Materials & Manufacturing

Materials & Coatings

Access the technical resources for a range of materials and coatings. Design engineers can browse news, technical briefs, and applications for plastics, composites, rubbers, elastomers, and metals.

Stories

Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

Process Enables Manufacturing of Stretchy Electronics

Next-generation devices made with a “peel and stack” method could include electronic chips worn on the skin.

Briefs: Materials

Analyzing Wear and Tear of Metal

A new method could enable vehicles and equipment to better withstand high temperatures, loads, and speeds.

Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Products of Tomorrow

A cryptographic ID tag, a high-reliability NASA switch, and a stretchable thermoelectric generator...

Briefs: Materials

Injectable Gel Helps Heart Muscle Regenerate

This gel releases short gene sequences into the heart muscle to heal it following a heart attack.

Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

New Material Enables Stable Semiconductor Neutron Detectors

It can be used both in small, portable devices for field inspections and in very large detectors that use arrays of crystals.

Briefs: Energy

Leaf-Inspired Surface Prevents Frost Formation

This new design could conserve energy used for defrosting airplanes, appliances, and more.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Guiding and Harnessing Transition Waves in Multi-Stable Mechanical Structures

The domino effect is used to design deployable systems that expand quickly with a small push and are stable and locked into place after deployment.

Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs

Method Enables Conductive Gels to Stick When Wet

A new way of making polymers adhere to surfaces may enable better biomedical sensors and implants.

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Polymer Twists and Bends in the Presence of Light

A liquid crystal elastomer can be programmed to exhibit controllable, dynamic behavior without the need for complex electronic components.

5 Ws: Wearables

5 Ws of the Infant Smart Jumpsuit

A smart jumpsuit accurately measures the spontaneous and voluntary movement of infants

Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics

Tiny Magnetic Particles Enable Material to Bend, Twist, and Grab

The material could enable applications such as antennas that change frequencies on the fly or gripper arms for delicate or heavy objects.

Briefs: Materials

Organic Material for Printed Electronics

The material combines two polymers with different properties.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Wearable Air Conditioning

This on-skin electronic device provides a personal air conditioner without electricity.

Articles: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Executive Roundtable: 3D Printing

Tech Briefs posed questions to 3D printing/AM industry execs, to get their views on issues like metal printing, new materials, and environmental sustainability.

Briefs: Materials

Artificial Intelligence Finds and Labels 2D Materials Instantly

The AI system can help shorten the time required for 2D material-based electronics to be ready for consumer devices.

Briefs: Materials

Nano-Infused Ceramic Can Report its own Health

A ceramic sensor could be embedded into structures such as bridges and aircraft to monitor their health.

Briefs: Tubing & Extrusion

Nanostructured Rubber-Like Material to Replace Human Tissue

The material consists solely of components that have already been shown to work well in the body.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

System Provides Cooling with No Electricity

This passive device relies on a layer of material that blocks incoming sunlight but lets heat radiate away.

Technology Leaders: Photonics/Optics

The Configurable Laser — A Universal Manufacturing Tool

Laser technology will remain at the forefront of tomorrow’s digital manufacturing processes.

Technology Leaders: Materials

Using Lasers in the Automotive Manufacturing Industry

Ever since Henry Ford introduced the first moving production line to the industry in 1913, automotive manufacturers have been constantly striving to streamline their processes,...

Blog: Transportation

Super-Porous Material Gives Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles a Boost

A team at Northwestern University is developing a material so porous that if you were able to unfold a gram of it, you could go farther than a football field.

INSIDER: Nanotechnology

Stretchy Electronics for Next Generation Smart Devices

A new manufacturing process could produce flexible electronics for things like virtual reality-enabled contact lenses, solar-powered skins that mold to the contours of your car, and...

INSIDER: Semiconductors & ICs

New Etching Technique Produces Far Smaller Semiconductors

Microelectronics like semiconductor devices are at the heart of the technologies we use each day. As we move into an era where we are stretching the limits of Moore’s Law, it is...