Category Physics

A small guest molecule in the right place makes it possible to produce energy-efficient organic solar cells using eco-friendly solvents. A record efficiency over 17% is demonstrated. In addition, solar cells with larger areas can be produced. “This is a major step towards large-scale industrial manufacture of efficient and stable organic solar cells,” says Feng Gao, professor in the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM) at Linköping University. The result has been published in Nature Energy.

Developments in organic solar cells are rapid, and the maximum energy efficiency achieved by solar cells produced in the laboratory is currently over 18%...

Today’s quantum computers are complicated to build, difficult to scale up, and require temperatures colder than interstellar space to operate. These challenges have led researchers to explore the possibility of building quantum computers that work using photons—particles of light...

Research findings to open way to new applications in quantum technology. A team led by Prof. Dr Matthias Weidemüller and Dr Gerhard Zürn at the Center for Quantum Dynamics of Heidelberg University has now succeeded in its aim to change not only the strength but also the nature of the interaction between microscopic quantum magnets, known as spins. Instead of falling into a state of complete disorder, the especially prepared magnets can maintain their original orientation for a long period. With these findings, the Heidelberg physicists have successfully demonstrated a programmable control of spin interactions in isolated quantum systems.

Magnetic systems can exhibit surprising behaviour when they are prepared in an unstable configuration...

Engineers have invented a breakthrough visible-spectrum, compact, power-efficient, low-loss phase modulator – a breakthrough in integrated photonics; the device will improve LIDAR for remote sensing, AR/VR goggles, quantum information processing chips, implantable optogenetic probes, and more.

Over the past several decades, researchers have moved from using electric currents to manipulating light waves in the near-infrared range for telecommunications applications such as high-speed 5G networks, biosensors on a chip, and driverless cars...