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. 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 Information and communication technologies (ICTs) driven by artificial intelligence (AI) are generating data at an unprecedented rate. Every internet search, AI-generated image, recommendation, scientific simulation and large language model creates and processes enormous amounts of information that must be stored, transferred and analyzed. As AI continues to expand across every sector of society, global demand for data storage and computing is rising dramatically. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-optimized-magnetic-pulses-memory-energy.html Condensed Matter Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:00:01 EDT news704720412 In most everyday materials, such as copper, silver and silicon, the behavior of electrons is relatively predictable. In quantum materials, however, electrons can interact in complex ways, giving rise to collective electronic states with remarkable properties. Understanding how these states emerge—and, ultimately, how to control them—is one of the central challenges in quantum materials research. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-striped-checkered-magnetic-field-electronic.html Condensed Matter Thu, 23 Jul 2026 05:00:10 EDT news703933441 Artificial intelligence faces an energy crisis stemming from a physical traffic jam inside modern computer chips. Processors must continually shuffle data, such as the billions of parameters in complex models, between separate computing and memory nodes. This traffic jam, known as the "von Neumann bottleneck," hinders the speed and energy efficiency of advanced processors. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-microscope-illuminates-transistor.html Condensed Matter Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:20:11 EDT news703858561 Researchers have shown it is possible to expand the field of twistronics—literally. They have demonstrated a technique that allows them to fabricate oxide twistronic materials at much larger scales while also controlling the twist angles between materials that dictate their structural and electronic properties. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-method-scales-oxide-materials-future.html Nanophysics Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:10:01 EDT news703339019 Scientists have unveiled a new fabrication technique for the ultra-clean manufacturing of 2D heterostructures—materials just a few atoms thick—that could be used in quantum technology and electronics. Experts from Southampton and Singapore say the method could be used to develop next-generation devices that accelerate research in quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-technique-ultra-thin-material-stacks.html Nanomaterials Tue, 14 Jul 2026 19:00:12 EDT news703245651 The properties of ultrathin magnets can be specifically altered by a slight twist between two atomic monolayers. This is the conclusion reached by an international research team led by TU Darmstadt in a study published in Nature Communications. The findings open new prospects for future memory devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ultrathin-magnet-retains-magnetization-field.html Condensed Matter Tue, 14 Jul 2026 09:20:01 EDT news703232989 Researchers at City College of New York physicist Vinod M. Menon's Laboratory for Nano and Micro Photonics (LaNMP) have outlined an emerging frontier in quantum materials: atomically thin systems in which light, magnetism and electric charge are strongly intertwined. This rapidly evolving field could enable next-generation optoelectronic and quantum technologies leveraging the coupled dynamics of light, charge and spin. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-frontier-quantum-materials.html Condensed Matter Tue, 14 Jul 2026 09:00:02 EDT news703232979 Materials with magnetic nanostructures have a wide range of potential applications. One area is so-called spintronics, with devices that encode information in magnetic domains. These magnetic bits can be written, read and erased in a more energy-efficient way than bits in current semiconductor devices. Spin textures and magnetic domains in such materials can be investigated using nanoscale magnetic imaging techniques. For example, photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM), coupled with a magnetically sensitive detection mechanism. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tiny-magnetic-image-spintronic-materials.html Nanophysics Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:00:03 EDT news702563676 Scientists from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw, in collaboration with teams from the National University of Singapore and Radboud University in the Netherlands, have observed single-photon emission from layered two-dimensional material ZnPS₃. This discovery represents a crucial step toward establishing low-dimensional materials as a versatile platform for quantum information science. The research findings were published in the journal ACS Nano. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-layered-znps-emits-photons-path.html Nanophysics Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:10:01 EDT news702055261 Water is the most studied molecule on Earth, yet a surprisingly basic question has gone unanswered for decades: When water is squeezed into gaps just a few molecules wide—as happens inside nanoscale pores, membranes and biological channels—does it become more or less chemically reactive? https://phys.org/news/2026-06-chemistry-nanoscale-spaces.html Nanomaterials Thu, 25 Jun 2026 10:20:09 EDT news701596982 Multiferroics are materials that exhibit more than one prominent "ferroic" property, such as ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity. One of their most advantageous features is that they allow engineers to control their magnetic states with electric fields or vice versa, due to an effect known as magnetoelectric coupling. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-interlayer-doping-room-temperature-multiferroics.html Condensed Matter Wed, 24 Jun 2026 08:40:01 EDT news701346383 This April, when the spring breeze carried the formal acceptance notice of our paper by the Journal of the American Chemical Society to my desk, my thoughts instantly drifted back to the late Phil Geissler. A legendary physical chemist and the original spark for this research, Geissler had once observed a baffling phenomenon: When the hairy, flexible ligands passivating a nanoparticle's surface spontaneously order themselves into crystalline patterns, a massive, seemingly magical attractive force suddenly erupts between the particles. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-liquid-ripples-rewrite-year-biological.html Nanophysics Tue, 23 Jun 2026 12:00:08 EDT news701427498 A newly developed method allows researchers to dynamically switch chirality—a particular lack of mirror symmetry—to generate spin currents in semiconductors, researchers from Science Tokyo report. Their approach relies on the reversible insertion and removal of small chiral molecules from the interlayer gaps of a layered, nonchiral semiconductor material using electrochemistry. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-reversible-chirality-mos-generates-currents.html Condensed Matter Wed, 17 Jun 2026 12:40:05 EDT news700909861 Quantum materials, materials with properties that are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, have proved to be highly promising for the development of ultra-efficient electronic devices, quantum processors, highly precise sensors and various other technologies. Reliably controlling these materials' quantum phases would be highly advantageous, as it would enable engineers to tailor and optimize their properties for specific applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-quantum-hall-stripes-2d-materials.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:00:03 EDT news700304463 Researchers have demonstrated the ability to use van der Waals forces to tune the physical and electronic properties of ferroelectric thin films. The work opens the door to new techniques for engineering materials for use in smaller, more energy efficient electronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-van-der-waals-play-unexpected.html Nanophysics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 15:20:04 EDT news700148551 Quantum materials, materials with properties that are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics describing many-body interactions, have proved promising for the development of various advanced technologies. Many of these materials undergo so-called phase transitions, switching between different physical states that alter how electrons flow through them. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-photoexcitation-flips-2d-moir-devices.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:00:04 EDT news699701022 Scientists at the University of California, Riverside are making breakthroughs in understanding how quantum wave functions move across ultra-thin materials—research that could eventually improve solar energy technologies and help lay the groundwork for new forms of quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-quantum-vibronics-future-energy-technologies.html Condensed Matter Thu, 28 May 2026 15:00:02 EDT news699191461 A new chip-making technique exploits a material's crystal structure to create nanoscale patterns at room temperature directly onto hard materials used in devices, including silica. The method could make it easier to pattern chips relaying both electronic- and light-based signals, helping advance next-generation photonic and optoelectronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-stressed-crystal-nanoscale-patterns-chip.html Nanophysics Fri, 22 May 2026 11:00:07 EDT news698662022 Insulators are materials in which electrons cannot move freely. Past theoretical studies predicted the existence of an unusual insulating state dubbed obstructed atomic insulator (OAI), in which electrons are localized inside a crystal, while their centers of charge lie in empty spaces between atoms, rather than on the atoms themselves. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-atomic-bands-transition-metal-dichalcogenides.html Condensed Matter Wed, 13 May 2026 06:40:02 EDT news697807903 A recent study shows a new and potentially more energy-efficient way for information to be transmitted inside electronic systems, including computers and phones—without relying on electric currents or external magnetic fields. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-atom-thin-materials-reveals-energy.html Nanophysics Wed, 06 May 2026 16:40:10 EDT news697291562 Superconductors are materials that can conduct electricity with a resistance of zero. In so-called conventional superconductors, this occurs at low temperatures when electrons become bound into pairs, known as Cooper pairs. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-bilayer-graphene-superconducting-high-dielectric.html Condensed Matter Wed, 06 May 2026 16:30:01 EDT news697210079 Photodetectors remain a critical component in the development of advanced electronics and photonics, particularly in the role of signal readout through the conversion of photons into electrons. These digital imaging components are ubiquitous in sensors, cameras, adaptive displays, telecommunications, LiDAR systems, health monitoring wearables, and oximeters. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-solar-2d-heterostructure-responsivity-gain.html Nanophysics Tue, 05 May 2026 16:40:05 EDT news697195813 An international research team involving the Institute for Photonic Quantum Systems (PhoQS) at Paderborn University has made significant progress in researching so-called quantum materials. Their extraordinary properties—electrical conductivity, magnetism and superconductivity—make them relevant for applications such as artificial intelligence and quantum computers. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-rotated-lithium-niobate-crystals-interfaces.html Nanophysics Tue, 05 May 2026 10:20:05 EDT news697191323 Just as wave-like patterns can appear on a computer screen when pixels do not align, new research led by Flinders University is investigating atomic-scale "moiré patterns" in the promising field of ferroelectricity. The new study, with experts at Monash University and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, seeks inroads into electrical and optical science by exploring these complex "superlattice" patterns in various ways to create new energy and material capabilities. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-swirly-pattern-moir-potential-power.html Nanophysics Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:40:01 EDT news696162932 Superconductors, materials that can conduct electricity with a resistance of zero, have proved to be highly promising for the development of quantum technologies, medical imaging devices, particle accelerators and other advanced technologies. These materials can be divided into two broad categories: conventional and unconventional superconductors. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-alternating-atomic-layers-enable-rare.html Superconductivity Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:20:01 EDT news695985154 2D materials are widely seen as a promising path toward better computer chips. Researchers at TU Wien have now shown that some of these materials are unsuitable due to an underestimated effect. But there are alternatives. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mind-gap-semiconductor-industry-wrong.html Nanophysics Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:00:01 EDT news695893685 For years, scientists have dreamed of using atomically thin van der Waals (vdW) materials to build faster, more efficient photonic chips. These materials can be stacked and tuned with extraordinary precision, opening possibilities far beyond those of conventional technologies. The challenge is that they are extremely fragile, making them notoriously difficult to shape with standard nanofabrication tools. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-photonics-approach-chip-millions.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 13 Apr 2026 05:00:03 EDT news695046182 Porous materials are widely used for gas storage, separation, catalysis, and environmental purification. Their functionality arises from nanoscale pores that allow molecules to be selectively captured or transported. However, most porous materials, such as metal-organic frameworks, rely on rigid three-dimensional networks formed by strong chemical bonds, which often make them mechanically brittle and difficult to process into practical shapes. A research team led by Professor Shuhei Furukawa at the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (WPI-iCeMS), Kyoto University, has developed a new type of microporous aerogel that overcomes these limitations. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-microporous-aerogel-van-der-waals.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:10:06 EDT news694273741 In a first for the field, materials scientists from The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have interfaced two materials to artificially generate a highly conductive ferroelectric charged domain wall. Led by associate professor of materials science and engineering Arend van der Zande and graduate student Shahriar Muhammad Nahid (now a postdoc at Stanford) and published in Advanced Materials, their approach highlights the versatility of charged domain walls in 2D materials and may be used in the future development of neuromorphic devices and reconfigurable electronics. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-synthetic-domain-wall-2d-material.html Nanophysics Tue, 31 Mar 2026 18:20:06 EDT news694186377