Category Physics

Researchers shed light on the Building Blocks for next-generation LED displays

This illustration was featured on the back cover of Nanoscale Advances, an open-access journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Image Credit: College of Science

Three teams of researchers at Clemson University have joined forces to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding perovskite nanocrystals, which are semiconductors with numerous applications, including LEDs, lasers, solar cells and photodetectors.

A research article titled “The correlation between phase transition and photoluminescence properties of CsPbX3 (X=Cl, Br, I) perovskite nanocrystals” recently appeared in Nanoscale Advances, an open-access journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry...

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Artificial Materials for more Efficient Electronics

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Scanning transmission electron micrscopy image of superlattice consisting of an alternating sequence of 5 atomic unit cells of neodymium nickelate (blue) and 5 atomic unit cells of samarium nickelate (yellow). © Bernard Mundet / EPFL

The discovery of an unprecedented physical effect in a new artificial material marks a significant milestone in the lengthy process of developing ‘made-to-order’ materials and more energy-efficient electronics.

We are surrounded by electronic devices. Transistors are used to power telephones, computers, televisions, hi-fi systems and game consoles as well as cars, airplanes and the like. Today’s silicon-based electronics, however, consume a substantial and ever-increasing share of the world’s energy.

A number of researchers are exploring the propert...

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This ‘Cold Tube’ can Beat the Summer Heat without relying on Air Conditioning

Exterior of Cold Tube demonstration pavilion. Credit: Lea Ruefenacht

Chilled panels use half the energy of conventional air conditioners and can be used outdoors or indoors. AC’s guzzle power and spew out millions of tons of carbon dioxide daily. They’re also not always good for your health – constant exposure to central A/C can increase risks of recirculating germs and causing breathing problems.

There’s a better alternative, say a team of researchers from the University of British Columbia, Princeton University, the University of California, Berkeley and the Singapore-ETH Centre.

They call it the Cold Tube, and they have shown it works.
“Air conditioners work by cooling down and dehumidifying the air around us – an expensive and not particularly environmentally friendly proposit...

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New Superlattice Material for Future Energy Efficient Devices

High-temperature quantum anomalous Hall regime in a MnBi 2 Te 4 ...
: Quantized Hall conductance in a magnetic superlattice MnBi2Te4/Bi2Te3.

An international team of physicists including Jennifer Cano, PhD, of Stony Brook University, has created a new material layered by two structures, forming a superlattice, that at a high temperature is a super-efficient insulator conducting current without dissipation and lost energy. The finding, detailed in a paper published in Nature Physics, could be the basis of research leading to new, better energy efficient electrical conductors.

The material is created and developed in a laboratory chamber. Over time atoms attach to it and the material appears to grow — similar to the way rock candy is formed...

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