Hard-to-stretch silicon becomes superelastic

As a hard and brittle material, silicon has practically no natural elasticity. But in a new study, researchers have demonstrated that amorphous silicon can be grown into superelastic horseshoe-shaped nanowires that can undergo ...

Cicada wings help researchers design better solar cells

(Phys.org)—Researchers have turned to cicada wings to design surfaces with highly antireflective properties, which have potential applications for solar cells, stealth surfaces, antifogging materials, and other optical ...

Chip circuit for light could be applied to quantum computations

The ability to transmit and manipulate, with minimal loss, the smallest unit of light—the photon—plays a pivotal role in optical communications as well as designs for quantum computers that would use light rather than ...

Team develops graphene-based nanoelectronics platform

A pressing quest in the field of nanoelectronics is the search for a material that could replace silicon. Graphene has seemed promising for decades. But its potential has faltered along the way, due to damaging processing ...

Erbium atoms in silicon: A prime candidate for quantum networks

A team of researchers at the MPQ has pioneered the integration of erbium atoms with special optical properties into a silicon crystal. The atoms can thus be connected by light at a wavelength that is commonly used in telecommunications. ...

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