Materials & Coatings

R&D to Production – How to Speed Up Your Electrification Product Development

This 20-minute Tech Talk examines the best course of action for your programs as they move from R&D to prototyping, pre-production, and finally full...

Abnormal Grain Growth Suppression in Aluminum Alloys

Applications include manufacturing structural components for aerospace vehicles, cars, trucks, trains, ships, and submarines.

Technology Converts Waste Plastics to Jet Fuel

The reaction converts 90% of plastic to jet fuel and other valuable hydrocarbon products within an hour at moderate temperatures.

Imitating Human Hands to Make Better Sensors

This work could help severely injured people, such as soldiers, regain the ability to control their movements.

5 Ws of Puncture-Proof Soft Electronics

The durable soft electronics could be used in wearable electronics and soft robotics and could someday be part of a stretchable smartphone.

Programmable Fiber Provides Power and Transmits Data

Designed for soldier uniforms, the fiber can sense, store, analyze, and infer activity when sewn into a piece of clothing.

Chemistry Approach for More Robust Soft Electronics

The approach could lead to more flexible health monitors, wearable devices, sensors, optical communication systems, and soft robotics.

Fiber-Metal Laminate Manufacturing Technique

Synthesis of fiber-metal laminates is performed using RF plasma spray deposition.

Origami Solves Challenge of Storing and Moving Rocket Fuel

A folded plastic bladder could store and pump the fuel.

“Fingerprints” for 3D Printers

Printers can be identified by their unique hot end, aiding intellectual property and security.

Method Produces Fine-Grained Targets

High-yield synthesis of carbon nanotubes is enabled via free electron laser ablation.

UpFront: September 2021 Tech Briefs

NASA Washing Machine Designs Go for a Spin

Right now, there is no laundry service in space.

Astronaut garments aren’t washed. They are put onto ships that burn up in the...

Multiplexed Optical Antennas

These antennas dramatically increase the amount of information that can be simultaneously transmitted by a coherent light source.

New on the Market: September 2021

Power distribution units, pressure sensors, connector straps, and more.

Algorithm Designs Soft Robots That Sense

A deep-learning technique optimizes the arrangement of sensors on a robot’s body to ensure efficient operation.

Centimeter-Long Snail Robot Powered with Light

The soft robot harvests energy from a laser beam and can crawl on horizontal surfaces and climb vertical walls and an upside-down glass ceiling.

Conformal, Lightweight, Aerogel-Based Antenna

The flexible antenna was designed for active aeronautical satellite communications.

Facility Focus: The Pennsylvania State University School of Engineering

Learn about the batteries, skin sensors, flexible antennas, and other cutting-edge research coming from Penn State Engineering.

Sustainable 3D-Printed Magnets

An alternative, environmentally friendly production method creates permanent magnets.

Q&A: Flexible, Printable, Tunable Microwave Resonator Arrays

Fiorenzo Omenetto, Frank C. Doble Professor of Engineering at Tufts University School of Engineering, Dean of Research, and Director of the Tufts Silklab led a team that has...

Cladding and Freeform Deposition for Coolant Channel Closeout

This method is a faster way to manufacture combustion chambers and nozzles for aerospace propulsion as well as heat exchangers in oil and gas applications.

Wireless, Wearable Transmitter

The wearable antenna bends, stretches, and compresses without compromising function.

Solid-State Carbon Dioxide Sensor

Applications include wearables, airplane cabin monitoring, medical diagnostics, and indoor air quality measurement.

Say Goodbye to the Dots and Dashes to Enhance Optical Storage Media

To modernize optical storage, Purdue researchers are replacing Morse code with colored “digital characters.”

A Sharper Look at the Interior of Semiconductors

A new imaging method allows researchers to see inside complex semiconductors, without destroying them.

The Hidden Effects of Optical Coating Stress

For applications requiring high-energy material deposition coatings, you'll need to understand how stress can impact surface figure and system performance.

New Electron Microscopy Technique Offers First Look at Previously Hidden Processes

Northwestern researchers have developed a new microscopy method that allows scientists to see the building blocks of “smart” materials.

Backside Illumination Gets Fast

A new high-speed sensor pushes the boundaries in light-starved conditions.

Metal-Free, Recyclable Polypeptide Battery Degrades on Demand

The new battery is degradable, recyclable, non-toxic, and safer than lithium-ion batteries.