Voltage imaging enables scientists to visualize neural activity using voltage-sensitive fluorescent sensors. What do you need for voltage imaging?
Category: electronics – Page 2
Upgraded design enables blue OLEDs to match green OLEDs in efficiency and lifespan
Blue phosphorescent OLEDs can now last as long as the green phosphorescent OLEDs already in devices, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated, paving the way for further improving the energy efficiency of OLED screens.
“This moves the blues into the domain of green lifetimes,” said Stephen Forrest, the Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and corresponding author of the study in Nature Photonics.
“I can’t say the problem is completely solved—of course it’s not solved until it enters your display—but I think we’ve shown the path to a real solution that has been evading the community for two decades.”
35% Efficiency Boost Seen in Spin-Torque Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording
In conventional heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), a laser is used to locally heat the recording medium to facilitate data writing. However, the thermal energy applied is largely dissipated within the medium and does not contribute directly to the recording efficiency. Moreover, this high-temperature process consumes substantial energy and raises concerns regarding the magnetic and physical degradation of the medium, especially under repeated use.
The research team focused on the temperature gradient generated within the recording medium during laser irradiation. They developed a novel structure by inserting an antiferromagnetic manganese-platinum (MnPt) layer beneath the iron-platinum (FePt) recording layer. This structure achieved approximately 35% improvement in recording efficiency compared to conventional HAMR.
This enhancement stems from spin currents generated by the temperature gradient, which induce spin torque that assists magnetic switching—effectively augmenting the conventional thermal assist effect. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that spin torque can be applied to hard disk drives (HDDs), paving the way for a new class of recording technologies.
Study reveals new way to control magnons for efficient electronics
A new study by University of Kentucky researchers is helping change how scientists understand and control magnetic energy—and it could lead to faster, more efficient electronic devices.
Led by Ambrose Seo, Ph.D., a professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences, the study was recently published in Nature Communications.
The research focuses on magnons—tiny waves that carry magnetic energy through materials.
Electron scattering experiment results in new method to produce an extremely heavy hydrogen isotope
For the first time, a research team has successfully produced one of the most neutron-rich isotopes, hydrogen-6, in an electron scattering experiment.
The experiment at the spectrometer facility at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) particle accelerator was a joint effort among the A1 Collaboration at the Institute of Nuclear Physics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and scientists from China and Japan. The team presents a new method for investigating light, neutron-rich nuclei and challenges our current understanding of multi-nucleon interactions.
“This measurement could only be carried out thanks to the unique combination of the excellent quality of the MAMI electron beam and the three high-resolution spectrometers of the A1 Collaboration,” emphasized Professor Josef Pochodzalla from the JGU Institute of Nuclear Physics. Researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai in China as well as from Tohoku University Sendai and the University of Tokyo in Japan were involved in the experiment.
Electrophysiological correlates of lucid dreaming: sensor and source level signatures
Lucid dreaming (LD) is a state of conscious awareness of the ongoing oneiric state, predominantly linked to REM sleep. Progress in understanding its neurobiological basis has been hindered by small sample sizes, diverse EEG setups, and artifacts like saccadic eye movements. To address these challenges in the characterization of the electrophysiological correlates of LD, we introduced an adaptive multi-stage preprocessing pipeline, applied to human data (male and female) pooled across laboratories, allowing us to explore sensor-and source-level markers of LD. We observed that, while sensor-level differences between LD and non-lucid REM sleep were minimal, mixed-frequency analysis revealed broad low-alpha to gamma power reductions during LD compared to wakefulness. Source-level analyses showed significant beta power (12−30 Hz) reductions in right central and parietal areas, including the temporo-parietal junction, during LD. Moreover, functional connectivity in the alpha band (8−12 Hz) increased during LD compared to non-lucid REM sleep. During initial LD eye signaling compared to baseline, source-level gamma1 power (30−36 Hz) increased in right temporo-occipital regions, including the right precuneus. Finally, functional connectivity analysis revealed increased inter-hemispheric and inter-regional gamma1 connectivity during LD, reflecting widespread network engagement. These results suggest that distinct source-level power and connectivity patterns characterize the dynamic neural processes underlying LD, including shifts in network communication and regional activation that may underlie the specific changes in perception, memory processing, self-awareness, and cognitive control. Taken together, these findings illuminate the electrophysiological correlates of LD, laying the groundwork for decoding the mechanisms of this intriguing state of consciousness.
Significance statement Lucid dreaming (LD) is a unique state of oneiric awareness, where individuals recognize they are dreaming while still in the dream. LD neural correlates remain elusive, as it is very rare and difficult to reproduce in the laboratory. Using an advanced preprocessing pipeline, we harmonized diverse EEG datasets to analyze the largest LD sample to date. We observed gamma power increases in the precuneus during initial eye lucidity signaling, beta power reductions in parietal areas, including the temporo-parietal junction, and enhanced alpha and gamma connectivity during LD over non-lucid REM sleep. These findings shed light on how the brain generates self-referential awareness and volitional action even during sleep.
