Materials & Coatings

Materials

Learn the latest developments and technical resources for next-generation materials technologies. Learn more about the applications in aerospace, medical, military, and 3D printing.

Stories

Special Reports: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Medical Robotics - September 2021

Self-propelled nanobots that deliver drugs inside the human body...novel sensors that improve the safety and precision of industrial robots...a dynamic hydrogel material that makes building soft robotic devices...

Briefs: Energy

Rechargeable Cement-Based Batteries

An entire 20-story concrete building could store energy like a giant battery.

Products: Materials

New Products

Lithium batteries, compartment gaskets, chargers, and more.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Hybrid Membrane Doubles the Lifetime of Rechargeable Batteries

The membrane prevents dendrite formation, at least doubling the lifetime of a lithium-metal battery.

Articles: Transportation

New Materials Move Li-Ion Batteries Toward the Solid-State Endgame

A new generation of lithium-ion batteries is poised to improve electric vehicle range and affordability.

Briefs: Energy

Metal-Free, Recyclable Polypeptide Battery Degrades on Demand

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

Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Backside Illumination Gets Fast

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

Briefs: Nanotechnology

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.

Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics

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.

Briefs: Nanotechnology

A Sharper Look at the Interior of Semiconductors

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

Briefs: Imaging

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.”

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Solid-State Carbon Dioxide Sensor

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

Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics

Wireless, Wearable Transmitter

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

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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.

Q&A: RF & Microwave Electronics

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 produced...

Briefs: Materials

Sustainable 3D-Printed Magnets

An alternative, environmentally friendly production method creates permanent magnets.

Facility Focus: Electronics & Computers

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.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Conformal, Lightweight, Aerogel-Based Antenna

The flexible antenna was designed for active aeronautical satellite communications.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

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.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Algorithm Designs Soft Robots That Sense

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

Products: Sensors/Data Acquisition

New on the Market: September 2021

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

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Multiplexed Optical Antennas

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

UpFront: Materials

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 atmosphere. At NASA Glenn,...