Category Technology/Electronics

A schematic image representing a periodic variation in the density of Cooper pairs (pairs of blue arrows pointing in opposite directions) within a cuprate superconductor. Densely packed rows of Cooper pairs alternate with regions having lower pair density and no pairs at all. Such a “Cooper pair density wave” was predicted 50 years ago but was just discovered using a unique “scanning Josephson tunneling microscope. Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory

Scientists have produced the first direct evidence of a state of electronic matter first predicted by theorists in 1964. The discovery may provide key insights into the workings of high-temperature superconductors. The prediction was that “Cooper pairs” of electrons in a superconductor could exist in 2 possible states...

The NOvA detector measures 50 feet by 50 feet by 200 feet, and the top surface of the detector as shown here is covered with readout and monitoring systems. Each gold-colored box in the image contains a photodiode array, cooling components, and associated electronics to detect light from 32 of the 344,000 cells that make up the detector. Credit: Reidar Hahn/Fermilab

Every second, trillions of neutrinos travel through your body unnoticed. Neutrinos are among the most abundant particles in the universe, but they are difficult to study because they very rarely interact with matter...

Electronic circuits straight from a pen. Credit: Image courtesy of INM – Leibniz-Institut für Neue Materialien gGmbH

Research scientists at INM have combined the benefits of organic and inorganic electronic materials in a new type of hybrid inks. This allows electronic circuits to be applied to paper directly from a pen, for example. This requires printable electronic materials that can be printed and retain a high level of conductivity during usage in spite of their curved surfaces. Some tried and tested materials include organic, conductive polymers and nanoparticles made of conductive oxides (TCOs).

To create their hybrid inks, they coated nanoparticles made of metals with organic, conductive polymers and suspended them in mixtures of water and alcohol...

Experimental device of quantum cryptography system. Credit: ITMO University

A novel approach to the construction of quantum communication systems for secure data exchange. The experimental device based on the results of the research is capable of transmitting single-photon quantum signals across distances of 250km or more, which is on par with other cutting edge analogues. Information security is becoming more and more of a critical issue. Contrary to algorithm-based encryption, systems that protect information by making use of quantum physics, can make data transmission immune to hacker attacks in the future. Information in a quantum channel is carried by single photons that change irreversibly once an eavesdropper attempts to intercept them...