https://phys.org/nanotech-news/nano-physics/ en-us The latest science news on nanophysics, nanotechnology, nanotech and nanoscience. New research led by the ARC Center of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS) at the University of Melbourne demonstrates a new way to make invisible infrared light visible without relying on the expensive detector technology used in today's infrared cameras. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-compact-optical-screen-pave-cheaper.html Nanophysics Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:10:04 EDT news708790681 Physicists at Leipzig University and Charles University in Prague have developed a method for changing the swimming style of tiny artificial microswimmers in real time. They can make a single microscopic particle switch at will between modes of swimming inspired by bacteria and algae. The researchers have thus turned a property that was previously fixed during production into a programmable parameter. They believe their findings pave the way for an evolutionary approach to the development of synthetic active matter. Their study has now been published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-microswimmers-bacteria-algae-propulsion.html Nanophysics Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:20:02 EDT news708781981 Artificial intelligence is transforming how information is generated, processed and stored, but its rapid expansion is also driving unprecedented demand for computing power and electricity. Developing hardware that can process information more efficiently is therefore becoming one of the major technological challenges of the AI era. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-room-temperature-skyrmion-based-synapses.html Nanophysics Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:20:01 EDT news708620821 Monash University-led researchers have directly imaged tiny swirling structures inside an atomically thin semiconductor, opening new possibilities for future low-energy electronic technologies. Published in Science Advances, the study reveals structures known as merons and antimerons, nanoscale "whirlpools" of electrical polarization, in twisted layers of the semiconductor tungsten diselenide (WSe₂). https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tiny-whirlpools-atom-thin-semiconductor.html Nanophysics Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:20:04 EDT news708593821 Metallic nanostructures are exceptionally effective at concentrating light into tiny volumes, while dielectric nanostructures excel at storing light with minimal energy loss. Combining these complementary properties has traditionally required complicated hybrid structures in which the two optical modes become mixed, making them difficult to control independently. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanostructure-enables-independent-resonance-modes.html Nanophysics Fri, 11 Sep 2026 18:20:01 EDT news708353822 Light in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum plays a key role in modern sensing. Because molecules interact with this kind of light in specific ways, researchers use technologies like mid-IR spectroscopy to identify biological materials, drugs and pollutants. Mid-IR light can also serve as a carrier of information in free-space optical communications, where data are transmitted through the air without using cables or fibers. Better control of mid-IR light could therefore lead to more sensitive detectors and faster communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ultrathin-silicon-tune-mid-ir.html Nanophysics Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:40:07 EDT news708256891 A research team at the University of Vienna led by physicist Jani Kotakoski demonstrates how the shape of nanopores in hexagonal boron nitride—the electrically insulating counterpart to graphene, also known as "white graphene"—can be precisely controlled at the atomic level. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-white-graphene-reshaped-atomic-scale.html Nanophysics Thu, 10 Sep 2026 12:00:08 EDT news708252122 Researchers at the National Graphene Institute have shown that naturally occurring channels within a common clay mineral can respond to pressure, voltage and pH, offering possibilities for controlling the movement of ions through extremely small, confined spaces. The study, published in Advanced Materials, focuses on vermiculite, a naturally abundant layered clay whose structure contains channels only a few angstroms high, providing naturally confined pathways through which ions can move. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-natural-clay-reveals-ion-angstrom.html Nanophysics Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:20:01 EDT news708184022 Researchers at The University of Manchester and the Australian National University have developed a new class of molecular magnets that combines the most successful features of previous designs, resulting in some of the strongest magnetic memory properties reported to date. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-molecular-magnet-boosts-ultrahigh-density.html Nanophysics Tue, 08 Sep 2026 14:40:09 EDT news708088321 One big dream of ultrafast science has been to watch changes in nanoparticles or biomolecules on their natural timescale. Experimentally, this can be realized by taking two snapshots of the same object only femtoseconds apart. However, no detector is fast enough to record the two snapshots separately—they end up on top of each other in a single image. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ray-pulses-capture-nanoparticle-moments.html Nanophysics Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:00:07 EDT news707992670 Augmented reality (AR) glasses, lenses thinner than a human hair, and holograms floating above your fingertips may sound like technologies from science fiction. At the heart of these emerging technologies, however, lies a nanoscale optical device known as a "metasurface." https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hidden-disorder-nanodevices-easier.html Nanophysics Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:20:04 EDT news707739061 With the rapid spread of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data centers, global energy consumption is rising to new heights. A promising way to reduce this burden is to develop memory devices that store information magnetically yet are written using electric fields. Magnetic memories are nonvolatile, meaning stored information is retained without a power supply. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoscale-multiferroic-materials-path-efficient.html Nanophysics Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:40:01 EDT news707661062 A team of Korean researchers has become the first in the world to identify the origin of the "beating" signal that has long been a major obstacle to interpreting quantum signals in topological insulator (TI) nanowires. Their analysis confirmed that the beating arises when two different quantum oscillations overlap: one created by topological electronic states on the surface and the other by ordinary electronic states inside the nanowire. This achievement provides a key criterion for interpreting the signals of topological quantum devices and realizing desired electronic states. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scientists-years-mystery-quantum-material.html Nanophysics Thu, 03 Sep 2026 11:20:09 EDT news707648881 Researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), Harvard and the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) have developed an innovative method for coupling light non-linearly. This opens up new possibilities for telecommunications and quantum technology. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanostructure-linear-conversion-efficient.html Nanophysics Wed, 02 Sep 2026 13:40:08 EDT news707568302 A collaborative research team has successfully visualized in real space the ultrafast optical modulation of hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) in a van der Waals heterostructure composed of hBN and WS2. The research is published in the journal Nano Letters, and was led by Kazuki Kamada of the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS) and Osaka Metropolitan University, along with Dr. Jun Nishida, assistant professor at IMS, and Takashi Kumagai, associate professor at IMS. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-femtosecond-nano-imaging-reveals-ultrafast.html Nanophysics Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:00:07 EDT news707405941 Researchers use tightly focused laser beams to image biological samples, shape materials with microscopic precision and generate displays. But using those beams in three dimensions requires more than sweeping light from side to side, as the light must also rapidly refocus at different depths. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tiny-mirror-3d-microscopes-smaller.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:20:02 EDT news707393521 A new way to imprint complex surfaces on low-cost, sustainable polymers could be used in a wide range of industries, including water-repellent coatings, optical devices and data storage disks. The complex nano- and microscale patterns on sulfur-derived polymers, unveiled this week in the ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces journal, build on a wide range of green chemistry solutions led by Flinders University. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-power-lasers-durable-nano-patterns.html Nanophysics Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:00:04 EDT news707393341 Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have shown that making extremely small changes to the structure of a material can dramatically improve its ability to respond to electrical signals. Published recently in Science Advances, the breakthrough could help create a new generation of wireless devices that can change frequency on demand, making communication systems more flexible and energy efficient. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tiny-atomic-smarter-wireless-technology.html Nanophysics Wed, 26 Aug 2026 14:00:12 EDT news706896901 You may have once tried taking a close-up picture of a computer screen and noticed a wavy, rippling effect. This optical effect occurs whenever two fine, repeating grids overlap and slightly misalign, such as when the pixel grid of your camera's sensor overlaps with the pixel grid of the screen. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-degree-nanoscale-grid-energy-room.html Nanophysics Mon, 24 Aug 2026 14:00:03 EDT news706792741 Quantum dots are semiconductor crystals only a few nanometers in size. Their ability to produce bright, precisely tunable colors has made them promising materials for light-emitting diodes, displays, solar cells and other optoelectronic technologies. Yet heat remains a major obstacle to their practical use. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-dots-dual-modification.html Nanophysics Fri, 21 Aug 2026 10:20:01 EDT news706524781 AR and VR glasses once seen only in science fiction may soon be realized not as bulky stacks of lenses but as a single eyeglass-like optical element. That future is now closer to reality. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-thinner-lenses-brighter-metalens-hurdles.html Nanophysics Thu, 20 Aug 2026 19:20:02 EDT news706451041 Self-assembling, anthracene-based supramolecular nanofibers can enable excitons to migrate hundreds of nanometers, according to a new experimental finding by researchers at Science Tokyo. Coupling these nanofibers with a plasmonic gold nanohole substrate further doubles exciton diffusivity. By mitigating the limited diffusivity of singlet excitons in organic semiconductors, this approach offers a new strategy for improving optoelectronic technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-supramolecular-nanofibers-paired-nanohole-substrate.html Nanophysics Wed, 19 Aug 2026 19:40:01 EDT news706378622 Bubbles are round, and we know surface tension does that. But squeeze that gas-liquid boundary into a space only a few tens of nanometers wide—could other forces be at work? https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-nanoscale-evidence-electric-fields.html Nanophysics Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:00:10 EDT news706272301 Understanding how ions diffuse in solid materials is essential for technologies including batteries, electronics and chemical catalysts, but it has been hard for a simple reason: the materials are solids. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tracer-exchange-reveals-ions-battery.html Nanophysics Thu, 13 Aug 2026 18:40:03 EDT news705850816 From smartphones to data centers, modern electronics rely on billions of tiny switches that consume electricity every time they turn on or off. As global demand for computing continues to grow, so does the energy required to power it. Scientists are therefore searching for alternatives that can perform the same tasks while using far less energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-magnetic-path-power.html Nanophysics Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:00:04 EDT news705831481 Rice University researchers have shown that tiny wrinkles in graphene can change the material's electrical properties, providing evidence for flexoelectricity, a phenomenon in which a material generates an electric charge when it bends unevenly. The findings are published in Advanced Materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-graphene-nanowrinkles-reshape-electricity-future.html Nanophysics Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:10:01 EDT news705773341 Recent technological advances have enabled the development of increasingly sophisticated, sharper displays for electronic devices. Many modern displays use light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, tiny semiconductor-based components that emit light when an electrical current passes through them. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-technique-quantum-dots-tiny-pixels.html Nanophysics Sun, 09 Aug 2026 15:20:01 EDT news705314764 Researchers created an electrically tunable quantum nanoscale corral that traps charged excitons and enables precise electrical control of tiny light sources, including their brightness, color and quantum states, the team, led by Boston College physicists, reports today in Nature Nanotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-electrostatic-nanocorral-excitons-quantum.html Nanophysics Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:40:03 EDT news705160321 Researchers at the University of Bayreuth, together with colleagues from Freie Universität Berlin and the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, have developed a synthetic fiber system inspired by the cellular cytoskeleton that protects itself through controlled bundling. The findings open up new avenues for smart, switchable materials whose properties can be deliberately altered in response to a specific stimulus. The research is published in the journal Advanced Materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-cell-synthetic-fibers-reveal-reversible.html Nanophysics Wed, 05 Aug 2026 12:40:01 EDT news705148801 Researchers at the 4th Physics Institute of the University of Stuttgart and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Milan have demonstrated a new mechanism for directing light in a naturally hyperbolic van der Waals material without conventional nanofabricated waveguides. The discovery opens new possibilities for integrated photonics, on-chip optical communication and future quantum technologies. The paper is published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nano-optics-mechanism-channeling-natural.html Nanophysics Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:40:03 EDT news705065941