Category Physics

‘Intercrystals’ pave the way for greener electronics and quantum technologies

An intercrystal formed by overlaying twisted graphene on hexagonal boron nitride.
Andrei Lab

Rutgers University–New Brunswick researchers have discovered a new class of materials—called intercrystals—with unique electronic properties that could power future technologies.

Intercrystals exhibit newly discovered forms of electronic properties that could pave the way for advancements in more efficient electronic components, quantum computing and environmentally friendly materials, the scientists said.

As described in a report in the science journal Nature Materials, the scientists stacked two ultrathin layers of graphene, each a one-atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal grid...

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Ultrathin display technology shows dozens of images hidden in a single screen

Ultra-thin display technology shows dozens of images hidden in a single screen
Schematic of a spin- and wavelength-multiplexed metahologram. This hologram encodes multiple holographic images using a single-cell metasurface, where distinct images appear on the same image plane based on the incident spin states and operating wavelengths. Credit: Advanced Science (2025). DOI: 10.1002/advs.202504634

From smartphones and TVs to credit cards, technologies that manipulate light are deeply embedded in our daily lives, many of which are based on holography. However, conventional holographic technologies have faced limitations, particularly in displaying multiple images on a single screen and in maintaining high-resolution image quality.

Recently, a research team led by Professor Junsuk Rho at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) has developed a groun...

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Robots learning without us? New study cuts humans from early testing

Humans no longer have exclusive control over training social robots to interact effectively, thanks to a new study from the University of Surrey and the University of Hamburg.

The study, which will be presented at this year’s IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), introduces a new simulation method that lets researchers test their social robots without needing human participants, making research faster and scalable.

Using a humanoid robot, the research team developed a dynamic scanpath prediction model to help the robot predict where a person would look in a social setting.

The model was tested using two publicly available datasets, and the researchers demonstrated that humanoid robots were capable of mimicking human-like eye movements.

Dr Di Fu, ...

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Record-setting lithium-ion conductors: Researchers develop new material for solid-state batteries

World record for lithium-ion conductors
Prof. Thomas F. Fässler in his laboratory at the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry with a Focus on Novel Materials. Credit: Wenzel Schuermann / TUM

Researchers at TUM and TUMint.Energy Research have taken a significant step towards improving solid-state batteries. They developed a new material made of lithium, antimony and scandium that conducts lithium ions more than 30% faster than any previously known material. The work is published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials.

The team led by Prof. Thomas F. Fässler from the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry with a Focus on Novel Materials partially replaced lithium in a lithium antimonide compound with the metal scandium. This creates specific gaps, so-called vacancies, in the crystal lattice of the conductor material...

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