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. A new palladium-loaded amorphous InGaZnOx (a-IGZO) catalyst achieved over 91% selectivity when converting carbon dioxide to methanol, report researchers from Japan. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-semiconductor-catalyst-high-carbon-dioxide.html Materials Science Fri, 11 Jul 2025 06:09:20 EDT news671432953 Picture yourself at a busy pedestrian crossing. When the light is red, everyone waits—until one person starts to cross. Soon, others follow, and eventually everyone follows the crowd and crosses. Amsterdam physicists have discovered that a very similar process happens at the microscopic level, when two touching surfaces start to slide. Their results were published in Physical Review Letters this week. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-friction-red-traffic-common.html General Physics Wed, 30 Apr 2025 08:57:03 EDT news665222221 Today's computers reach their physical limits when it comes to speed. Semiconductor components usually operate at a maximum usable frequency of a few gigahertz—which corresponds to several billion computing operations per second. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-electrically-modulated-antenna-faster-chips.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 09 Sep 2024 11:52:04 EDT news645101521 The demand to shrink the size of semiconductors coupled with the problem of the heat generated at the hot spots of the devices not being effectively dispersed has negatively affected the reliability and durability of modern devices. Existing thermal management technologies have not been up to the task. Thus, the discovery of a new way of dispersing heat by using surface waves generated on the thin metal films over the substrate is an important breakthrough. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-overheating-semiconductor-devices.html Nanophysics Thu, 01 Jun 2023 10:51:09 EDT news604835465 Over the past few decades, the field of data processing and transferring technology has advanced at a rapid pace. This growth can be attributed to Moore's Law, which predicts that the number of transistors on a microchip will double roughly every two years, enabling the semiconductor industry to make electronic devices smaller, faster, and more efficient. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-quantum-nanoscale-unleashing-power-light-driven.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 20 Mar 2023 08:55:22 EDT news598521312 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. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-wavelength-conversion.html General Physics Fri, 30 Jul 2021 05:00:01 EDT news546839926 One vision that is currently driving material scientists is to combine organic molecules (and their diverse functionalities) with the technological possibilities offered by extremely sophisticated semiconductor electronics. Thanks to modern methods of micro- and nanotechnology, the latter designs ever more efficient electronic components for a wide variety of applications. However, it is also increasingly reaching its physical limits: Ever-smaller structures for functionalizing semiconductor materials such as silicon cannot be produced using the approaches of classical technology. Scientists have now presented a new approach in the journal Nature Chemistry: They show that stable and yet very well-ordered molecular single layers can be produced on silicon surfaces—by self-assembly. To do this, they use N-heterocyclic carbenes. These are small reactive organic ring molecules whose structure and properties vary in many ways and can be tailored by different "functional" groups. https://phys.org/news/2021-06-method-molecular-functionalization-surfaces.html Materials Science Tue, 22 Jun 2021 10:37:33 EDT news543577047 The process of crystallization, in which atoms or molecules line up in orderly arrays like soldiers in formation, is the basis for many of the materials that define modern life, including the silicon in microchips and solar cells. But while many useful applications for crystals involve their growth on solid surfaces (rather than in solution), there has been a dearth of good tools for studying this type of growth. https://phys.org/news/2020-04-technique-reveals-crystals-surfaces.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 02 Apr 2020 09:12:03 EDT news505037520 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 University of Illinois electrical engineers have cleared another hurdle in high-power semiconductor fabrication by adding the field's hottest material—beta-gallium oxide—to their arsenal. Beta-gallium oxide is readily available and promises to convert power faster and more efficiently than today's leading semiconductor materials—gallium nitride and silicon, the researchers said. https://phys.org/news/2019-07-semiconductors-gallium-oxide.html Nanomaterials Mon, 22 Jul 2019 12:38:57 EDT news483017919 Physicists from the University of Sheffield have discovered that when two atomically thin graphene-like materials are placed on top of each other their properties change, and a material with novel hybrid properties emerges, paving the way for design of new materials and nano-devices. https://phys.org/news/2019-03-equal-graphene-like-d-materials.html Nanomaterials Wed, 06 Mar 2019 13:00:04 EST news471096075 Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have discovered a simple new tweak that could double the efficiency of organic electronics. OLED-displays, plastic-based solar cells and bioelectronics are just some of the technologies that could benefit from their new discovery, which deals with "double-doped" polymers. https://phys.org/news/2019-01-efficiency-electronics.html Polymers Mon, 14 Jan 2019 11:00:15 EST news466670804 There is often a pronounced symmetry when you look at the lattice of crystals: It doesn't matter where you look—the atoms are uniformly arranged in every direction. This behavior would also be expected of a crystal, which physicists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), the University of Warsaw and the Polish Academy of Sciences produced with a compound from an indium arsenide semiconductor spiked with iron. The material, however, did not adhere to perfect symmetry. The iron formed two-dimensional, lamellar-shaped structures in the crystal that were magnetic. In the long term, the result could be vital in understanding superconductors. https://phys.org/news/2018-12-iron-rich-lamellae-semiconductor.html General Physics Mon, 10 Dec 2018 08:36:08 EST news463653358 A new form of electronics manufacturing which embeds silicon nanowires into flexible surfaces could lead to radical new forms of bendable electronics, scientists say. https://phys.org/news/2018-08-electronics-breakthrough-flexible-revolution.html Nanomaterials Mon, 13 Aug 2018 11:10:59 EDT news453377452 A solar cell is basically a semiconductor, which converts sunlight into electricity, sandwiched between metal contacts that carry the electrical current. https://phys.org/news/2015-11-technology-metal-wires-solar-cells.html Nanophysics Wed, 25 Nov 2015 14:22:12 EST news367683724 Nanoscale one-dimensional nanostructures (i.e. nanowires) offer vast opportunities in photovoltaics and photonics due to their exceptional optical and electrical properties, which are entirely tunable by varying their architectures. Unfortunately, current synthetic limitations have hindered the range of studies and devices that can be made with such structures. https://phys.org/news/2015-04-method-surfaces-multiple-nanowire.html Nanophysics Wed, 15 Apr 2015 05:46:40 EDT news348295492 (Phys.org) —Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) have established guidelines for using surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) to improve absorption in both photovoltaic or photoelectrochemical cells used for energy conversion. In both types of photocells, SPPs (electromagnetic waves that travel along a metal-semiconductor interface) have the potential to increase the amount of light absorbed in the active material layer, improving the overall efficiency of light collection in solar energy devices. https://phys.org/news/2014-08-guidelines-solar-cells-surface-plasmon.html General Physics Mon, 18 Aug 2014 23:40:01 EDT news327574268 Generating electricity is not the only way to turn sunlight into energy we can use on demand. The sun can also drive reactions to create chemical fuels, such as hydrogen, that can in turn power cars, trucks and trains. https://phys.org/news/2014-02-inexpensive-production-materials-boost-hydrogen.html Materials Science Fri, 21 Feb 2014 17:04:42 EST news312224655 The semiconductor industry of the future had high expectations of the new material silicene, which shares a lot of similarities with the 'wonder material' graphene. However, researchers of the MESA+ Research Institute of the University of Twente - who recently managed to directly and in real time film the formation of silicene - are harshly bursting the bubble: their research shows that silicene has suicidal tendencies. The research has been published by the renowned academic journal Applied Physics Letters. https://phys.org/news/2014-01-material-silicene-suicidal-tendencies.html Nanomaterials Tue, 14 Jan 2014 10:40:02 EST news308915427 Carbon nanotubes' outstanding mechanical, electrical and thermal properties make them an alluring material to electronics manufacturers. However, until recently scientists believed that growing the high density of tiny graphene cylinders needed for many microelectronics applications would be difficult. https://phys.org/news/2013-09-densest-array-carbon-nanotubes-grown.html Nanophysics Fri, 20 Sep 2013 11:42:48 EDT news298896158 (Phys.org) —A University of Warwick scientist has conceived a new method to improve the measurement of the surfaces of components essential for use in high-precision and nanotechnology applications. https://phys.org/news/2013-08-technique-high-precision-nanotechnology-surface.html Nanophysics Tue, 20 Aug 2013 07:40:02 EDT news296200413 Although it may not be immediately obvious, the mechanical properties of optical components have a significant impact on the performance of lasers employed in precision sensing applications. Currently, the mechanical damping of such components, and the inherent mechanical fluctuations they generate, present a roadblock to further advancement of ever more precise measurements of time and space. https://phys.org/news/2013-07-mirror-wall-lowest-noise.html Optics & Photonics Sun, 21 Jul 2013 13:00:12 EDT news293625907 (Phys.org) —New optical technologies using "metasurfaces" capable of the ultra-efficient control of light are nearing commercialization, with potential applications including advanced solar cells, computers, telecommunications, sensors and microscopes. https://phys.org/news/2013-03-metasurfaces-usher-optical-technologies.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:05:07 EDT news282503095 Ultrafast supercomputers that operate at speeds 100 times faster than current systems are now one step closer to reality. A team of IBM researchers working on a U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-funded program have found a way to transmit massive amounts of data with unprecedentedly low power consumption. https://phys.org/news/2013-03-ultra-high-speed-optical-link-power-efficiency.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:45:22 EDT news282311106 Researchers from Technische Universität München have developed a new generation of image sensors that are more sensitive to light than the conventional silicon versions, with the added bonus of being simple and cheap to produce. They consist of electrically conductive plastics, which are sprayed on to the sensor surface in an ultra-thin layer. The chemical composition of the polymer spray coating can be altered so that even the invisible range of the light spectrum can be captured. https://phys.org/news/2013-01-image-sensors-sensitivity-cameras.html Engineering Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:14:34 EST news278082866 Japanese researchers have developed a manufacturing technology for highly uniform thin films of organic polymer semiconductors without material losses by applying the semiconductor solution on a highly hydrophobic surface that strongly repels the solution. The technology allows remarkably simple production of high performance thin-film transistors (TFTs) that are indispensable building blocks for information terminal devices such as electronic papers. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-technology-semiconductor-production-highly-liquid-repellent.html Electronics & Semiconductors Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:17:04 EST news272186198 (Phys.org)—Inspired by phenomena common to both earthquakes and atomic force microscopy, University of Wisconsin–Madison materials engineers have learned that chemical reactions between two silicon dioxide surfaces cause the bonds at that interface to "age," or strengthen gradually over time. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-static-friction-chemistry-key-stronger.html Condensed Matter Wed, 07 Nov 2012 07:20:01 EST news271494601 Hydrogen production by solar water splitting in photoelectrochemical cells (PEC) has long been considered the holy grail of sustainable energy research. Iron oxide is a promising electrode material. An international team of researchers led by Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have now gained in-depth insights into the electronic structure of an iron oxide electrode – while it was in operation. This opens up new possibilities for an affordable hydrogen production from solar energy. https://phys.org/news/2012-10-molecular-glance-solar-electron-holes.html Astronomy Mon, 29 Oct 2012 11:00:07 EDT news270724468 (Phys.org)—Researchers from North Carolina State University have created flower-like structures out of germanium sulfide (GeS) – a semiconductor material – that have extremely thin petals with an enormous surface area. The GeS flower holds promise for next-generation energy storage devices and solar cells. https://phys.org/news/2012-10-nanoflowers-energy-storage-solar-cells.html Nanomaterials Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:24:31 EDT news269177058 A Wayne State University researcher has developed technology that opens new possibilities for health care and medical applications of electronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2012-08-flexible-electronics-technology-medical.html General Physics Thu, 30 Aug 2012 12:47:09 EDT news265549617