https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Light-emitting semiconductors are used throughout everyday life in TVs, smartphones, and lighting. However, many technical barriers remain in developing environmentally friendly semiconductor materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-atomic-surface-boosts-brightness-eco.html Nanophysics Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:14:20 EST news687622441 Researchers have published the demonstration of a fully-integrated single-chip microwave photonics system, combining optical and microwave signal processing on a single silicon chip. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-programmable-solution-higher-wireless-communication.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 05 Jun 2025 12:16:03 EDT news668344561 As computer chips continue to get smaller and more complex, the ultrathin metallic wires that carry electrical signals within these chips have become a weak link. Standard metal wires get worse at conducting electricity as they get thinner, ultimately limiting the size, efficiency, and performance of nanoscale electronics. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-ultrathin-conductor-surpasses-copper-energy.html Nanophysics Tue, 07 Jan 2025 09:33:04 EST news655464781 The laser is so small you need a microscope to see it properly. But it's not just the size that scientists at Sandia National Laboratories are excited about. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-shrunken-laser.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 01 Aug 2023 16:19:04 EDT news610125541 In the realm of photonics, the integration of multiple optical devices onto a single substrate holds immense promise for a wide range of applications. This revolutionary approach, known as photonic integration, offers remarkable advantages, including reduced size, cost, and power consumption. Among the major integration technologies in photonics, two stand out: indium phosphide (InP)-based photonic integration and monolithic silicon photonics. Each technology has its unique strengths and weaknesses. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-photonic-future-chip-scale-applications.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 21 Jun 2023 16:48:20 EDT news606584896 An international team of researchers from Leibniz University Hannover (Germany), the University of Twente (Netherlands), and the start-up company QuiX Quantum has presented an entangled quantum light source fully integrated for the first time on a chip. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Photonics. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-quantum-source-fully-on-chip-scalability.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 17 Apr 2023 14:44:03 EDT news600961441 A new miniscule nitrogen dioxide sensor could help protect the environment from vehicle pollutants that cause lung disease and acid rain. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-nanowire-sensors-internet.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 06 Jan 2023 11:12:49 EST news592225964 New research led by Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, has found that mouse populations can be reduced significantly by doubling the amount of zinc phosphide (ZnP) in grain baits used for broadscale agriculture. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-baiting-regime-effective-mouse-agriculture.html Agriculture Tue, 02 Aug 2022 17:11:26 EDT news578679068 The library of two-dimensional (2D) layered materials keeps growing, from basic 2D materials to metal chalcogenides. Unlike their bulk counterparts, 2D layered materials possess novel features that offer great potential in next-generation electronics and optoelectronics devices. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-doping-strategy-responsive-phototransistors.html Nanomaterials Tue, 07 Jun 2022 13:32:34 EDT news573827551 Cancer immunotherapy is a treatment modality against tumor growth and metastasis via stimulating host immune responses. Phototherapy, including photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), is a less invasive treatment compared to chemotherapy. To be specific, PDT and PTT-induced immunogenic cell death can release tumor-associated antigens and damage-associated molecular patterns, stimulating an immune response. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-light-triggered-multifunctional-nanoplatform-efficient-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 30 May 2022 09:53:55 EDT news573123233 Faster, more energy-efficient ICT, or sensors to detect anything between beginning fruit rot and microscopic cracks in glass fibers: photonic technology holds great promises for the future. To deliver on those promises, a European consortium led by TU/e researchers takes the next step. The INSPIRE project uses a novel printing method to enable mass fabrication of hybrid photonic chips. These combine multiple technologies to create new possibilities for applications. https://phys.org/news/2022-03-optical-chips-layer-cake.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 30 Mar 2022 15:14:10 EDT news567872046 A study published in Nanoscale demonstrates that high-quality Zn3P2 crystals, free of interface defects, can be fabricated with a nanoscale approach. It consists in using selective area epitaxy to grow nanowires of Zn3P2, a material of interest for application in solar and photovoltaic cells. This work, coordinated by ICN2 group leader ICREA Prof. Jordi Arbiol, also employs state-of-the-art microscopy techniques and 3D simulations to thoroughly investigate the formation of differently-oriented structures within the nanowires. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-analysis-defect-formation-zn3p2-crystals.html Nanomaterials Tue, 01 Feb 2022 09:18:22 EST news562929498 It's the smell that hits you first. The scent of urine and decomposing bodies. Then you notice other signs: scuttles and squeaks, small dead bodies leaking blood, tails sticking out of hubcaps. https://phys.org/news/2021-05-mouse-plague-bromadiolone-obliterate-miceand.html Plants & Animals Fri, 21 May 2021 09:00:01 EDT news540806090 Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology have developed a new, integrated optical sensor that provides increased resolution in measurements and paves the way for fully integrated and compact optical sensors including lasers and detectors for on-chip sensing platforms. Such sensors could play a pivotal role in accurate displacement and force measurements at the nanoscale, which is crucial for microchip and nanodevice design and evaluation. This research has been published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2020-05-device-nanometer-scale.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 20 May 2020 09:18:06 EDT news509185080 A team at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology has announced that they have improved quantum dot (QD) technology for use in large displays by developing QDs that are both more efficient and have no heavy metals. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their work and their plans for the future. Alexander Efros, with the Naval Research Laboratory, in Washington D.C. has published a companion piece in the same journal issue outlining the work by the team at Samsung. https://phys.org/news/2019-11-samsung-efficient-quantum-dots-heavy.html Nanophysics Fri, 29 Nov 2019 10:50:01 EST news494244966 Researchers at the Toyohashi University of Technology have successfully fabricated a binder-less tin phosphide (Sn4P3)/carbon (C) composite film electrode for lithium-ion batteries via aerosol deposition. The Sn4P3/C particles were directly solidified on a metal substrate via impact consolidation, without applying a binder. Charging and discharging cycling stabilities were improved by both complexed carbon and controlled electrical potential window for lithium extraction. This finding could help realize advanced lithium-ion batteries of higher capacity. https://phys.org/news/2019-07-robust-binder-less-metal-phosphide-electrodes.html Nanomaterials Wed, 31 Jul 2019 11:25:09 EDT news483791102 Optical frequency combs are laser sources whose spectrum consists of a series of discrete, equally spaced frequency lines that can be used for precise measurements. In the last two decades, they have become a major tool for applications such as precise distance measurement, spectroscopy, and telecommunications. https://phys.org/news/2019-02-scientists-smallest-optical-frequency-to-date.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 12 Feb 2019 07:41:42 EST news469179694 A low-cost and simple alternative to expensive platinum-based catalysts that generate hydrogen from water could soon be available, thanks to A*STAR researchers. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-cobalt-based-catalysts-fast-track-industrial-scale-production.html Materials Science Wed, 12 Sep 2018 08:18:11 EDT news455959071 The electronic data connections within and between microchips are increasingly becoming a bottleneck in the exponential growth of data traffic worldwide. Optical connections are the obvious successors but optical data transmission requires an adequate nanoscale light source, and this has been lacking. Scientists at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) now have created a light source that has the right characteristics: a nano-LED that is 1000 times more efficient than its predecessors, and is capable of handling gigabits per second data speeds. They have published their findings in the online journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2017-02-efficient-nano-led-door-faster-microchips.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 02 Feb 2017 10:18:03 EST news405253076 In the nanoworld, tiny particles of gold can operate like snow blowers, churning through surface layers of an important class of semiconductors to dig unerringly straight paths. The surprising trenching capability, reported by scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and IBM, is an important addition to the toolkit of nature-supplied 'self-assembly' methods that researchers aim to harness for making useful devices. https://phys.org/news/2015-12-nanoworld-blowers-straight-channels-semiconductor.html Nanophysics Mon, 28 Dec 2015 10:42:32 EST news370521744 Imec and Ghent University present, for the first time, arrays of indium phosphide lasers monolithically integrated on 300mm silicon substrates in a CMOS pilot line. This breakthrough achievement, published in Nature Photonics, provides a path toward high-volume manufacturing of cost-effective photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with monolithically integrated laser sources. Such laser-powered PICs will revolutionize data transfer between future logic and memory chips. https://phys.org/news/2015-10-laser-arrays-monolithically-grown-300mm.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 29 Oct 2015 09:29:01 EDT news365329734 Quantum dots have made it possible to substantially increase color quality in LCD displays. However, these cadmium-based nanocrystals have proven to be harmful to the environment. Fraunhofer researchers are working together with an industry partner to develop a promising alternative: quantum dots based on indium phosphide. https://phys.org/news/2015-10-brilliant-environmentally-friendly-crystals.html Nanophysics Thu, 01 Oct 2015 08:00:02 EDT news362902335 A solar cell that produces fuel rather than electricity. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and FOM Foundation today present a very promising prototype of this in the journal Nature Communications. The material gallium phosphide enables their solar cell to produce the clean fuel hydrogen gas from liquid water. Processing the gallium phosphide in the form of very small nanowires is novel and helps to boost the yield by a factor of ten. And does so using ten thousand times less precious material. https://phys.org/news/2015-07-nanowires-solar-fuel-cell-efficiency.html Materials Science Fri, 17 Jul 2015 09:00:01 EDT news356340418 It may be significantly easier to design electronic components in future. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids have discovered that the electrical resistance of a compound of niobium and phosphorus increases enormously when the material is exposed to a magnetic field. This giant magnetoresistance, which is responsible for the large storage capacity of modern hard discs, was previously known to occur in some complexly structured materials. Niobium phosphide or a material with similar properties which can be manufactured more easily could offer an alternative. The Max Planck researchers, together with colleagues from the High-Field Magnet Laboratories at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and at the Radboud University in the Netherlands, published the new findings on niobium phosphide in the journal Nature Physics. https://phys.org/news/2015-06-material-superfast-electrons-extremely-large.html General Physics Mon, 22 Jun 2015 11:00:07 EDT news354187716 Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Japan have uncovered the first evidence of an unusual quantum phenomenon—the integer quantum Hall effect—in a new type of film, called a 3D topological insulator. In doing this, they demonstrated that "surface Dirac states"—a particular form of massless electrons—are quantized in these materials, meaning that they only take on certain discrete values. These discoveries could help move science forward toward the goal of dissipationless electronics—electronic devices that can operate without producing the vast amounts of heat generated by current silicon-based semiconductors. https://phys.org/news/2015-04-quantization-surface-dirac-states-exotic.html General Physics Tue, 14 Apr 2015 05:00:01 EDT news348163334 Graphene may be tough, but those who handle it had better be tender. The environment surrounding the atom-thick carbon material can influence its electronic performance, according to researchers at Rice and Osaka universities who have come up with a simple way to spot contaminants. https://phys.org/news/2014-08-reveals-purity-graphene-terahertz-contaminants.html Nanomaterials Wed, 13 Aug 2014 13:53:39 EDT news327156804 Energy losses in nanowire solar cell can be significantly reduced by 'cleaning' the surface of the cells with a special etching method. This has been shown by researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), Delft University of Technology and Philips in a paper published today in the journal Nano Letters. The solar cell has an efficiency of 11.1%, putting it just below the current world record, but it was reached with much less use of material. This is the latest step forward in the rapid development of this type of solar cell in recent years. https://phys.org/news/2013-09-boosts-solar-cell-efficiency.html Nanomaterials Fri, 13 Sep 2013 07:21:36 EDT news298275675 University of Alberta researchers have found that abundant materials in the Earth's crust can be used to make inexpensive and easily manufactured nanoparticle-based solar cells. https://phys.org/news/2013-08-nanoparticles-solar-cells-cheaper.html Nanomaterials Thu, 29 Aug 2013 16:30:15 EDT news297012598 Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an inexpensive new way to grow thin films of a material prized in the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries, an achievement that could bring high-end solar cells within reach of consumer pocketbooks. https://phys.org/news/2013-07-technology-high-end-solar-masses.html Nanomaterials Thu, 25 Jul 2013 04:20:01 EDT news293944680 Picking up ultra-weak signals from spacecraft exploring deep in our Solar System requires cooling a detector to within a few degrees of absolute zero. Thanks to ESA's support, the technology is now available in Europe for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2013-07-deep-space-stations-gain-made-in-europe-boost.html Space Exploration Fri, 19 Jul 2013 03:51:15 EDT news293424657