Crystal phenomena as a research area investigates the physical behaviors and properties that arise from the ordered atomic or molecular arrangements in crystalline solids, including symmetry-governed effects and defect-related responses. It encompasses studies of phase transitions, lattice dynamics, crystallographic defects (dislocations, vacancies, interfaces), anisotropic mechanical, thermal, and electronic behavior, as well as optical and dielectric responses governed by crystal symmetry and band structure. The field integrates experimental techniques such as X-ray and neutron diffraction, electron microscopy, and spectroscopies with theoretical and computational methods to elucidate structure–property relationships, enabling the design and control of functional materials in electronics, photonics, mechanics, and quantum technologies.
A research team led by the GRASP—Group of Research and Applications in Statistical Physics—at the University of Liège (Belgium), demonstrates how to manipulate the mesh, shape and symmetry of floating crystals by wandering, ...
Nanophysics
Sep 30, 2022
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Scientists from the Department of Materials Science at the University of Tsukuba developed a new method to produce micrometer-scale single crystals in the form of hollow vessels. By drop-casting an ethanol solution onto a ...
Nanophysics
Aug 26, 2022
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Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered the mechanism behind the rapid growth of ultra-thin nanowires or "whiskers" in organic compounds. Nanowires are both a desirable technological innovation and a ...
Nanophysics
Jun 27, 2022
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Nanosheets are finely structured two-dimensional materials and have great potential for innovation. They are fixed on top of each other in layered crystals, and must first be separated from each other so that they can be ...
Nanomaterials
May 31, 2022
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The brilliant blue of the Hope Diamond is caused by small impurities in its crystal structure. Similar diamond impurities are also giving hope to scientists looking to create materials that can be used for quantum computing ...
Nanophysics
May 26, 2022
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Similar to the widespread interest in graphite and diamond, there is growing interest in metastable phases, which have different physical properties than those of stable phases. However, processes to fabricate metastable-phase ...
Nanomaterials
Apr 15, 2022
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A research team led by Northwestern University and the University of Michigan has developed a new method for assembling particles into colloidal crystals, a valuable type of material used for chemical and biological sensing ...
Nanomaterials
Mar 31, 2022
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265
A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in China and the U.S. has found that it is possible to track the sliding of grain boundaries in some metals at the atomic scale using an electron microscope and ...
2D van der Waals crystals, a class of materials that exhibit strong in-plane covalent bonds and weak interlayer interactions, have recently become the focus of numerous research studies due to their plethora of unique electrical, ...
Typically only an atom thick, 2D materials exhibit highly desirable properties for advanced technologies, such as flexibility, superconductivity and more. Made from carefully transitioning individual components from gas or ...
Nanophysics
Dec 3, 2021
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