Scientists engineer materials’ electrical and optical properties with plasmon engineering. The Science Researchers have developed an innovative technique for creating nanomaterials. These are materials only atoms wide. They draw on nanoscience to allow scientists to control their construction and behavior. The new electron beam nanofabrication technique is called plasmon engineering. It achieves unprecedented near-atomic scale control of patterning in silicon. Structures built using this approach produce record-high tuning of electro-optical properties. The Impact In this research, scientists used plasmon engineering to control…

Ultimate control of stereochemistry and conjugation length. Polyacetylene (PA) is one-dimensional carbon chain with alternating single and double carbon-carbon bonds, which is also the first synthesized conductive polymer. Although the structural unit is simple, the control on molecular weight and stereochemistry of PA chains are challenging via conventional acetylene polymerization pathway. Interestingly, normal alkanes (n-alkanes) present the same carbon skeleton as all-trans PA. Direct alkane dehydrogenation has been intensively explored in petrochemical processes to produce industrial chemicals like mono-olefins and…

Subhajit Bandopadhyay is working on a smart car IAM based on Usage Control (UCON) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs). A post-graduate student in City’s Institute for Cyber Security (ICS) is attempting to plug the vulnerability gaps of smart cars to hacking and security breaches. Subhajit Bandopadhyay, studying for a PhD under the supervision of Professor Muttukrishnan Rajarajan, Director of the ICS, has been involved in collaborative research to develop the SIUV – a stateful smart car Identity and Access Management (IAM) system, based on Usage…

A unique coating camouflages the temperature of an underlying material. The Science Scientists demonstrated that ultrathin films of samarium nickel oxide can mask the thermal radiation emitted by hot materials. Samarium nickel oxide is a quantum material. These are materials that have strange and incredible properties due to quantum mechanics. The cloaking mechanism is due to the material undergoing a unique, gradual transition from insulator to heat-conducting metal. This transition occurs over a temperature range from 100 to 140 degrees…

A new approach to producing metamaterials draws on kirigami techniques to make three-dimensional, reconfigurable building blocks that can be used to create complex, dynamic structures. Because the design approach is modular, these structures are easy to both assemble and disassemble. “Applying kirigami to three-dimensional materials offers a new level of reconfigurability for these structures,” says Jie Yin, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University. Researchers…

A new project at Landshut University of Applied Sciences deals with the development of a self-learning method for the production of batteries and thereby aims to strengthen Germany in terms of the global competition Batteries are considered to be a key technology for electric cars, mobile phones and energy storage systems. We need them to achieve the necessary energy turnaround, to fight climate change and to drive digitalisation. The demand for batteries and their production is therefore increasing all the…

Researchers at the Skoltech Center for Design, Manufacturing and Materials and their colleagues have developed and experimentally verified the model of a thermoplastic composite material chaotically reinforced by short glass fibers. The effectiveness and applicability of this model was demonstrated on strength calculations of promising composite valves and safety devices for portable tanks for road, rail and maritime transportation of chemical substances. The results were published in International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping. One of the most significant scientific and engineering problems…

Patented technology will improve production of many electronic and computer components. University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Science and Engineering researchers have invented a cheaper, safer, and simpler technology that will allow a “stubborn” group of metals and metal oxides to be made into thin films used in many electronics, computer components, and other applications. The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), a peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary, high-impact…

Multi-institutional team provides a foundation for unraveling the mysteries of magnetic materials. The Science Researchers have for the first time used a quantum computer to generate accurate results from materials science simulations that can be verified with practical techniques. The team used a form of quantum computing called quantum annealing. This approach uses quantum physics to simplify a computer model. The team overcame quantum hardware limitations by programming various parameters into a materials science model. Next, they embedded the model into team…

Access to modern, reliable, and affordable energy services is a must for development and ensuring a decent quality of life. IIASA researchers used a novel bottom-up approach to analyze how access to energy services may evolve over time under different scenarios of socioeconomic growth and policy scenarios that meet climate mitigation goals. Energy access policies introduced around the world in the last decade have led to an encouraging decline in the number of people without access to electricity. Much of…

Reliable projections and forecasts of photovoltaic generation are becoming more and more important to maintain a stable power grid and for solar energy trading on the electric power exchange. To improve such projections, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and the transmission system operator TransnetBW have set up a network of measurement stations which record the current irradiance conditions in the control area on a minute-by-minute basis. These data are also extremely valuable for research in solar energy…

BMBF project “SoLiS” explores innovative lithium-sulfur battery concepts. The research project “SoLiS – Development of Lithium-Sulfur Solid State Batteries in Multilayer Pouch Cells”, which started in July 2021, aims to transfer a promising battery concept from basic research into an industrial application. Thanks to high storage capacities and low material costs of sulfur, this cell technology potentially enables the construction of very lightweight and cost-effective batteries. Under the leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in…

New project “Superman” launched at Fraunhofer IFAM in Dresden. The Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Dresden has launched a new project called “Innovative sinterable nickel-based superalloy paste for the additive manufacturing of functional metallic components with the new MoldJet® process”, short “Superman”. With its partners Tritone Technologies and MIMplus Technologies GmbH & Ko. KG, the institute has come together in the first joint public project on the MoldJet® process. Since 1 May 2021, the partners…

Climate change is causing a persistent increase in the number of hot summer days. Offices and homes are getting hotter, and the nights bring little respite from the heat. Against this backdrop, a significant increase in new cooling systems installations is anticipated, which in turn will give rise to increased energy consumption. One potential cost-effective alternative is to use existing heating systems. According to an analysis by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP, the heat pumps in these systems…

Electrical engineers from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have developed a more efficient way of converting light from one wavelength to another, opening the door for improvements in the performance of imaging, sensing and communication systems. Mona Jarrahi, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UCLA Samueli, led the Nature Communications-published research. Finding an efficient way to convert wavelengths of light is crucial to the improvement of many imaging and sensing technologies. For example, converting incoming light into terahertz wavelengths enables imaging and sensing in optically…

…to revolutionize semiconductor material defect characterization techniques. A unique XRT tool was installed recently at Fraunhofer IISB to revolutionize state of the art semiconductor material defect characterization techniques. Rigaku Corporation and Fraunhofer IISB have built the Center of Expertise for X-ray Topography in Erlangen to support the semiconductor industry worldwide in improving and better understanding their wafer quality and yield by employing the Rigaku XRTmicron advanced X-ray topography tools. Erlangen, Neu-Isenburg, Tokyo – A newly developed X-ray topography tool was…