Category Physics

Imagine sitting in a packed stadium for a pivotal football game—tens of thousands of people are using mobile phones at the same time, perhaps video chatting with friends or posting photos on social media. The radio frequency signals being sent and received by all these devices could cause interference, which slows device performance and drains batteries.

Designing devices that can efficiently block unwanted signals is no easy task, especially as 5G networks become more universal and future generations of wireless com...

A research team led by Dr. Yong-hun Kim and Dr. Jeong-Dae Kwon has successfully developed the world’s first neuromorphic semiconductor device with high-density and high-reliability by developing a thin film of lithium-ion battery materials. They achieved this by producing ultra-thin lithium ions, a key material of lithium-ion batteries that have been in the spotlight recently, and combining it with two-dimensional nano-materials...

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...

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...