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. A new type of polysulfate compound that can form thin, flexible films has properties that could make it a material of choice for many high-performance electrical components, according to a study from chemists and materials scientists at Scripps Research and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). https://phys.org/news/2023-01-newly-polysulfates-wide-high-performance-electronics.html Polymers Wed, 18 Jan 2023 15:47:03 EST news593279221 Remember flip phones? Our smartphones may one day look just as obsolete thanks to spintronics, an incipient field of research promising to revolutionize the way our electronic devices send and receive signals. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-leveraging-electron-dimension-encoding.html Quantum Physics Tue, 01 Feb 2022 16:05:15 EST news562953900 Like the transistors in a classical computer, superconducting qubits are the building blocks of a quantum computer. While engineers have been able to shrink transistors to nanometer scales, however, superconducting qubits are still measured in millimeters. This is one reason a practical quantum computing device couldn't be miniaturized to the size of a smartphone, for instance. https://phys.org/news/2022-01-ultrathin-materials-pave-personal-sized-quantum.html Condensed Matter Thu, 27 Jan 2022 11:00:12 EST news562491570 For quantum computers to surpass their classical counterparts in speed and capacity, their qubits—which are superconducting circuits that can exist in an infinite combination of binary states—need to be on the same wavelength. Achieving this, however, has come at the cost of size. Whereas the transistors used in classical computers have been shrunk down to nanometer scales, superconducting qubits these days are still measured in millimeters—one millimeter is one million nanometers. https://phys.org/news/2021-11-qubits-quantum-atom-thin-materials.html Nanophysics Tue, 30 Nov 2021 15:50:25 EST news557509822 Curtin University research has found a simple and affordable method to determine which chemicals and types of metals are best used to store and supply energy, in a breakthrough for any battery-run devices and technologies reliant on the fast and reliable supply of electricity, including smart phones and tablets. https://phys.org/news/2021-10-energy-storage-puzzle-battery-run-devices.html Materials Science Thu, 28 Oct 2021 08:49:19 EDT news554629756 The research team of Prof. Xiaobo Ji and associate Prof. Guoqiang Zou has proposed an ingenious oxygen vacancy (OV) engineering strategy to realize high content anionic doping in TiO2 and offered valuable insights into devise electrode materials with fast charge transfer kinetics in the bulk phase. The article titled "High content anion (S/Se/P) doping assisted by defect engineering with fast charge transfer kinetics for high-performance sodium ion capacitors" is published in Science Bulletin. Xinglan Deng is listed as first author and Prof. Guoqiang Zou as corresponding author. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-high-level-anion-doping-fast-kinetics.html Materials Science Thu, 22 Jul 2021 12:06:35 EDT news546174361 Scientists from NPL have developed improvements to a technique for measuring dielectric permittivity and loss of materials at MHz frequencies. The method used is named after two NPL scientists who developed in the 1930, Hartshorn and Ward. The findings are presented in the team's paper, "Low loss dielectric measurements in the frequency range 1—70MHz by using a Vector Network Analyser," recently published in Measurement Science and Technology. This method allows the permittivity and loss of a sheet of dielectric material placed between the plates of a capacitor to be determined by resonating it with a coil inductor. The value of the technique is that very low losses can be determined from measurement of small changes in Q-factor. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-low-loss-dielectric-technique.html General Physics Thu, 15 Jul 2021 09:26:58 EDT news545560016 Metal-ion hybrid capacitors combine the properties of capacitors and batteries. One electrode uses the capacitive mechanism, the other the battery-type redox processes. Scientists have now scrutinized the role of anions in the electrolyte. The results, which have been published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, reveal the importance of sulfate anions. Sulfate-based electrolytes gave zinc-ion hybrid capacitors outstanding performance and extra-long operability. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-zinc-ion-hybrid-capacitors-ideal-anions.html Materials Science Fri, 13 Nov 2020 10:06:01 EST news524484352 Two teams working independently of each other have demonstrated designs for electrocaloric cooling that can change temperatures under an electric field. Both groups used lead scandium tantalate capacitors in their systems, but they differed slightly in how they were used. The first group, with members from PARC in the U.S. and Murata Manufacturing Co., in Japan showed that electrocaloric cooling could be done using only solid materials. The second group, with members from the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology and Murata Manufacturing Co. in Japan used fluids for heat transfer. Both teams have published accounts of their work and findings in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2020-10-groups-electrocaloric-cooling-temperature-electric.html General Physics Fri, 02 Oct 2020 10:20:01 EDT news520852659 Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a computational model that helps users understand how changes in the nanostructure of materials affect their conductivity—with the goal of informing the development of new energy storage devices for a wide range of electronics. https://phys.org/news/2020-07-capacitors.html Condensed Matter Wed, 01 Jul 2020 11:00:03 EDT news512808127 With enhanced properties such as greater strength, lighter weight, increased electrical conductivity and chemical reactivity, nanomaterials (NMs) are widely used in areas like ICT, energy and medicine. For example, nanotubes, nanorods and nanowires with different size, structure and chemical composition have been successfully synthesised for various applications in mechanical, electromechanical, electric and optoelectronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2020-01-smartphones-energy-efficient-tiny.html Nanomaterials Mon, 06 Jan 2020 08:14:21 EST news497520856 Combining two additives instead of one to facilitate the incorporation of lithium within capacitors: that is the solution proposed by researchers from l'Institut des matériaux Jean Rouxel (CNRS/Université de Nantes), in collaboration with Münster Electrochemical Energy Technology (University of Münster, Germany), in order to promote the low-cost, simple, and efficient development of the lithium-ion capacitors used to store electrical energy. This research, published in Advanced Energy Materials on 5 June 2019, will enable the mass marketing of these components. https://phys.org/news/2019-06-low-cost-industrialization-lithium-ion-capacitors.html Materials Science Thu, 06 Jun 2019 09:32:28 EDT news479032341 From the charging unit for smartphones to the power supply of the laptop or washing machine to LED lights or charging stations of electric cars – switching power supplies are omnipresent in electrical devices. They convert the alternating current from the house line into the direct current needed by the device. The problem: power supplies are susceptible to errors, which also reduces the service life of end devices. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed a power supply unit with a significantly increased service life. https://phys.org/news/2019-05-power-electrical-devices-longer.html Engineering Thu, 16 May 2019 10:03:46 EDT news477219820 With a little physics ingenuity, scientists have designed a way to redistribute electricity on a small scale, potentially opening new avenues of research into more energy-efficient computing. https://phys.org/news/2019-04-newly-static-negative-capacitor.html General Physics Tue, 09 Apr 2019 02:36:32 EDT news473996185 Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have developed a micro-electromechanical energy harvester that allows for more flexibility in design, which is crucial for future IoT applications. https://phys.org/news/2019-01-free-energy-good-minuscule-harvesters.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 28 Jan 2019 08:52:10 EST news467887924 For the first time ever, an international team of researchers imaged the microscopic state of negative capacitance. This novel result provides researchers with fundamental, atomistic insight into the physics of negative capacitance, which could have far-reaching consequences for energy-efficient electronics. https://phys.org/news/2019-01-capture-image-negative-capacitance-action.html General Physics Mon, 21 Jan 2019 08:48:34 EST news467282906 Ionic liquids are important in scientific research because they can apply a lot of charge over a surface. Physicists from Leiden University have now found that the charging process of ionic liquids depends purely on opposite charges attracting each other. Chemical reactions are sometimes involved, but not essential. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-insulator-conductor-button.html Condensed Matter Tue, 11 Sep 2018 08:53:19 EDT news455874794 IBM is reaching beyond digital technologies with a capacitor-based cross-point array for analog neural networks, exhibiting potential orders of magnitude improvements in deep learning computations. Analog computing architectures exploit the storage capability and physical attributes of certain memory devices not just to store information, but also to perform computations. This has the potential to greatly reduce the time and energy required by computers because data doesn't need to be shuttled between the memory and processor. The drawback could be a reduction in computational accuracy, but for systems that do not require high accuracy, it is the right trade-off. https://phys.org/news/2018-07-capacitor-based-architecture-ai-hardware.html Computer Sciences Tue, 10 Jul 2018 10:02:53 EDT news450435763 How we use and generate electricity has changed dramatically over the past century yet the basic components that control its flow remain remarkably similar. Researchers at KAUST have now developed a novel type of component that could improve the performance of electrical circuits. https://phys.org/news/2017-09-phase.html Engineering Tue, 26 Sep 2017 09:50:01 EDT news425635748 Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a breakthrough in electrolyte chemistry that enables lithium batteries to run at temperatures as low as -60 degrees Celsius with excellent performance—in comparison, today's lithium-ion batteries stop working at -20 degrees Celsius. The new electrolytes also enable electrochemical capacitors to run as low as -80 degrees Celsius—their current low temperature limit is -40 degrees Celsius. While the technology enables extreme low temperature operation, high performance at room temperature is still maintained. The new electrolyte chemistry could also increase the energy density and improve the safety of lithium batteries and electrochemical capacitors. https://phys.org/news/2017-06-electrolytes-liquefied-gas-enable-batteries.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 15 Jun 2017 14:00:04 EDT news416745525 A team of researchers at the Israel Institute of Technology has developed a new capacitor with a metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) diode structure that is tunable by illumination. The capacitor, which features embedded metal nanoparticles, is similar to a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diode, except that the capacitance of the new device depends on illumination and exhibits a strong frequency dispersion, allowing for a high degree of tunability. https://phys.org/news/2017-06-diode-features-optically-capacitance.html Condensed Matter Tue, 06 Jun 2017 11:00:03 EDT news415943766 Heat, dust and moisture damage electronic components. Protecting against dust and moisture is fairly straightforward, but heat remains a problem because it is created within the component itself. Anywhere electricity flows, heat is generated as well. There is not always enough space in the electronic component to draw away the waste heat with cooling fins or ventilators. Devices that operate in a hot environment pose an even bigger problem. For example, a drill bit in the oil industry rotates at high speeds thousands of meters below the surface, generating temperatures of up to 250 degrees – not to mention the enormous mechanical load on the electronic components. https://phys.org/news/2017-05-capacitor-temperatures-degrees-celsius.html Engineering Tue, 02 May 2017 08:10:19 EDT news412927866 How do internal short circuit? Researcher Minho Kim has published his paper "A fast and efficient pre-doping approach to high energy density lithium-ion hybrid capacitors". https://phys.org/news/2017-04-electrochemical-lithium-ion-capacitors-pre-lithiated-multiwalled.html Nanomaterials Fri, 21 Apr 2017 09:57:08 EDT news411987420 Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. has developed a self-diagnostic technology to determine when a power supply unit needs to be replaced. This is software that can run on board the microcontroller of a digitally controlled power supply, such as those used in servers and other information and communication technology (ICT) devices. The power supply units used in ICT hardware have limited lifespans, and maintaining them efficiently is a serious issue in large installations such as datacenters. https://phys.org/news/2016-03-software-self-diagnose-server-power-supply.html Software Thu, 24 Mar 2016 08:55:23 EDT news378028515 A team of scientists from Hokkaido University and the multinational electronics company TDK Corporation in Japan has developed a method to improve the insulating properties of the oxynitride perovskite SrTaO2N for potential use as a ceramic capacitor. https://phys.org/news/2016-03-electronics-safer-perovskites.html Materials Science Wed, 16 Mar 2016 08:25:45 EDT news377335538 A new Sandia National Laboratories accelerator called Thor is expected to be 40 times more efficient than Sandia's Z machine, the world's largest and most powerful pulsed-power accelerator, in generating pressures to study materials under extreme conditions. https://phys.org/news/2016-01-thor-materials-million-atmospheres.html General Physics Tue, 05 Jan 2016 08:09:21 EST news371203745 In order to develop ultra-miniaturised electronic components, ultra-miniaturised capacitors are required. The two-year EU-funded PICS project has developed tools that could soon lead to the mass production of high-density 3D integrated silicon capacitors, creating new opportunities for SMEs to tap demand for miniaturised high performance electronics across a range of sectors. https://phys.org/news/2015-10-nanotech-tools-miniature-electronics.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 28 Oct 2015 10:10:02 EDT news365244899 The world is facing a serious demand on high energy storage systems for use in diverse applications such as hybrid electric vehicles, personal electronics, and industrial power backups. To solve this critical issue, there is a considerable attention on the development of electrochemical capacitor. https://phys.org/news/2015-09-high-energy-storage-hybrid-electric.html Materials Science Tue, 29 Sep 2015 07:20:01 EDT news362727161 TDK Corporation presents two new series of EPCOS MMKP capacitors, which employ a film that is metallized on both sides. The new capacitors offer particularly high pulse strength as well as a high current capability. Depending on the type and frequency, the permissible current can be up to more than 10 ARMS. A further outstanding feature is the compact design of the MMKP series. The capacitors have dimensions of between 4 mm x 9 mm x 13 mm and 11 mm x 18.5 mm x 18 mm and are available with lead spacings of 10 mm and 15 mm. https://phys.org/news/2015-07-capacitors-high-pulse-strength-current.html Electronics & Semiconductors Fri, 10 Jul 2015 07:00:01 EDT news355730384 (Phys.org)—Capacitors are widely used in electrical circuits to store small amounts of energy, but have never been used for large-scale energy storage. Now researchers from Japan have shown that the right combination of resistors and capacitors can allow electrical circuits to meet two key requirements of an energy storage device: quick charging and long-term discharging. Using capacitors as energy storage devices in circuits has potential applications for hybrid electric vehicles, backup power supplies, and alternative energy storage. https://phys.org/news/2014-12-capacitors-electrical-circuits-large-scale-energy.html General Physics Tue, 02 Dec 2014 10:00:01 EST news336733994