silicon tagged posts

Using a groundbreaking new technique at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an international collaboration led by NIST researchers has revealed previously unrecognized properties of technologically crucial silicon crystals and uncovered new information about an important subatomic particle and a long-theorized fifth force of nature.

By aiming subatomic particles known as neutrons at silicon crystals and monitoring the outcome with exquisite sensitivity, the NIST scientists were able to obtain three extraordinary resu...

New research from the University of Surrey has shown that silicon could be one of the most powerful materials for photonic informational manipulation — opening up new possibilities for the production of lasers and displays.

While computer chips’ extraordinary success has confirmed silicon as the prime material for electronic information control, silicon has a reputation as a poor choice for photonics; there are no commercially available silicon light-emitting diodes, lasers or displays.

Now, in a paper published by Light: Science and Applications journal, a Surrey-led international team of scientists has shown that silicon is an outstanding candidate for creating a device that can control multiple light beams.

The discovery means that it is now possible to produce silicon pro...

A new study reveals good news for the possibility of using perovskite materials in next-generation solar cells. The study, published in the journal Acta Materialia, finds that though perovskite films tend to crack easily, those cracks are easily healed with some compression or a little bit of heat. That bodes well, the researchers say, for the use of inexpensive perovskites to replace or complement pricy silicon in solar cell technologies.

“The efficiency of perovskite solar cells has grown very quickly and now rivals silicon in laboratory cells,” said Nitin Padture, the Otis E...

This image shows the apparatus that is proving the efficacy of a double-layered rooftop panel. The top layer uses the standard semiconductor materials that go into energy-harvesting solar cells, the novel materials on the bottom layer perform the cooling task. CREDIT Linda Cicero, Stanford News

Scientists at Stanford University have demonstrated for the first time that heat from the sun and coldness from outer space can be collected simultaneously with a single device. Their research, published November 8 in the journal Joule, suggests that devices for harvesting solar and (space energy will not compete for land space and can actually help each other function more efficiently.

Renewable energy is increasingly popular as an economical and efficient alternative to fossil fuels, with solar en...