Tech Briefs

Materials & Manufacturing

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Access our comprehensive library of technical briefs on materials and manufacturing, from engineering experts at NASA and government, university, and commercial laboratories.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Surfaces That Grip Like Gecko Feet Could Be Easily Mass-Produced

Briefs: Energy

'Artificial Leaf' Produces Clean Gas

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Wearable Device Monitors Health

Get the latest breakthroughs from NASA & other technology sources.

Latest Tech Briefs

Briefs: Energy

Method Turns Trash Into Graphene

This green process produces pristine graphene in bulk using waste food, plastic, and other materials.

Briefs: Materials

Carbonated Cement for Production of Concrete with Improved Properties

This technology supports CO2 emissions reduction in cement manufacturing.

Briefs: Materials

Soft Tactile Logic Distributes Decision-Making Throughout Stretchable Material

Inspired by the octopus, the structure senses, computes, and responds without any centralized processing.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Cut-to-Length Electrical Cable Cuts Costs

Electrical cables are used in services such as power delivery, automation signaling, and communications.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Soft Hardware for More Flexible Robots

Combined muscles and sensors made from soft materials allow for adaptable robots.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Optically Reconfigurable Charge-Transfer Liquid Crystals

These re-writeable materials have applications in data storage and encryption, energy transducers, and optical display technologies.

Briefs: Materials

Metals Change Surfaces in Response to Heat

Heat predictably and precisely changes the surface structure of a particle of liquid metal.

Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

Graphene Device with Superconducting, Insulating, and Magnetic Properties

The multitasking device could advance development of an electric circuit for faster, next-generation electronics like quantum computing technologies.

Briefs: Materials

Essential Oils Inhibit Mold on Wood

This method can be used to protect stored building materials and to remediate in-service wood and wood products.

Briefs: Materials

Carbon Nanostructure is Stronger Than Diamonds

A novel plate-cell architecture reaches the theoretical limit of performance.

Briefs: Energy

Carbon Nanotube/Polymer Composites with Electrical and Thermal Characteristics

These composites could improve how unmanned vehicles dissipate energy.

Briefs: Energy

Fabric Allows Wearers to Control Electronic Devices Through Clothing

The rainproof, stainproof technology turns clothing into self-powered remotes while turning away bacteria.

Briefs: Energy

Scavenger Technology Allows Robots to “Eat” Metal for Energy

This type of energy source could be the basis for robots that seek out and “eat” metal, breaking down its chemical bonds for energy like humans do with food.