Category Physics

An experimental transistor using silicon oxide for the base, carbide for the 2D material and aluminum oxide for the encapsulating material
Credit: Zahra Hemmat

Sandwiching 2D materials used in nanoelectronic devices between their 3D silicon bases and an ultrathin layer of aluminum oxide can significantly reduce the risk of component failure due to overheating, according to a new study published in the journal of Advanced Materials led by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Engineering.

Many of today’s silicon-based electronic components contain 2D materials such as graphene...

Wearable ultrasound patch tracks blood pressure in a deep artery or vein.
Credit: Chonghe Wang/Nature Biomedical Engineering

A new wearable ultrasound patch that non-invasively monitors blood pressure in arteries deep beneath the skin could help people detect cardiovascular problems earlier on and with greater precision. In tests, the patch performed as well as some clinical methods to measure blood pressure.

Applications include real-time, continuous monitoring of blood pressure changes in patients with heart or lung disease, as well as patients who are critically ill or undergoing surgery. The patch uses ultrasound, so it could potentially be used to non-invasively track other vital signs and physiological signals from places deep inside the body.

A team of researchers led by the Universi...

A 3-D virtual heart.
Credit: Johns Hopkins University

In a proof of concept study, scientists at Johns Hopkins report they have successfully performed 3D personalized virtual simulations of the heart to accurately identify where cardiac specialists should electrically destroy cardiac tissue to stop potentially fatal irregular and rapid heartbeats in patients with scarring in the heart. The retrospective analysis of 21 patients and prospective study of five patients with ventricular tachycardia, the researchers say, demonstrate that 3D simulation-guided procedures are worthy of expanded clinical trials.

Results of the study are described in the Sept. 3 issue of Nature Biomedical Engineering...

Wireless WGM sensing system.

Swapping electrons for photons, researchers have developed wireless sensors which are not subject to electromagnetic interference and are smaller and generally more flexible than the currently electronics-based technology. A team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis is the first to successfully record environmental data using a wireless photonic sensor resonator with a whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) architecture.

The photonic sensors recorded data during the spring of 2017 under two scenarios: one was a real-time measurement of air temperature over 12 hours, and the other was an aerial mapping of temperature distribution with a sensor mounted on a drone in a St. Louis city park...