Category Technology/Electronics

Researchers have successfully increased the lifespan and stability of solid-state lithium-ion batteries, creating a viable approach for future widespread usage.

Person holding lithium battery cell with extended life showing where ion implant was placed The strength of the new, high-density batteries produced by the University of Surrey means that they are less likely to short-circuit — a problem found in previous lithium-ion solid-state batteries.

Dr Yunlong Zhao from the Advanced Technology Institute, the University of Surrey, explained:

“We have all heard horror stories of lithium-ion batteries in transport settings, usually down to issues around cracked casing caused by exposure to stressful environments, such as extreme temperature changes...

A team of engineers at the University of California San Diego has demonstrated for the first time that the Bluetooth signals emitted constantly by our mobile phones have a unique fingerprint that can be used to track individuals’ movements.

Mobile devices, including phones, smartwatches and fitness trackers, constantly transmit signals, known as Bluetooth beacons, at the rate of roughly 500 beacons per minute.These beacons enable features like Apple’s “Find My” lost device tracking service; COVID-19 tracing apps; and connect smartphones to other devices such as wireless earphones.

Prior research has s...

Photonics researchers have introduced a novel method to control a light beam with another beam through a unique plasmonic metasurface in a linear medium at ultralow power. This simple linear switching method makes nanophotonic devices such as optical computing and communication systems more sustainable requiring low intensity of light.

All-optical switching is the modulation of signal light due to control light in such a way that it possesses the ON/OFF conversion function. In general, a light beam can be modulated with another intense laser beam in the presence of a nonlinear medium.

The switching method developed by the researchers is fundamentally based on the quantum optical phenomenon known as Enhancementof Index of Refraction (EIR).

“Our work is...

Lightweight as a window cling and replicable as a newspaper, organic solar cells are emerging as a viable solution for the nation’s growing energy demand.

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are the first to observe a biological property called chirality emerging in achiral conjugated polymers, which are used to design flexible solar cells. Their discovery could help enhance the cells’ charge capacity and increase access to affordable renewable energy.

DNA’s coiled architecture is recognizable to many as a helix...