Counterfeit Medication Detection with Your Smartphone

The worldwide market for counterfeit medicines is flourishing. Around one in ten medicines purchased online is counterfeit, according to a 2020 estimate from the World Health Organization (WHO). Counterfeit medicines involve a wide range of products — from lifestyle medicines such as slimming or hair growth products to essential medicines such as cancer drugs, painkillers, or Read more about Counterfeit Medication Detection with Your Smartphone[…]

Nanostructured joining materials for the next generation of microelectronics

Electronic components are becoming smaller, more complex and more powerful – this calls for new solutions for joining them. An Empa team is developing nanostructured joining materials for the next generation of microelectronics and other demanding applications. Gordon Moore was right. In April 1965, the US engineer and later co-founder of Intel predicted that the Read more about Nanostructured joining materials for the next generation of microelectronics[…]

A new discovery brings silicon quantum computing closer

Australian engineers have discovered a new way of precisely controlling single electrons nestled in quantum dots that run logic gates. What’s more, the new mechanism is less bulky and requires fewer parts, which could prove essential to making large-scale silicon quantum computers a reality. The serendipitous discovery, made by engineers at the quantum computing start-up Diraq and UNSW Read more about A new discovery brings silicon quantum computing closer[…]

programmable material

Metamaterials as new programmable materials

Programmable materials are true shapeshifters. They can change their characteristics in a controlled and reversible way with the push of a button, independently adapting to fit new conditions. They can be used, for example, to make comfy chairs or mattresses that prevent bedsores. To produce these, the support is formed in such a way that Read more about Metamaterials as new programmable materials[…]

Nanostructures unlock energy dissipation

Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and North Carolina State University have discovered for the first time a unique property in complex nanostructures that has thus far only been found in simple nanostructures. Additionally, they have unraveled the internal mechanics of the materials that makes this property possible. In a new paper published Read more about Nanostructures unlock energy dissipation[…]

Wearable thermoelectric device that converts body heat to electricity

Wearable electronics, from health and fitness trackers to virtual reality headsets, are part of our everyday lives. But finding ways to continuously power these devices is a challenge. University of Washington researchers have developed an innovative solution: the first-of-its kind flexible, wearable thermoelectric device that converts body heat to electricity. This device is soft and stretchable, yet Read more about Wearable thermoelectric device that converts body heat to electricity[…]

Nanomotors as control the nanoworld to make up new things we want for our real worl

Motors are everywhere in our day-to-day lives — from cars to washing machines. A futuristic scientific field is working on tiny motors that could power a network of nanomachines and replace some of the power sources we use in devices today. In new research published recently in ACS Nano, researchers from the Cockrell School of Engineering Read more about Nanomotors as control the nanoworld to make up new things we want for our real worl[…]

Infrared light sources could revolutionize molecular sensing technologies

Vanderbilt and Penn State engineers have developed a novel approach to design and fabricate thin-film infrared light sources with near-arbitrary spectral output driven by heat, along with a machine learning methodology called inverse design that reduced the optimization time for these devices from weeks or months on a multi-core computer to a few minutes on Read more about Infrared light sources could revolutionize molecular sensing technologies[…]

Smartphone can be used as a spectrometer

Recognizing fake drugs? Testing water samples ourselves? Checking the quality of air? In the future, it could be possible to do all this using a smartphone in a quick, cost-effective and straightforward way. The process is being made possible by a spectrometer, weighing just one gram, from the Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS. Read more about Smartphone can be used as a spectrometer[…]

Partnerships could assist successful technology transfer and possibly, breakthroughs in innovation

“The 21th century has been hailed the nano-century, and major technological breakthroughs are expected from the control of the matter at the nanoscale. However, despite its promises, nanotechnology still seems to be stuck in the status of an emerging science,” contend Assistant Professor Raphael Zingg of Waseda University and Dr. Marius Fischer of the Max Planck Institute Read more about Partnerships could assist successful technology transfer and possibly, breakthroughs in innovation[…]

Nanotechnology paves way for intelligent solar cells

Researchers at Tufts University School of Engineering have created light-activated composite devices able to execute precise, visible movements and form complex three-dimensional shapes without the need for wires or other actuating materials or energy sources. The design combines programmable photonic crystals with an elastomeric composite that can be engineered at the macro and nano scale Read more about Nanotechnology paves way for intelligent solar cells[…]

Links to the future with nanoimaging technique

When we think about the links to the future – the global transition to solar and wind energy, tactile virtual reality or synthetic neurons – there’s no shortage of big ideas. It’s the materials to execute the big ideas – the ability to manufacture the lithium-ion batteries, opto-electronics and hydrogen fuel cells – that stand Read more about Links to the future with nanoimaging technique[…]