Category Technology/Electronics

Transparent Graphene Electrodes might lead to New Generation of Solar Cells

A new manufacturing process for graphene is based on using an intermediate carrier layer of material after the graphene is laid down through a vapor deposition process. The carrier allows the ultrathin graphene sheet, less than a nanometer (billionth of a meter) thick, to be easily lifted off from a substrate, allowing for rapid roll-to-roll manufacturing. These figures show this process for making graphene sheets, along with a photo of the proof-of-concept device used (b).
Courtesy of the researchers

Engineers have synthesized a tiny structure with high surface area and discovered how its unique architecture drives ions across interfaces to transport energy or information...

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A System for the Nonreciprocal Transmission of Microwave Acoustic Waves

Rendered image of the device developed by the researchers. Credit: Shao et al.

Acoustic waves have been found to be highly versatile and promising carriers of information between chip-based electronic devices. This characteristic is ideal for the development of a number of electronic components, including microwave filters and transducers.

In the past, some researchers have tried to build devices in which waves are transmitted between two ports in a non-symmetric way. These are known as nonreciprocal devices. These devices could be particularly promising for the manipulation and routing of phonons, quasiparticles associated with acoustic waves...

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Solar Hydrogen production: Splitting Water with UV is now at almost 100% Quantum Efficiency

Photocatalytic water splitting with a quantum efficiency of almost unity
Authors:Tsuyoshi Takata, Junzhe Jiang, Yoshihisa Sakata, Mamiko Nakabayashi, Naoya Shibata, Vikas Nandal, Kazuhiko Seki, Takashi Hisatomi, Kazunari Domen
Journal:Nature, 581, 411-414 (2020)
DOI10.1038/s41586-020-2278-9

Scientists have successfully split water into hydrogen and oxygen using light and meticulously designed catalysts, and they did so at the maximum efficiency meaning there was almost no loss and undesired side reactions. This latest breakthrough in solar hydrogen production makes the likelihood of scalable, economically viable hydrogen production more than likely, paving the way for humanity to make the switch to clean energy.

Pour yourself a glass of water and take a look at it...

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Paper-Thin Gallium Oxide Transistor handles more than 8,000 Volts

The graph image on the left shows the breakdown voltage of three different versions of the gallium oxide transistor. The illustration on the right shows the configuration and materials that make up the transistor that achieved a breakdown voltage of more than 8,000 volts. Credit: University at Buffalo

People love their electric cars. But not so much the bulky batteries and related power systems that take up precious cargo space. Help could be on the way from a gallium oxide-based transistor under development at the University at Buffalo.

In a study published in the June edition of IEEE Electron Device Letters, electrical engineers describe how the tiny electronic switch can handle more than 8,000 volts, an impressive feat considering it’s about as thin as a sheet of paper.

The tr...

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