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. Silicon semiconductors are widely used as particle detectors; however, their long-term operation is constrained by performance degradation in high-radiation environments. Researchers at University of Tsukuba have demonstrated real-time, two-dimensional position detection of individual charged particles using a gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor with superior radiation tolerance. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-real-event-position-high-tolerance.html General Physics Mon, 02 Feb 2026 16:52:31 EST news689273521 Semiconductors—most notably, silicon—underpin the computers, cellphones, and other electronic devices that power our daily lives, including the device on which you are reading this article. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-superatomic-semiconductor-ballistic.html Condensed Matter Thu, 26 Oct 2023 14:00:01 EDT news617530578 Quantum electronics promises significant advances in ultra-sensitive measurements and quantum information processing. In nanoelectronic circuits, one electron can be used to precisely modify the trajectory of another electron through their mutual Coulomb interaction. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-electron-collider-chip-independent-teams.html Nanophysics Fri, 30 Jun 2023 11:19:02 EDT news607342741 Hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources can be used as fuels that do not contribute to CO2 emissions, and therefore is emerging as an important future power source. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-stability-photocatalysts-hydrogen-production.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 17 Apr 2023 11:12:03 EDT news600948721 Quantum dots are semiconductor particles measuring just a few nanometers across, which are now widely studied for their intriguing electrical and optical properties. Through new research published in The European Physical Journal B, Kobra Hasanirokh at Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University in Iran, together with Luay Hashem Abbud at Al-Mustaqbal University College, Iraq, show how quantum dots containing spherical defects can significantly enhance their nonlinear optical properties. By fine-tuning these defects, researchers could tightly control the frequency and brightness of the light emitted by quantum dots. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-quantum-dots-finely-tuned-spherical-defects.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 13 Feb 2023 14:51:39 EST news595522293 Whether or not a solid can emit light, for instance as a light-emitting diode (LED), depends on the energy levels of the electrons in its crystalline lattice. An international team of researchers led by University of Oldenburg physicists Dr. Hangyong Shan and Prof. Dr. Christian Schneider has succeeded in manipulating the energy-levels in an ultra-thin sample of the semiconductor tungsten diselenide in such a way that this material, which normally has a low luminescence yield, began to glow. The team has now published an article on its research in the science journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-dark-semiconductors.html Nanophysics Mon, 27 Jun 2022 12:48:33 EDT news575552910 Besides charge, subatomic particles like electrons also carry a property called spin, which is responsible for magnetism. Novel proposals to use spin to store information have emerged in recent years with the promise to be more energy efficient and to bring new functionalities to devices of communication and sensing. For his Ph.D. research, Adonai Rodrigues Da Cruz studied the spin dynamics in more detail using theory and numerical simulations. He defended his thesis at the department of Applied Physics on May 3rd. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-nanoscale-currents-quantum-phenomena.html Quantum Physics Thu, 05 May 2022 11:05:27 EDT news570967525 Researchers have discovered that light—in the form of a laser—can trigger a form of magnetism in a normally nonmagnetic material. This magnetism centers on the behavior of electrons. These subatomic particles have an electronic property called "spin," which has a potential application in quantum computing. The researchers found that electrons within the material became oriented in the same direction when illuminated by photons from a laser. https://phys.org/news/2022-04-lasers-trigger-magnetism-atomically-thin.html Condensed Matter Wed, 20 Apr 2022 11:00:04 EDT news569664604 Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor particles only a few nanometers across that, thanks to their small size, exhibit peculiar optical and electronic properties due to quantum mechanics. With existing and foreseen applications in screens, lighting, lasers, and energy harvesting, research in quantum dots has been steadily progressing. In particular, colloidal QDs (CQDs) have been in the nanotechnology spotlight for over a decade. https://phys.org/news/2021-06-equal-size-colloidal-quantum-dots.html Nanomaterials Fri, 25 Jun 2021 10:22:55 EDT news543835372 A nanoscale gold butterfly provides a more precise route for growing/synthesizing nanosized semiconductors that can be used in nano-lasers and other applications. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-gold-butterfly-semiconductor-skin.html Nanophysics Thu, 06 Feb 2020 09:25:49 EST news500203546 A collaborative investigation has revealed new insight into how room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) conduct electricity, which may have a great potential impact for the future of energy storage. https://phys.org/news/2019-06-reveals-insight-electrical-ionic-liquids.html General Physics Fri, 07 Jun 2019 09:02:54 EDT news479116967 The human eye is particularly sensitive to green, but less sensitive to blue and red. Chemists led by Hubert Huppertz at the University of Innsbruck have now developed a new red phosphor whose light is well perceived by the eye. This increases the light yield of white LEDs by around one sixth, which can significantly improve the energy efficiency of lighting systems. https://phys.org/news/2019-04-energy-saving-phosphor.html Materials Science Thu, 25 Apr 2019 08:12:27 EDT news475398732 Light particles normally do not "feel" each other because there is no interaction acting between them. Researchers at ETH have now succeeded in manipulating photons inside a semiconductor material in such a way as to make them repel each other nevertheless. https://phys.org/news/2019-02-repulsive-photons.html Condensed Matter Mon, 25 Feb 2019 09:16:10 EST news470308561 Newly developed nanovalves allow the flow of individual nanoparticles in liquids to be controlled in tiny channels. This is of interest for lab-on-a-chip applications such as in materials science and biomedicine. https://phys.org/news/2018-05-valves-tiny-particles.html Nanophysics Tue, 22 May 2018 09:17:48 EDT news446199455 Researchers at Duke University and North Carolina State University have demonstrated the first custom semiconductor microparticles that can be steered into various configurations repeatedly while suspended in water. https://phys.org/news/2018-05-custom-silicon-microparticles-dynamically-reconfigure.html General Physics Thu, 03 May 2018 05:00:02 EDT news444539544 Color prints produced on contemporary printers have a resolution of a few thousand dots per inch (dpi), but an alternative strategy that harnesses the power of nanotechnology can improve this resolution by an order of magnitude. https://phys.org/news/2018-03-high-resolution-full-images-silicon-nanostructure-pixels.html Nanophysics Fri, 23 Mar 2018 09:37:14 EDT news441016626 While the charge and spin properties of electrons are widely utilized in modern day technologies such as transistors and memories, another aspect of the subatomic particle has long remained uncharted. This is the "valley" property which has potential for realizing a new class of technology termed "valleytronics" - similar to electronics (charge) and spintronics (spin). This property arises from the fact that the electrons in the crystal occupy different positions that are quantum mechanically distinct. https://phys.org/news/2017-07-physicists-master-unexplored-electron-property.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 25 Jul 2017 14:24:52 EDT news420211486 Russian physicists from ITMO University have discovered that spherical silicon nanoparticles can be effectively heated and simultaneously emit light depending on their temperature. According to the scientists, these properties, coupled with good biocompatibility, have applications in photothermal therapy and nanosurgery. The researchers plan to control the heating of the silicon particles in the future to internally burn cancer cells without affecting healthy tissue. The results appeared in the prestigious journal Nano Letters. https://phys.org/news/2017-06-nano-sized-silicon-heater-thermometer-combined.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 02 Jun 2017 06:52:20 EDT news415605129 Using laboratory instruments typically used to make semiconductor devices, space weathering of airless bodies in the Solar System has been simulated, allowing researchers to better determine the ages of their surfaces, states a new paper by Kimberly R. Kuhlman of the Planetary Science Institute. https://phys.org/news/2015-09-airless-space-weathering-duplicated-lab.html Space Exploration Fri, 04 Sep 2015 07:33:20 EDT news360570789 Imagine building a chemical reactor small enough to study nanoparticles a billionth of a meter across. A billion times smaller than a raindrop is the volume of an E. coli cell. And another million times smaller would be a reactor small enough to study isolated nanoparticles. Add to that the challenge of making not just one of these tiny reactors, but billions of them, all identical in size and shape. Researchers at Cornell have done just that. https://phys.org/news/2014-11-billions-nanoreactors-materials.html Nanophysics Tue, 18 Nov 2014 07:00:01 EST news335514693 (Phys.org) —A new method for transferring energy from organic to inorganic semiconductors could boost the efficiency of widely used inorganic solar cells. https://phys.org/news/2014-10-hybrid-materials-solar-efficiency-ceiling.html Materials Science Thu, 09 Oct 2014 06:31:39 EDT news332055092 In work that unmasks some of the magic behind memristors and "resistive random access memory," or RRAM—cutting-edge computer components that combine logic and memory functions—researchers have shown that the metal particles in memristors don't stay put as previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2014-06-metal-particles-solids-memristor.html Nanophysics Tue, 24 Jun 2014 12:02:53 EDT news322830164 Inspired by fictional cyborgs like Terminator, a team of researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh has made the first bionic particles from semiconductors and proteins. https://phys.org/news/2014-05-bionic-particles-self-assemble-capture.html Nanomaterials Wed, 21 May 2014 07:17:04 EDT news319875411 Physicists at the University of Basel have been successful in generating photons - the quantum particles of light – with only one color. This is useful for quantum information. The scientists have actively stabilized the wavelength of the photons emitted by a semiconductor thereby neutralizing the charge noise in the semiconductor. The results were developed in close collaboration with the Universities of Bochum, Paderborn and Lyon and have been published in the magazine Physical Review X. https://phys.org/news/2013-11-highly-stable-quantum-source-applications.html Quantum Physics Mon, 04 Nov 2013 09:49:30 EST news302780954 Until now, designers of buildings have no choice but to use black or bluish-gray colored solar panels. With the help of thin-film technologies, researchers have now been able to turn solar cells into colorful creations. https://phys.org/news/2013-07-solar-facades.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 01 Jul 2013 08:50:01 EDT news291883346 Corporate Technology (CT), Siemens global research department, has developed a new accelerator technology in cooperation with one of its strategic partners, the Russian research center Skolkovo, which is located near Moscow. https://phys.org/news/2013-04-semiconductor-technology-particle.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:00:01 EDT news286439003 Quantum dots—tiny particles that emit light in a dazzling array of glowing colors—have the potential for many applications, but have faced a series of hurdles to improved performance. But an MIT team says that it has succeeded in overcoming all these obstacles at once, while earlier efforts have only been able to tackle them one or a few at a time. https://phys.org/news/2013-02-quantum-dot-enable-efficient-biomedical.html Nanophysics Mon, 04 Feb 2013 07:30:05 EST news279185394 A new device called a soft x-ray electrostatic precipitator protected immunocompromised mice from airborne pathogenic bacteria, viruses, ultrafine particles, and allergens, according to a paper published online ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. This device, known for short as a SXC ESP, is highly versatile, with multiple potential uses, and Washington University is working on licensing the technology. https://phys.org/news/2013-01-device-particulates-airborne-pathogens.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:18:59 EST news278871526 Tornado-like vortexes can be produced in bizarre fluids which are controlled by quantum mechanics, completely unlike normal liquids. New research published today in the journal Nature Communications demonstrates how massed ranks of these quantum twisters line up in rows, and paves the way for engineering quantum circuits and chips measuring motion ultra-precisely. https://phys.org/news/2012-12-quantum-tornadoes.html Quantum Physics Tue, 04 Dec 2012 11:19:36 EST news273842369 Conversion of water into hydrogen is a fundamental reaction powered by light, but the lack of suitable artificial drivers, or photocatalysts, for this reaction has hampered its commercial development. Platinum-decorated semiconductor nanoparticles are expected to fill this gap; however, production of these tiny particles typically requires high-temperature metal deposition or ultraviolet irradiation techniques in organic solvents. When synthesized in water, as a benign alternative, the particles tend to form clumps during metal deposition. This unwanted agglomeration can now be avoided, thanks to a method developed by a research team at the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering in Singapore. https://phys.org/news/2012-09-method-non-aggregating-semiconducting-particles.html Nanomaterials Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:46:45 EDT news267875197