Thin films
Moth-inspired nanostructures take the color out of thin films
May 16, 2013 7:48 am | News | CommentsInspired by the structure of moth eyes, researchers at North Carolina State University have developed nanostructures that limit reflection at the interfaces where two thin films meet, suppressing the “thin-film interference” phenomenon commonly observed in nature. This can potentially improve the efficiency of thin-film solar cells and other optoelectronic devices.
Nanoengineered plastic film is the future of 3D on-the-go
April 2, 2013 12:40 pm | News | CommentsDitch the 3D glasses. Thanks to a simple plastic filter, mobile device users can now view unprecedented, distortion-free, brilliant 3D content with the naked eye. This latest innovation from researchers in Singapore is the first ever glasses-free 3D accessory that can display content in both portrait and landscape mode, and measures less than 0.1 mm in thickness.
Inorganic materials display massive swelling and shrinkage
April 1, 2013 8:15 pm | News | CommentsThere is high interest in methods to produce 2D crystals by exfoliating materials with layered structures, but certain ions or solvents can infiltrate materials with layered structures, forcing exfoliation spontaneously and complicating efforts to build practical materials. While working to develop these procedures, researchers in Japan have reported an unusual phenomenon that layered materials undergo drastic swelling without breaking into separate 2D crystal layers.
Watching fluid flow at nanometer scales
April 1, 2013 7:34 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsImagine if you could drink a glass of water just by inserting a solid wire into it and sucking on it as though it were a soda straw. It turns out that if you were tiny enough, that method would work just fine—and wouldn’t even require the suction to start. New research has demonstrated, for the first time, that when inserted into a pool of liquid, nanowires naturally draw the liquid upward in a thin film that coats the surface of the wire.
Hybrid ribbons a gift for powerful batteries
March 25, 2013 12:21 pm | by Mike Williams, Rice University | News | CommentsAccording to recent research at Rice University, vanadium oxide and graphene may be a key new set of materials for improving lithium-ion storage. Ribbons created at Rice from these two materials are thousands of times thinner than a sheet of paper, yet have potential that far outweighs current materials for their ability to charge and discharge very quickly. Initial capacity remains at 90% or more after more than 1,000 cycles.
Paint-on plastic electronics
March 25, 2013 7:51 am | News | CommentsSemiconducting polymers are an unruly bunch, but University of Michigan engineers have developed a new method for getting them in line that could pave the way for cheaper, greener, "paint-on" plastic electronics.
Device may lead to quicker, more efficient diagnostics
March 13, 2013 12:18 pm | News | CommentsA current optical-sensing technology can launch and guide a single light wave, called a surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) wave, that travels along the flat interface of the sample to be analyzed. However, only one wave can be used, allowing the analysis of just one substance. Researchers at Penn State University have designed a thin film that can create additional channels for the SPP waves.
New spectroscopy technique could improve optical devices
March 5, 2013 2:10 pm | News | CommentsA multi-university research team has used a new spectroscopic method—energy-momentum spectroscopy—to gain a key insight into how light is emitted from layered nanomaterials and other thin films. The technique lets researchers understand the source and orientation of light in light-emitting thin films and could lead to better LEDs, solar cells, and other devices that use layered nanomaterials.
New surface coating cuts through the fog
March 5, 2013 9:08 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsUntil recently, there has been no systematic way of evaluating how different anti-fog coatings perform under real-world conditions. A team of MIT researchers has developed such a testing method, and used it to find a coating that outperforms others not only in preventing foggy buildups, but also in maintaining good optical properties without distortion.
Nanotubes generate huge electric currents from osmotic flow
March 4, 2013 7:44 am | by Thorsten Naeser, Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics | News | CommentsThe salinity difference between freshwater and saltwater could be a source of renewable energy. However, power yields from existing techniques are not high enough to make them viable. A team led by physicists in France has discovered a new means of harnessing this energy. Their method of osmotic flow through boron nitride nanotubes generates electric currents with 1,000 times the efficiency of any previous system.
Clever battery completes stretchable electronics package
February 27, 2013 8:05 am | News | CommentsNorthwestern University’s Yonggang Huang and the University of Illinois’ John A. Rogers are the first to demonstrate a stretchable lithium-ion battery—a flexible device capable of powering their innovative stretchable electronics. Their battery continues to work—powering a commercial light-emitting diode (LED)—even when stretched, folded, twisted and mounted on a human elbow. The battery can work for eight to nine hours before it needs recharging, which can be done wirelessly.
New carbon films improve prospects of solar energy devices
February 14, 2013 9:25 am | News | CommentsNew research by Yale University scientists helps pave the way for the next generation of solar cells, a renewable energy technology that directly converts solar energy into electricity. In a pair of recent papers, Yale engineers report a novel and cost-effective way to improve the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells through the application of thin, smooth carbon nanotube films.
Researchers strain to improve electrical material
February 11, 2013 11:09 am | News | CommentsLike turning coal to diamond, adding pressure to an electrical material enhances its properties. Now, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers have devised a method of making ferroelectric thin films with twice the strain, resulting in exceptional performance.
New options for transparent contact electrodes
January 29, 2013 10:29 am | News | CommentsFound in flat screens, solar modules, or in new organic light-emitting diode (LED) displays, transparent electrodes have become ubiquitous. But since raw materials like indium are becoming more and more costly, researchers have begun to look elsewhere for alternatives. A new review article sheds some light on the different advantages and disadvantages of established and new materials for use in these kinds of contact electrodes.
Liquid crystal’s chaotic inner dynamics
January 24, 2013 4:08 pm | News | CommentsPhysicists have recently demonstrated that the application of a very strong alternating electric field to thin liquid crystal cells leads to a new distinct nonlinear dynamic effect in the response of the cells. Researchers were able to explain this result through spatio-temporal chaos theory. The finding has implications for the operation of liquid crystal devices because their operation depends on electro-optic switch phenomena.
Sensors from a spray can: Organic materials increase camera sensitivity
January 23, 2013 5:41 pm | News | CommentsResearchers in Germany have developed a new generation of image sensors that are more sensitive to light than the conventional silicon versions. Simple and cheap to produce, they consist of electrically conductive plastics which are sprayed onto the sensor surface in an ultra-thin layer. The chemical composition of the polymer spray coating can be altered so that even the invisible range of the light spectrum can be captured.
New surfaces repel most known liquids
January 16, 2013 1:18 pm | News | CommentsIn an advance toward stain-proof, spill-proof clothing, protective garments and other products that shrug off virtually every liquid—from blood and ketchup to concentrated acids—scientists are reporting development of new "superomniphobic" surfaces. These new surfaces display extreme repellency to two families of liquids: Newtonian and non-Newtonian.
New material harvests energy from water vapor
January 10, 2013 2:50 pm | by Anne Trafton, MIT News Office | News | CommentsMassachusetts Institute of Technology engineers have created a new polymer film that can generate electricity by drawing on a ubiquitous source: water vapor. The new material changes its shape after absorbing tiny amounts of evaporated water, allowing it to repeatedly curl up and down. Harnessing this continuous motion could drive robotic limbs or generate enough electricity to power micro- and nanoelectronic devices, such as environmental sensors.
A microwave-assisted method for producing thin films
December 19, 2012 1:53 pm | News | CommentsGrowth of new materials is the cornerstone of materials science. At the same time, the energy crisis has brought the spotlight on synthesis and growth of materials for clean energy technologies. However, researchers in these areas do simply grow materials—they assemble the atoms and molecules that form so-called thin films on various substrates, a complex, time-consuming process. Now, a team of engineers is using microwave energy to assemble atoms into thin films and grow them directly onto a substrate at low temperatures.
A low-cost route to ultrathin platinum films
December 13, 2012 8:14 am | News | CommentsA research group at NIST has developed a relatively simple, fast, and effective method of depositing uniform, ultrathin layers of platinum atoms on a surface. The new process exploits an unexpected feature of electrodeposition of platinum—if you drive the reaction much more strongly than usual, a new reaction steps in to shuts down the metal deposition process, allowing an unprecedented level of control of the film thickness.
Tooth “tattoo” sensor may help dentists assess patients' oral health
November 9, 2012 8:58 am | by David Levin, Tufts University | News | CommentsA sensor invented by Tufts University bioengineers, when attached temporarily to a tooth, could one day help dentists fine-tune treatments for patients with chronic periodontitis, for example, or even provide a window on a patient’s overall health. The thin foil-like sensor is built from gold, silk, and graphite, has a built-in antenna to receive power and signals, and is applied directly to a tooth.
Engineers build ultrasensitive photon hunter
November 8, 2012 9:50 am | News | CommentsWhen it comes to imaging, every single photon counts if there is barely any available light. This is the point where the latest technologies often reach their limits. Researchers have now developed a single photon avalanche photodiode that can read individual photons in just a few picoseconds. The speed allows the image sensor to capture high quality images with very low light levels.
Stronger than a speeding bullet
November 7, 2012 3:13 pm | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsNew tests of nanostructured material developed by scientists at Rice University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology could lead to better armor against everything from gunfire to micrometeorites. The key, they found, was to use composites made of two or more materials whose stiffness and flexibility are structured in very specific ways—such as in alternating layers just a few nanometers thick.
Researchers make strides toward selective oxidation catalysts
November 5, 2012 11:45 am | News | CommentsOxide catalysts play an integral role in many chemical transformations. Greener, more efficient chemical processes would benefit greatly from solid oxide catalysts that are choosier about their reactants, but achieving this has prove a challenge. Now, a team of researchers have developed a straightforward and generalizable process for making reactant-selective oxide catalysts by encapsulating the particles in a sieve-like film that blocks unwanted reactants.
Scientists build the first all-carbon solar cell
November 5, 2012 11:16 am | News | CommentsStanford University scientists have built the first solar cell made entirely of carbon, a promising alternative to the expensive materials used in photovoltaic devices today. Unlike rigid silicon solar panels that adorn many rooftops, Stanford's thin film prototype is made of carbon materials that can be coated from solution.
