Researchers have discovered that incipient ferroelectricity can revolutionize computer memory, enabling ultra-low power devices.
These unique transistors shift behavior based on temperature, making them suitable for both traditional memory and neuromorphic computing, which mimics the brain’s energy efficiency. The use of strontium titanate thin films reveals unexpected ferroelectric-like properties, hinting at new possibilities in advanced electronics.
Researchers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory are exploring how deuterium, a potential fusion fuel, interacts with boron-coated walls in fusion reactors. Their discoveries about fuel retention and the problematic role of carbon in trapping fuel are paving the way for more efficient fusion systems, such as ITER in France.
Their work pushes semiconductor-superconductor hybrid technology to new heights and strengthens Purdue’s role in quantum research.
Microsoft Advances Topological Quantum Computing
Microsoft Quantum recently published an article in Nature, highlighting key advancements in measuring quantum devices — an essential step toward building a topological quantum computer. The research was conducted by Microsoft scientists and engineers, including those at Microsoft Quantum Lab West Lafayette, based at Purdue University. In their announcement, the team described the operation of a crucial device that serves as a foundational building block for topological quantum computing. Their findings mark a significant milestone in the development of quantum computers, which have the potential to be far more powerful and resilient than current technologies.
A breakthrough simulation reveals how magnetars form and evolve, solving a key mystery about their magnetic origins.
Magnetars are a rare type of neutron star.
A neutron star is the collapsed core of a large (between 10 and 29 solar masses) star. Neutron stars are the smallest and densest stars known to exist. Though neutron stars typically have a radius on the order of just 10 — 20 kilometers (6 — 12 miles), they can have masses of about 1.3 — 2.5 that of the Sun.
A team led by researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill has made an extraordinary discovery that is reshaping our understanding of bubbles and their movement. Imagine tiny air bubbles inside a liquid-filled container. When the container is shaken up and down, these bubbles exhibit an unexpected, rhythmic “galloping” motion—bouncing like playful horses and moving horizontally, despite the vertical shaking. This counterintuitive phenomenon, revealed in a new study, has significant technological implications, from improving surface cleaning and heat transfer in microchips to advancing space applications.
These galloping bubbles are already drawing significant attention. Their impact on fluid dynamics was recently recognized with an award for their video entry at the latest Gallery of Fluid Motion, organized by the American Physical Society.
“Our research not only answers a fundamental scientific question but also inspires curiosity and exploration of the fascinating, unseen world of fluid motion,” said Pedro Sáenz, principal investigator and professor of applied mathematics at UNC-Chapel Hill. “After all, the smallest things can sometimes lead to the biggest changes.”
Quantum computers, which operate leveraging quantum mechanics effects, could soon outperform traditional computers in some advanced optimization and simulation tasks. Most quantum computing systems developed so far store and process information using qubits (quantum units of information that can exist in a superposition of two states).
In recent years, however, some physicists and engineers have been trying to develop quantum computers based on qudits, multi-level units of quantum information that can hold more than two states.
Qudit-based quantum systems could store more information and perform computations more efficiently than qubit-based systems, yet they are also more prone to decoherence.
Superconductivity is an intriguing property observed in some materials, which entails the ability to conduct electric current combined with an electrical resistance of zero at low temperatures. Physicists have observed this property in various solid materials with different characteristics and atomic thicknesses.
A team of researchers at Nanjing University in China recently carried out a study aimed at further exploring the behavior of niobium diselenide (NbSe₂), a layered material that has been found to be a superconductor when it is atomically thin. Their paper, published in Physical Review Letters, unveils resilient superconducting fluctuations in atomically thin NbSe₂, which could play a part in the anomalous metallic state previously observed in this material.
“Our study was inspired by a long-standing puzzle in condensed matter physics, which can be summarized by the question: can metals truly exist in two dimensions as the ground state?” Xiaoxiang Xi, senior author of the paper, told Phys.org. “While we understand the behavior of everyday metals and insulators, ultrathin materials—like sheets just one atom thick—challenge these conventional rules.”
Stretchable display materials, which are gaining traction in the next-generation display market, have the advantage of being able to stretch and bend freely, but the limitations of existing materials have resulted in distorted screens and poor fit.
General elastomeric substrates are prone to screen distortion due to the “Poisson’s ratio” phenomenon, in which stretching in one direction causes the screen to shrink in the vertical direction. In particular, electronics that are in close contact with the skin, such as wearable devices, are at risk of wrinkling or pulling on the skin during stretching and shrinking, resulting in poor fit and performance.
A research team led by Dr. Jeong Gon Son of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Professor Yongtaek Hong of Seoul National University have developed a nanostructure-aligned stretchable substrate that dramatically lowers the Poisson’s ratio. The work is published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Graphyne is a crystalline form of carbon that is distinct from both diamond and graphite. Unlike diamond, where each atom possesses four immediate neighbors, or graphite, where each atom has three, graphyne’s structure combines two-coordinate and three-coordinate carbons.
Computational models suggest that graphyne has highly compelling electronic, mechanical and optical properties. It is predicted to be a semiconductor with a band gap appropriate for electronic devices, ultra-high charge carrier mobility far surpassing that of silicon, and ultimate strength comparable to that of graphene.
Applications of graphyne in carbon electronics, energy harvesting and storage, gas separations and catalysis have been proposed. While graphyne was first theoretically predicted more than three decades ago, its synthesis remained elusive.
Novel technology intends to redefine the virtual reality experience by expanding to incorporate a new sensory connection: taste.
The interface, dubbed “e-Taste,” uses a combination of sensors and wireless chemical dispensers to facilitate the remote perception of taste —what scientists call gustation. These sensors are attuned to recognize molecules like glucose and glutamate—chemicals that represent the five basic tastes of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Once captured via an electrical signal, that data is wirelessly passed to a remote device for replication.
Field testing done by researchers at The Ohio State University confirmed the device’s ability to digitally simulate a range of taste intensities, while still offering variety and safety for the user.