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Memory-preserving transistors could bypass the Boltzmann limit

Researchers have created a new theoretical framework that shows how memory-preserving “memtransistors” could overcome the intrinsic limits in efficiency faced by conventional semiconductor transistors, imposed by the laws of thermodynamics.

Led by Victor Lopez-Richard at the Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil, in collaboration with the University of Wurzburg, in Germany, and the University of Richmond, U.S., the researchers showed that further improvements to transistor switching efficiency could be reached simply by harnessing memory effects that are already present in many nanoscale devices. The research has been published in Physical Review Applied.

Analysis of more than 10,000 cities reveals hidden details governments can use to better support their people

The world’s urban population increased by 785 million people between 2000 and 2020, but that tells only part of the story. Now, a research team including an expert from the University of Michigan has dug into the demographics of more than 10,000 individual cities to obtain insights that can be lost in the aggregate. The findings are published in the journal Nature Cities.

Optical device uses humidity to unlock hidden information and offers new option for data storage

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed an optical device that reveals hidden images and changes colors in response to different levels of humidity. The technology, published in Light: Science & Applications, could lead to the development of new anti-counterfeiting labels, secure data storage, interactive displays, and environmental sensors.

The device works by displaying different images depending on moisture levels in the air. Under normal conditions or low humidity levels, one image (UC San Diego Triton logo) is visible. When humidity increases, a second image (UC San Diego library logo) emerges and conceals the first. This transition can be triggered even when a person breathes on the device. It happens in a fraction of a second and can be repeated many times.

“You can imagine using this as a built-in security feature with the environment acting like a key that unlocks different pieces of information,” said study first author Asad Nauman, an electrical and computer engineering postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego. “One example would be something like a credit card security tag, where you can blow on it and reveal a hidden code. Another application would be an environmental sensor that changes color as the humidity changes.”

Q&A: How researchers are building next-gen quantum computers

Quantum computers have the potential to transform science, accelerating breakthroughs in drug development, cosmology, materials science, nuclear physics, and more.

To make this future a reality, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) are partnering with industry, academia, and the national labs to drive advances across the quantum computing “stack”—the hardware, software, and controls designed to ensure error-corrected quantum calculations.

“Making a functional quantum computer requires much more than qubits alone. It takes an entire technology stack that can harness quantum science for real-world applications,” said Chris Spitzer, operations lead at the Advanced Quantum Testbed (AQT).

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