Posts Tagged ‘silicon’
For cheap solar cells, use ‘spray paint’
U. SHEFFIELD (UK) — Making solar cells with a process similar to spray-painting could significantly lower their cost and make them available to people in developing countries. Continue…
Monday, February 11, 2013 13:43 - 6 Comments
Top Stories - Jan 30, 2013 10:36 - 2 Comments
Exotic silicon maxes out solar cell efficiency
UC DAVIS (US) — Computer simulations show pressure-treating silicon could substantially improve the efficiency of solar cells. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jan 22, 2013 18:39 - 0 Comments
For instant hydrogen, add water to silicon
U. BUFFALO (US) — Scientists can produce hydrogen—a potential power source for portable devices—on demand by adding water to nanosized silicon. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 12, 2012 17:59 - 0 Comments
Chip could turn smartphones into bomb sensors
CALTECH (US) — Engineers have built tiny terahertz chips that could one day be incorporated into handheld devices that scan for explosives. (more…)
Top Stories - Dec 10, 2012 11:48 - 0 Comments
‘Waveguide’ emits tiny point of light
CALTECH (US) — A new device can focus light into a point just a few nanometers across and may lead to next-generation applications in computing and imaging. (more…)
Science & Technology - Nov 19, 2012 13:24 - 0 Comments
Tiny antenna speeds up light modulation
RICE (US) — A device that looks like a tiny washboard could beat the current commercial products used to manipulate infrared light. (more…)
Science & Technology - Nov 1, 2012 13:26 - 1 Comment
Crushed porous silicon could boost battery life
RICE (US) — Scientists have created a porous silicon powder that could make rechargeable lithium batteries more powerful and cheaper to produce. (more…)
Science & Technology - Oct 22, 2012 9:49 - 0 Comments
‘Motion detector’ shrinks to microscale
CALTECH / U. ROCHESTER (US) — A new class of microsensors could be used in consumer electronics, as well as oil and gas exploration and biomedical situations in which more traditional sensors can’t operate. (more…)
Top Stories - Oct 2, 2012 6:44 - 0 Comments
These electronics can biodegrade in your body
U. ARIZONA (US) — A new class of tiny electronic devices can dissolve completely in water—or bodily fluids. (more…)
Science & Technology - Sep 17, 2012 16:11 - 1 Comment
New blades cut with ‘atomic sharpness’
UC DAVIS (US) — A better shave, and a cheaper one, may soon be possible thanks to semiconductor manufacturing technology. (more…)
Science & Technology - Sep 14, 2012 12:03 - 1 Comment
Radical nanowires: Has silicon met its match?
U. BUFFALO (US) — Scientists working to identify materials that could one day replace silicon in faster computers may have found one. (more…)
Science & Technology - Sep 5, 2012 15:56 - 2 Comments
Circuits so thin they float on water
CORNELL (US) — Integrated silicon circuits, present in everything from coffeemakers to computers, are very thin—but researchers think they can push thin-film boundaries to the single-atom level. (more…)
Science & Technology - Apr 17, 2012 16:01 - 0 Comments
Low-cost solar cells from nanotube ‘forests’
RICE (US) — By replacing platinum with carbon nanotubes, researchers hope to make efficient solar cells at a fraction of the current cost for silicon-based solar cells. (more…)
Science & Technology - Feb 21, 2012 12:57 - 2 Comments
Tune graphene to rival silicon
NORTHWESTERN (US) — A new way to chemically alter graphene may lead to the creation of faster, thinner, flexible electronics. (more…)
Science & Technology - Feb 20, 2012 14:16 - 0 Comments
Tiniest ever transistor made from single atom
PURDUE (US) / U. MELBOURNE (AUS) — Physicists have built the smallest transistor ever built—in fact, the smallest transistor that can be built—using a single phosphorous atom. (more…)
Science & Technology - Feb 9, 2012 13:25 - 0 Comments
Nanospheres trap light and hold on longer
STANFORD (US) — Engineers have created photovoltaic nanoshells that harness a peculiar physical phenomenon to better trap light. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Nov 15, 2011 12:39 - 0 Comments
Sensor brings epileptic brain into focus
NYU / U. ILLINOIS / U. PENN (US) — A flexible sensor is expected to offer unprecedented views of brain activity during epileptic seizures—as much as 400 times current levels—with minimal wiring. (more…)
Science & Technology - Oct 7, 2011 11:34 - 2 Comments
Sulphur gives battery 10x more storage
STANFORD (US) — By combining sulfur-coated hollow carbon nanofibers and an electrolyte additive, researchers have designed a battery that overcomes the storage challenges of current lithium-ion versions. (more…)
Science & Technology - Sep 23, 2011 10:01 - 0 Comments
Floating ‘vacuum’ probes cell behavior
MCGILL U. (CAN) — New technology is expected to serve as a powerful tool to study crucial cellular processes, including cancer cell formation and how neurons align themselves in the developing brain. (more…)
