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Category: nanotechnology – Page 95

Exploring the frontiers of neuromorphic engineering: A journey into brain-inspired computing

Neuromorphic engineering is a cutting-edge field that focuses on developing computer hardware and software systems inspired by the structure, function, and behavior of the human brain. The ultimate goal is to create computing systems that are significantly more energy-efficient, scalable, and adaptive than conventional computer systems, capable of solving complex problems in a manner reminiscent of the brain’s approach.

This interdisciplinary field draws upon expertise from various domains, including neuroscience, computer science, electronics, nanotechnology, and materials science. Neuromorphic engineers strive to develop computer chips and systems incorporating artificial neurons and synapses, designed to process information in a parallel and distributed manner, akin to the brain’s functionality.

Key challenges in neuromorphic engineering encompass developing algorithms and hardware capable of performing intricate computations with minimal energy consumption, creating systems that can learn and adapt over time, and devising methods to control the behavior of artificial neurons and synapses in real-time.

Science Made Simple: What Are Light Sources?

Light sources, a form of particle accelerator, produce powerful beams of X-rays and other spectrums, enabling scientists to peer into the microscopic structure of materials without physically altering them.

These machines differ from other accelerators as they use oscillating magnetic fields to generate light directly. They play a crucial role across various scientific fields, from studying atomic structures with hard X-rays to examining electronic structures with terahertz waves.

Light sources are a type of particle accelerator that produce powerful beams of X-rays, ultra-violet, or infrared light. These beams are similar to how holding an envelope in front of a bright light can reveal something about what’s inside the envelope. But by using special types of light vastly more powerful than the X-ray machine in a doctor’s office, these light sources help scientists see inside matter. It’s like seeing inside an envelope without opening it. This gives scientists the power to reveal how materials behave at microscopic or nanoscale sizes as well as at ultrafast speeds.

Beyond ‘one pore at a time’: New method of generating multiple, tunable nanopores

But these exciting applications have been limited in part by the tedious process of tunneling individual sub-nanometer pores one by one.

“If we are to ever scale up 2D material membranes to be relevant for applications outside the laboratory, the ‘one at a time’ method just isn’t feasible,” said recent UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) Ph.D. graduate Eli Hoenig. “But, even within the confines of laboratory experiment, a nanoporous membrane provides significantly larger signals than a single pore, increasing the sensitivity.”

Hoenig is first author of a paper recently published in Nature Communications that found a novel path around this longstanding problem. Under PME Asst. Prof. Chong Liu, the team created a new method of pore generation that builds materials with intentional weak spots, then applies a remote electric field to generate multiple nanoscale pores all at once.

New materials and techniques show promise for microelectronics and quantum technologies

The next generation of handheld devices requires a novel solution. Spintronics, or , is a revolutionary new field in condensed-matter physics that can increase the memory and logic processing capability of nano-electronic devices while reducing power consumption and production costs. This is accomplished by using inexpensive materials and the magnetic properties of an electron’s spin to perform memory and logic functions instead of using the flow of electron charge used in typical electronics.

New work by Florida State University scientists is propelling spintronics research forward.

Professors Biwu Ma in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Peng Xiong in the Department of Physics work with low-dimensional organic metal halide hybrids, a new class of hybrid materials that can power optoelectronic devices like solar cells, light-emitting diodes, or LEDs and photodetectors.

Researchers witness nanoscale water formation in real time

“It’s a known phenomenon, but it was never fully understood,” said Yukun Liu, the study’s first author and a Ph.D. candidate in Dravid’s laboratory. “Because you really need to be able to combine the direct visualization of water generation and the structure analysis at the atomic scale in order to figure out what’s happening with the reaction and how to optimize it.”

But viewing the process with atomic precision was simply impossible—until nine months ago. In January 2024, Dravid’s team unveiled a novel method to analyze gas molecules in real time. Dravid and his team developed an ultra-thin glassy membrane that holds gas molecules within honeycomb-shaped nanoreactors, so they can be viewed within high-vacuum transmission electron microscopes.

With the new technique, previously published in Science Advances, researchers can examine samples in atmospheric pressure gas at a resolution of just 0.102 nanometers, compared to a 0.236-nanometer resolution using other state-of-the-art tools. The technique also enabled, for the first time, concurrent spectral and reciprocal information analysis.

MIT scientists use a new type of nanoparticle to make vaccines more powerful

Many vaccines, including vaccines for hepatitis B and whooping cough, consist of fragments of viral or bacterial proteins.

“Not only are we delivering the protein in a more controlled way through a nanoparticle, but the compositional structure of this particle is also acting as an adjuvant,” Jaklenec says. “We were able to achieve very specific responses to the Covid protein, and with a dose-sparing effect compared to using the protein by itself to vaccinate.”

Vaccine access

While this study and others have demonstrated ZIF-8’s immunogenic ability, more work needs to be done to evaluate the particles’ safety and potential to be scaled up for large-scale manufacturing. If ZIF-8 is not developed as a vaccine carrier, the findings from the study should help to guide researchers in developing similar nanoparticles that could be used to deliver subunit vaccines, Jaklenec says.

Quantum sensing approach captures nanoscale electrochemical evolution in battery

Battery performance is heavily influenced by the non-uniformity and failure of individual electrode particles. Understanding the reaction mechanisms and failure modes at nanoscale level is key to advancing battery technologies and extending their lifespan. However, capturing real-time electrochemical evolution at this scale remains challenging due to the limitations of existing sensing methods, which lack the necessary spatial resolution and sensitivity.

Mechnano exits stealth mode R&D for carbon nanotube 3D printing breakthrough

Arizona-based startup Mechnano has exited “stealth mode” in the research and development of its carbon nanotube (CNT) technology for 3D printing materials.

The company has developed its first product, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) resin that delivers dissipative properties to 3D printed parts without compromising mechanical properties.

“These are extraordinary breakthroughs for additive manufacturing materials,” said Steven Lowder, Mechnano’s Founder and CEO. “By focusing on the nanoscale, or the molecular level, we are able to make exponential improvements in AM materials at the macro-level.

‘Writing’ with atoms could transform materials fabrication for quantum devices

A new technology to continuously place individual atoms exactly where they are needed could lead to new materials for devices that address critical needs for the field of quantum computing and communication that cannot be produced by conventional means, say scientists who developed it.

A research team at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory created a novel advanced microscopy tool to “write” with atoms, placing those atoms exactly where they are needed to give a material new properties.

“By working at the atomic scale, we also work at the scale where quantum properties naturally emerge and persist,” said Stephen Jesse, a materials scientist who leads this research and heads the Nanomaterials Characterizations section at ORNL’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, or CNMS. “We aim to use this improved access to quantum behavior as a foundation for future devices that rely on uniquely quantum phenomena, like entanglement, for improving computers, creating more secure communications and enhancing the sensitivity of detectors.”

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