silicon tagged posts

MIT researchers have devised a way to grow single crystal GaN thin film on a GaN substrate through two-dimensional materials. The GaN thin film is then exfoliated by a flexible substrate, showing the rainbow color that comes from thin film interference. This technology will pave the way to flexible electronics and the reuse of the wafers.
Credit: Wei Kong and Kuan Qiao; Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives license

In this greatly enlarged cross-section of an experimental chip, the bands of black and white reveal alternating layers of hafnium diselenide – an ultrathin semiconductor material – and the hafnium dioxide insulator. The cross-section matches an overlaid color schematic on the right. Credit: Michal Mleczko

Artist impression of the Milky Way Galaxy. Using the Green Bank Telescope, astronomers measured the relative abundance of light to heavy isotopes of silicon, as found in the molecule silicon monoxide, across the Milky Way. Surprisingly, the astronomer found none of the expected gradient — higher ratio of heavier silicon isotopes — toward the galactic center. This may suggest that the Milky Way is more efficient at mixing its contents than previously assumed. Credit: Alexandra Angelich (NRAO/AUI/NSF)

Argonne researchers are the first to capture the formation of nanomaterial defects in near-real time. Their work will help other researchers model the behavior of materials, a step that is key to engineering stronger, more reliable materials. Credit: Mark Lopez/Argonne National Laboratory