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. 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 The high-performance semiconductor devices powering smartphone displays, AI computing, EV batteries and more are increasingly incorporating 2D materials to overcome silicon's scaling limits. To optimize these technologies, a University of Michigan Engineering team developed a precise mathematical framework that accounts for anisotropic—or unevenly spreading—conductivity and device geometry. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-2d-electronics-anisotropic-contact-resistance.html Nanophysics Fri, 20 Mar 2026 18:40:01 EDT news693233901 Researchers at UCLA have discovered a way to dramatically improve how electrical current enters perovskite semiconductors, an emerging class of materials with enormous potential for next-generation electronics. Their research is published in the journal Nature Materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-nanoscale-bottleneck-gen-electronics.html Nanophysics Thu, 19 Mar 2026 18:00:01 EDT news693159121 Controlling light at the micro- and nanoscale opens up opportunities for a better understanding of the world and the development of technology. As modern electronics approaches the limits of its capabilities, photonics comes into play. Instead of manipulating relatively heavy and slow electrons, we can use light and fast photons to encode information. This will make it possible to create devices that are not only faster but also even smaller than those currently in use. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ultra-thin-mose8322-infrared-nanometer.html Nanophysics Thu, 19 Mar 2026 17:20:05 EDT news693154681 Over the past decades, electronics engineers have been trying to develop increasingly smaller devices that can store information reliably, even when they are not powered on. A promising type of non-volatile memory device is spintronics, solid-state systems that store and process information leveraging the spin (i.e., an intrinsic form of angular momentum) of electrons. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-nanoengineered-spintronic-device-ways.html Nanophysics Tue, 17 Mar 2026 07:30:01 EDT news692889066 Multiferroic metals are materials that exhibit both electric polarization and magnetic order in the same crystal—a state known as multiferroicity. Because these properties coexist, they can interact through magnetoelectric (ME) coupling, allowing electric fields to influence magnetism. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-room-temperature-dimensional-multiferroic-metal.html Condensed Matter Fri, 13 Mar 2026 18:00:01 EDT news692627941 Spintronics—a technology that harnesses the electron's magnetic quantum states to carry information—could pave the way for a new generation of ultra-energy-efficient electronics. Yet a major challenge has been the ability to control these delicate quantum properties with sufficient precision for practical applications. By combining different quantum materials, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have now taken a decisive step forward, achieving unprecedented control over spin phenomena. The advance opens the door to next-generation low-power data processing and memory technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-stacked-quantum-materials-enable-precise.html Condensed Matter Wed, 11 Mar 2026 17:20:04 EDT news692450101 Most solid materials we rely on, from steel, to plastics and ceramics, are designed to have specific properties. Whether a material is soft and flexible, or stiff and tough depends on how molecules within the material are organized. That stability is useful, but it comes at a cost: once made, these materials' properties are fixed, and they rarely adapt to their environment. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-solid-fluid-materials-reconfigure-entire.html Biochemistry Wed, 11 Mar 2026 11:00:05 EDT news692355231 For the first time, physicists have demonstrated that a material's superconductivity can be altered by coupling it to an in-built, light-confining cavity. In experiments published in Nature, a team led by Itai Keren at Columbia University show how quantum properties can be deliberately engineered by bonding carefully chosen materials together—without applying any external light, pressure, or magnetic field. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-superconductivity-built-confining-cavity.html Superconductivity Sun, 08 Mar 2026 18:00:02 EDT news691410808 Researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have found a new way to produce X-rays with wavelengths in what is called the "water window." This new method holds promise in making bioimaging X-ray machines smaller and more flexible to use. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-window-rays-synchrotron-graphite-flakes.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:40:02 EST news692025061 In recent years, van der Waals crystals have evolved from scientific curiosities into a versatile platform for exploring novel quantum phases and unconventional nanophotonic phenomena. Their layered nature allows stacking, twisting and interfacing with a remarkable atomic precision, enabling previously inaccessible electronic, optoelectronic and photonic functionalities at the nanoscale. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-hyperbolic-plane-anisotropy-optical-chirality.html Nanophysics Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:50:03 EST news691780501 Atomically thin semiconductors such as tungsten disulfide (WS2) are promising materials for future photonic technologies. Despite being only a single layer of atoms thick, they host tightly bound excitons—pairs of electrons and holes that interact strongly with light—and can efficiently generate new colors of light through nonlinear optical processes such as second-harmonic generation. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-air-programmable-mie-voids-boost.html Nanophysics Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:30:01 EST news691687622 Conventional electronics process information leveraging the electrical charge of electrons. Over the past few decades, some electronics engineers have been exploring the potential of a different type of device that instead processes and stores data exploiting the intrinsic magnetic moment (i.e., spin) of electrons. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-electrical-magnetism-2d-materials-advance.html Condensed Matter Tue, 24 Feb 2026 07:50:01 EST news690816565 From table salt to snowflakes, and from gemstones to diamonds—we encounter crystals everywhere in daily life, usually cubic (table salt) or hexagonal (snowflakes). Researchers from Noushine Shahidzadeh's group at the UvA Institute of Physics now demonstrate how mesmerizing spherical crystal shapes arise through structures called spherulites. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-scientists-reveal-formation-mechanism-spherical.html Nanomaterials Wed, 11 Feb 2026 17:02:23 EST news690051721 Two-dimensional (2D) materials, in general, allow the realization of unique quantum phenomena unattainable in the common three-dimensional (3D) world. A prime example is graphene. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have a similar structure. Both can be stacked to form van der Waals heterostructures or can be exfoliated into single layers. But TMDs have an extra variety of excellent properties, including strong spin-orbit coupling and superconductivity. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-broken-inversion-symmetry-3d-crystals.html Condensed Matter Fri, 06 Feb 2026 15:00:01 EST news689603688 Building things so small that they are smaller than the width of a human hair was previously achieved by using a method called two-photon polymerization, also known as 2PP—today's state-of-the-art in 3D micro- and nanofabrication. Tiny sculptures such as a miniature replica of the Eiffel Tower or the Taj Mahal made the headlines. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-polymers-state-art-3d-micro.html Nanophysics Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:19:34 EST news688839541 For much of my career, I have been fascinated by the ways in which materials behave when we reduce their dimensions to the nanoscale. Over and over, I've learned that when we shrink a material down to just a few nanometers in thickness, the familiar textbook rules of physics begin to bend, stretch, or sometimes break entirely. Heat transport is one of the areas where this becomes especially intriguing, because heat is carried by phonons—quantized vibrations of the atomic lattice—and phonons are exquisitely sensitive to spatial confinement. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-mystery-atoms-thin-materials.html Nanophysics Sun, 14 Dec 2025 10:00:03 EST news684755618