. Travelling long ways in wires, the initial signal decays and scatters by colliding with impurities and neighboring...
View ArticleNASA demonstrates electronics for longer Venus surface missions
A team of scientists at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland recently completed a technology demonstration that could enable new scientific missions to the surface of Venus. The team demonstrated...
View ArticleThe ultimate green technology: Creating computers that use 10,000 times less...
Imagine patterning and visualizing silicon at the atomic level, something which, if done successfully, will revolutionize the quantum and classical computing industry. A team of scientists in Edmonton,...
View ArticleSilicon nanowires fabricated via imprinting technology could be the future...
Korean researchers are improving the fabrication of transistor-based biosensors by using silicon nanowires on their surface.
View ArticleSupercritical carbon dioxide delivers protective molecules to semiconductor...
A simple, green method that applies a protective coating to semiconductors could help to develop these materials for many applications, from batteries to biosensors.
View ArticleA revolution in lightat the small scale
Light behaves in rather tame and predictable ways when interacting with everyday objects—it travels in straight lines, rebounds when it hits shiny surfaces, and gets bent by lenses. But weird and...
View ArticleGraphene on silicon carbide can store energy
By introducing defects into the perfect surface of graphene on silicon carbide, researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have increased the capacity of the material to store electrical charge....
View ArticleHow hot were the oceans when life first evolved?
We know little about Earth's surface temperatures for the first 4 billion years or so of its history. This presents a limitation into research of life's origins on Earth and also how it might arise on...
View ArticleHands-off approach to silicon chips
The possibility of looking inside silicon chips to see their tiny working parts, without damaging the chips, is a step closer thanks to an international team led by scientists at the LCN.
View ArticleSolar cell breakthrough paves the way for new applications
An international scientific collaboration has successfully integrated a sub-micron thin, nanophotonic silicon film into a crystalline solar cell for the first time.
View ArticleDesigner binders protect silicon battery electrodes
In your electric car's battery, swapping an electrode with one made of silicon could let the battery store 10 times more energy. Why isn't silicon used? It falls apart. Scientists designed binders,...
View ArticleCicada wings help researchers design better solar cells
(Phys.org)—Researchers have turned to cicada wings to design surfaces with highly antireflective properties, which have potential applications for solar cells, stealth surfaces, antifogging materials,...
View ArticleGlass microparticles enhance solar cells efficiency
Scientists from ITMO University have suggested a new solar cell coating that combines features of an electrode and those of a light-trapping structure. The coating enabled researchers to cut down on...
View ArticleGecko adhesion technology moves closer to industrial uses
A gecko scampering up a wall or across a ceiling has long fascinated scientists and encouraged them to investigate how to harness lizard's mysterious ability to defy gravity.
View ArticleSilver nanoparticles take spectroscopy to new dimension
As medicine and pharmacology investigate nanoscale processes, it has become increasingly important to identify and characterize different molecules. Raman spectroscopy, a technique that leverages the...
View ArticleBuilding miniature optical antennas using DNA as a guide
An international research collaborative has reported a new, highly parallel technique to fabricate precise metallic nanostructures with designed plasmonic properties by means of self-assembled DNA...
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