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Category: electronics

Seaweed could unlock new sources of rare minerals for EVs: US study

US scientists tap seaweed for rare earths and metals used in EVs, electronics.

Researchers in the United States discovered a new way to extract rare earth minerals. They focused on seaweed, which hosts rare earth minerals in their leaf-like tissues. After multiple efforts, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) research team successfully extracted critical mineral content from the seaweed biomass.

They have been growing several species in the Sequim campus and investigating different methods of extracting minerals from seaweed.

Sensing single ballistic electrons: High-speed method tracks fleeting quantum events

Researchers at NPL have reported a novel high-speed charge sensing method for ballistic electrons, a potentially useful technique in the fields of electron quantum optics, quantum electrical metrology, flying qubit technology, and signal sensing.

The study, published in Physical Review Letters, reveals that the presence of a single ballistic electron can be revealed by tracking the path of another fast-moving “sensing” electron. By steering the paths of these electrons close to each other, the tiny repulsion between them can redirect the sensing electron, like a train switching tracks or cars diverting off a freeway.

When charge sensors are used in quantum devices, they are measured continuously, with each sample long enough to resolve a signal from the noise. The NPL sensing system leverages synchronization between the detector and sensing electrons to achieve extreme time selectivity, only sampling within a minuscule time window and detecting interactions that occur in just 1–2 picoseconds.

FLEX instrument meets its satellite

The development of ESA’s Earth Explorer FLEX mission has recently passed a significant milestone: the mission’s all-important, single instrument has been joined to its satellite platform.

This delicate operation was carried out by spacecraft engineers at Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, France, following the delivery of the instrument from Leonardo in Florence, Italy.

FLEX’s fluorescence imaging spectrometer is called FLORIS for short and designed to map vegetation fluorescence around the globe and quantify photosynthetic activity and plant stress.

A new crystal that ‘breathes’ oxygen expands possibilities for clean energy and electronics

A team of scientists from Korea and Japan has discovered a new type of crystal that can “breathe”—releasing and absorbing oxygen repeatedly at relatively low temperatures. This unique ability could transform the way we develop clean energy technologies, including fuel cells, energy-saving windows, and smart thermal devices.

Ionic-electronic photodetector brings in-sensor vision closer to reality

In an advance at the intersection of neuromorphic engineering and photonics, researchers have developed an ionic-electronic photodetector that not only detects light but also performs in-sensor image processing, offering the potential to surpass some limitations of human vision—including color vision deficiencies.

“We Are Actually Very Close to This Science Fiction”: Meta-Optical Tech May Soon Enable ‘Projection-Glasses,’ Novel Cameras, and More

Australia’s ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems is working to overcome the limitations of optical technologies.

Columbia Engineers Develop Radiation-Hardened Chips for the Large Hadron Collider

In one of the most extreme environments on Earth—the Large Hadron Collider—normal electronics fail almost instantly. But engineers at Columbia University have created custom microchips that not only survive the collider’s intense radiation but play a pivotal role in unlocking the secrets of the univ

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