Category Physics

Electronic Metadevices Break Barriers to Ultrafast Communications

© iStock/wragg
Samizadeh Nikoo, M., Matioli, E. Electronic metadevices for terahertz applications. Nature 614, 451–455 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05595-z

EPFL researchers have come up with a new approach to electronics that involves engineering metastructures at the sub-wavelength scale. It could launch the next generation of ultra-fast devices for exchanging massive amounts of data, with applications in 6G communications and beyond.

Until now, the ability to make electronic devices faster has come down to a simple principle: scaling down transistors and other components. But this approach is reaching its limit, as the benefits of shrinking are counterbalanced by detrimental effects like resistance and decreased output power.

Elison Matioli of the Power and Wide-band-gap Elect...

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Bionic Fingers create 3D Maps of Human Tissue, Electronics and other complex objects

Bionic fingers create 3D maps of human tissue, electronics and other complex objects
Graphical abstract. Credit: Cell Reports Physical Science (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2023.101257

What if, instead of using X-rays or ultrasound, we could use touch to image the insides of human bodies and electronic devices? In a study published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science on February 15, researchers present a bionic finger that can create 3D maps of the internal shapes and textures of complex objects by touching their exterior surface.

“We were inspired by human fingers, which have the most sensitive tactile perception that we know of,” says senior author Jianyi Luo, a professor at Wuyi University. “For example, when we touch our own bodies with our fingers, we can sense not only the texture of our skin, but also the outline of the bone beneath it.”

“Our bionic...

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‘Lego-like’ Universal Connector makes Assembling Stretchable Devices a snap

'Lego-like' universal connector developed by NTU Singapore scientists makes assembling stretchable devices a snap
The BIND interface (biphasic, nano-dispersed interface) makes assembly of stretchable devices simple while offering excellent mechanical and electrical performance. Credit: NTU Singapore

An international team led by researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has developed a universal connector to assemble stretchable devices simply and quickly, in a “Lego-like” manner.

Stretchable devices including soft robots and wearable healthcare devices are assembled using several different modules with different material characteristics—some soft, some rigid, and some encapsulated.

However, the commercial pastes (glue), currently used to connect the modules often either fail to transmit mechanical and electrical signals reliably when deformed or break eas...

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Atom-thin Walls could Smash Size, Memory Barriers in Next-gen Devices

Evgeny Tsymbal
Nebraska’s Evgeny Tsymbal and an international team have demonstrated how to construct, control and explain nanoscopic walls that could yield multiple technological benefits. Craig Chandler | University Communication and Marketing

Nanomaterial feature could help electronic circuits adopt benefits of human memory. For all of the unparalleled, parallel-processing, still-indistinguishable-from-magic wizardry packed into the three pounds of the adult human brain, it obeys the same rule as the other living tissue it controls: Oxygen is a must.

So it was with a touch of irony that Evgeny Tsymbal offered his explanation for a technological wonder — movable, data-covered walls mere atoms wide — that may eventually help computers behave more like a brain.

“There was unambiguous evidence...

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