Nanotechnology

Briefs: Test & Measurement

Self-Powered Alarm Fights Forest Fires, Monitors Environment

A remote forest fire detection and alarm system is powered by nothing but the movement of trees in the wind.

Briefs: Imaging

Spider Silk Can Create Lenses Useful for Biological Imaging

One unexpected application for spider silk is its use in the creation of biocompatible lenses.

INSIDER: Test & Measurement

Researchers Develop Ultra-Sensitive Device for Detecting Magnetic Fields

A team of Brown University physicists has developed a new type of compact, ultra-sensitive magnetometer, 20 times more sensitive than many traditional sensors. The...

INSIDER: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Configurable Circuit Technology Poised to Expand Silicon Photonic Applications

Researchers have developed a new way to build power efficient and programmable integrated switching units on a silicon photonics chip. The new technology is...

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Spreadable Way to Stabilize Solid-State Batteries

A “butter-like” interlayer material boosts current density and increases safety.

Briefs: Energy

Tough, Solid Electrolyte Battery Component

Using ceramic material and graphene, the toughness of solid-state lithium-ion batteries can be doubled.

Briefs: Imaging

Light-Emitting Nanoparticles for Imaging Living Cells

Tiny, metal-rich particles can be excited with a low-power laser for deep-tissue imaging.

Briefs: Materials

Laser Treatment Turns Metal Surfaces into Bacteria Killers

The technique could easily be translated into existing medical device manufacturing processes for use in orthopedic implants.

Briefs: Materials

Smart Sponge for Environmental Remediation

This highly porous sponge absorbs more than 30 times its weight in oil and can be reused up to several dozen times.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Transparent Graphene Electrodes

A new roll-to-roll production method could enable lightweight, flexible solar devices and a new generation of display screens.

Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Nanosensors for Real-Time Plant Health Monitoring

This approach allows scientists to study the communication within plants, providing valuable insights to improve crop yields.

NASA Spinoff: Energy

Nanotechnology Repairs Engine Damage in Cars

The NASA-funded nanoparticle lubricant also works in satellites and space vehicles.

Articles: Materials

Products of Tomorrow: August 2020

A neural stimulator, a battery testing device, and a strain sensor.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Method Improves Efficiency and Heat Tolerance of Devices

These are important traits in electronics and electrical systems including electric cars, industrial drills, and electric grids.

Technology Leaders: Photonics/Optics

ZERODUR: The Highly Technical Glass-Ceramic

Highly technical glass-ceramic delivers optical precision at nanometer scale.

Briefs: Materials

Fabrication of Multilayer Ferritin Arrays

This method creates a thin-film electrode for a bio-nanobattery.

Briefs: Lighting

Semiconductors Can Behave Like Metals and Superconductors

This work potentially opens the door to advances like more energy-efficient electronic devices.

Articles: Wearables

Products of Tomorrow: June 2020

Nature-Inspired Energy Tech, Superelastic Tires, Wearable Supercapacitors, and more...

Briefs: Nanotechnology

Carbon Nanostructure is Stronger Than Diamonds

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

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

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: Semiconductors & ICs

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: Electronics & Computers

Electric Nanoscale Device Sees Through Walls

Applications include imaging, sensing, wireless communications, and medical treatments.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Lab-on-a-Chip Enables “Liquid Biopsy” of Cancer Cells

This diagnostic device allows doctors to detect cancer quickly from a droplet of blood or plasma.

INSIDER: Wearables

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

Atomic Chains in Nanotubes Push the Electronics Frontier

Wearable tech and electronic cloth may be the way of the future, but to get there the wiring needs to be strong, flexible, and efficient.

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

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...

Facility Focus: Semiconductors & ICs

Facility Focus: California Institute of Technology

See some of the world-changing tools and technologies launched by Caltech scientists, from earthquake monitoring to helping the blind see.