News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

Lithium niobate modulators are the backbone of modern telecommunications, converting electronic data to optical information in fiber optic cables. However, conventional LN modulators are bulky, expensive and power hungry. Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed a new method to fabricate and design integrated, on-chip modulators 100 times smaller and 20 times more efficient than current lithium niobite (LN) modulators.

Rice University scientists use a computational method to calculate the optical properties of two-dimensional materials. Their work promises to simplify the process of identifying the right materials for next-generation optoelectronic devices.

A research team comprising members from City University of Hong Kong (CityU), Harvard University and renowned information technologies laboratory has successfully fabricated a tiny on-chip lithium niobate modulator, an essential component for the optoelectronic industry. The modulator is smaller, more efficient with faster data transmission and costs less than traditional ones. The technology is set to revolutionise the industry.

Researchers in Japan have found a way to create innovative materials by blending metals with precision control. Their approach, based on a concept called atom hybridization, opens up an unexplored area of chemistry that could lead to the development of advanced functional materials.

Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered a new way of controlling the drying patterns formed by re-crystallizing salt. They found that the coffee ring effect can be used to pin the edge of drying droplets, creating a range of different geometric patterns. The same principles may be applied to understand and improve the adhesion of printer ink to surfaces and the manufacture of film-based devices.

In research recently published in Science Advances, a group of Drexel University engineering researchers reports a method for spraying invisibly thin antennas, made from a type of two-dimensional, metallic material called MXene, that perform as well as those being used in mobile devices, wireless routers and portable transducers.

Researchers harness naturally occurring nano-structures that grow on liquid metals to develop an ultra-fast water filter.

Engineers at UT Austin develop world's first method for controlling the motion of nanomotors with simple visible light as the stimulus.