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Metasurfaces: Tiny tech with big potential

Imagine manipulating light with ultra-thin, flat sheets instead of bulky lenses and mirrors. That's the promise of metasurfaces, a nanostructure technology that can twist and bend light in ways never before possible.

Illuminating the unavoidable imperfections of nanostructures

A new study by a collaborative team from the University of Twente and the e-Science Center in Amsterdam compares the transmission of light through a utopian model with a real 3D nanostructure. These nanostructures are integral ...

World's first micromachine twists 2D materials at will

Just a few years ago, researchers discovered that changing the angle between two layers of graphene, an atom-thick sheet of carbon, also changed the material's electronic and optical properties. They then learned that a "twist" ...

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Nanophysics
Precise stirring conditions key to optimizing nanostructure synthesis
Nanophysics
New X-ray world record: Looking inside a microchip with 4 nanometer precision
Nanophysics
Researchers reveal atomic-scale details of catalysts' active sites
Nanophysics
Understanding the forces that regulate crystallization by particle attachment
Nanophysics
First 3D visualization of an aluminum nanocomposite for the auto industry
Nanophysics
Investigation into the regime between the nano- and microscale could pave the way for nanoscale technologies
Nanophysics
Researchers identify unique phenomenon in Kagome metal
Nanophysics
New, more sustainable method for manufacturing microchips and other nanoscale devices
Nanophysics
Confined water gets electric: Study reveals dielectric response of water in nanopores
Nanophysics
Tunable metasurface can control optical light in space and time, offering path to wireless communication channels
Nanophysics
3D printing method reveals light emission from nanowires for the first time
Nanophysics
Organic polymer blend microspheres exhibit ultra-low threshold lasing with highest reported quality factor
Nanophysics
Aluminum scandium nitride films: Enabling next-gen ferroelectric memory devices
Nanophysics
New method achieves controllable tuning, assesses instability in 2D materials for engineering applications
Nanophysics
Nanoscale trilayer exhibits ultrafast charge transfer in semiconductor materials
Nanophysics
Study shows how organic molecules impact gold nanoparticles' electrochemical properties
Nanophysics
Researchers achieve unprecedented nanostructuring inside silicon
Nanophysics
Atomically thin transducers could one day enable quantum computing at room temperature
Nanophysics
Integrating small-angle neutron scattering with machine learning enhances measurements of complex molecular structures
Nanophysics
New synthesis method enhances MoS₂ optoelectronic performance

Other news

Plants & Animals
Northern elephant seals use deep-sea research sonar as dinner bell
Polymers
New filter removes chemical contaminants from water even at very low concentrations
Analytical Chemistry
Probing the depths of complex electron shells: New insights into uranium's tricky chemistry
Cell & Microbiology
Labs collaborate to enhance imaging tools for cell observation
Astronomy
A space oddity—small exoplanet challenges existing theories on planet formation
Nanomaterials
3D imaging allows researchers to observe degradation of micro- and nanoplastics with unprecedented detail
Condensed Matter
Adding an alternating magnetic field to layers of twisted graphene creates even more exotic properties
General Physics
First detection of cross-correlation between cosmic shear and X-ray background enhances baryonic matter understanding
Ecology
Replacement crop treatment not safe for important pollinator, experts say
Planetary Sciences
Astronomers discover iron winds on an ultra-hot exoplanet
Biotechnology
Research team designs efficient bioenergy crops that need less water to grow
Astronomy
Outer solar system is more populated than previously thought, research reveals
Plants & Animals
Unraveling the evolutionary secrets of how whales and dolphins adapted their backbones for aquatic life
Plants & Animals
Regulatory gene influences shape recognition in medaka fish, scientists discover
Condensed Matter
Physicists capture first thickness-dependent transitions in two-dimensional magnetic material
Environment
SF Bay area study reveals chemical levels in bottled, tap and household-treated tap water
Space Exploration
Small, harmless asteroid burns up in Earth's atmosphere over the Philippines
Optics & Photonics
Novel metasurface enables temperature-adaptive radiative cooling
Ecology
Soil treated with organic fertilizers stores more carbon, study finds
Plants & Animals
Fetching in cats is more common than previously thought, researchers find

Engineers develop a low-cost terahertz camera

Terahertz radiation, whose wavelengths lie between those of microwaves and visible light, can penetrate many nonmetallic materials and detect signatures of certain molecules. These handy qualities could lend themselves to ...

The surprising thermal properties of cellulose nanofibers

Plant-derived materials such as cellulose often exhibit thermally insulating properties. A new material made from nanoscale cellulose fibers shows the reverse, high thermal conductivity. This makes it useful in areas previously ...

A new quantum component made from graphene

Less than 20 years ago, Konstantin Novoselov and Andre Geim first created two-dimensional crystals consisting of just one layer of carbon atoms. Known as graphene, this material has had quite a career since then.

Quantum dots form ordered material

Quantum dots are clusters of some 1,000 atoms which act as one large "super-atom." It is possible to accurately design the electronic properties of these dots just by changing their size. However, to create functional devices, ...