transistors tagged posts

New Molecular Device has unprecedented Reconfigurability reminiscent of Brain-Plasticity

Decision trees within a molecular memristor | Nature
Fig. 1: Circuit element structure and I(V) characteristics

Device can be reconfigured multiple times simply by changing applied voltage. In a discovery published in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers has described a novel molecular device with exceptional computing prowess.

Reminiscent of the plasticity of connections in the human brain, the device can be reconfigured on the fly for different computational tasks by simply changing applied voltages. Furthermore, like nerve cells can store memories, the same device can also retain information for future retrieval and processing.

“The brain has the remarkable ability to change its wiring around by making and breaking connections between nerve cells...

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Fast Material Manipulation Through a Laser

A femtosecond burst of light drives an exotic electronic transition in a semi-metallic crystal, on an unprecedently fast timescale.
© Beaulieu

Researchers from the Physical Chemistry Department of the Fritz Haber Institute and the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg have found out that ultrafast switches in material properties can be prompted by laser pulses – and why. This knowledge may enable new transistor concepts.

Making the speed of electronic technology as fast as possible is a central aim of contemporary materials research. The key components of fast computing technologies are transistors: switching devices that turn electrical currents on and off very quickly as basic steps of logic operations...

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Putty-like Composites of Gallium metal with potential for Real-World Application

Figure 1.
(a) Liquid gallium being poured into a container. (b) Gallium putty being molded into a ball. (c) Various figures made from gallium putty. (d) Gallium putty being cut by a blade. (e) The mechanism of formation of gallium putty involves filler particles being encapsulated by a gallium oxide layer and incorporated into the gallium.

Researchers created a novel functional composite of gallium with putty or paste-like physical properties. The composite possesses excellent electromagnetic shielding as well as thermal conductivity. Gallium is a highly useful element that has accompanied the advancement of human civilization throughout the 20th century. Gallium is designated as a technologically critical element, as it is essential for the fabrication of semiconductors and transistors...

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New Quantum Nanodevice can simultaneously act as a Heat Engine and a Refrigerator

image of an engine and a refrigerator
 RIKEN researchers have produced a quantum nanodevice that can behave both as an engine and a refrigerator—at the same time. Left: © Martin Steinthaler/Getty; Right: © lilographik/Getty

A multitasking nanomachine that can act as a heat engine and a refrigerator at the same time has been created by RIKEN engineers. The device is one of the first to test how quantum effects, which govern the behavior of particles on the smallest scale, might one day be exploited to enhance the performance of nanotechnologies.

Conventional heat engines and refrigerators work by connecting two pools of fluid. Compressing one pool causes its fluid to heat up, while rapidly expanding the other pool cools its fluid...

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