Category Technology/Electronics

A 3D terahertz gradient-refractive index lens designed by transformation optics is achieved by fabricating “woodpile” structures with varying dimensions of subwavelength dielectric unit cells using the projection microstereolithography technique. Both simulation and experimental investigations confirm that the lens delivers an imaging resolution very close to the diffraction limit over a frequency range from 0.4 to 0.6 THz.

The new lens could be used for biomedical research and security imaging. “Terahertz is somewhat of a gap between microwaves and infrared,” said NW University’s Cheng Sun. “People are trying to fill in this gap because this spectrum carries a lot of information...

Phosphorene, a single layer of phosphorous in a particular configuration, has potential application in semiconductor transistors. Credit: Matthew Cherny

A new method to quickly determine the orientation of phosphorene has been found using interactions between light and electrons within phosphorene and other atoms-thick crystals of black phosphorus. It is a promising material with potential application as a material for semiconducting transistors in ever faster and more powerful computers. Many useful properties of 2D phosphane, aka phosphorene, like its ability to conduct electrons, are anisotropic, ie they vary depending on the orientation of the crystal.

Phosphorene–a single layer of phosphorus atoms–was isolated for the first time in 2014, allowing physicists to begin exploring its prop...

Dr Xiaojing Hao of UNSW’s Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics holding the new CZTS solar cells. Credit: Quentin Jones/UNSW

‘Zero-energy’ buildings – which generate as much power as they consume – are now much closer after a team at UNSW, Australia achieved the world’s highest efficiency using flexible solar cells that are non-toxic and cheap to make. Until now, the promise of ‘zero-energy’ buildings been held back by 2 hurdles: the cost of the thin-film solar cells (used in façades, roofs and windows), and the fact they’re made from scarce, and highly toxic, materials.

NREL, USA’s National Renewable Energy Lab, confirmed this world leading 7.6% efficiency in a 1cm2 area CZTS cell this month...

New device creates entangled photons that span the traditional telecommunications spectrum, making it appealing for multi-channel quantum communication and more powerful quantum computers. Credit: Michael Kues, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), University of Quebec, Canada

Discovery is a significant step toward multi-channel quantum communication and higher capacity quantum computers. An international team has built a chip that generates multiple frequencies from a robust quantum system that produces time-bin entangled photons. In contrast to other quantum state realizations, entangled photons don’t need bulky equipment to keep them in their quantum state, and they can transmit quantum information across long distances...