Basic science

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have pioneered a groundbreaking approach toward understanding the behavior of an electric charge in microelectronics and nanoscale material systems. The novel approach enables visualizing charge motion at the nanometer level but at speeds thousands of times faster than conventional methods. The rapid, thorough view of processes demonstrated in the new approach was previously unattainable.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory are developing nanometer-scale light-based systems that could deliver breakthroughs for ultrafast microelectronics and night vision capabilities. The scientists have designed and fabricated asymmetric, nano-sized gold structures on an atomically thin layer of graphene. The gold structures, called nanoantennas, capture and focus light waves, forming optical "hot spots" that excite the electrons within the graphene.

One of the most important components of satellites that enable telecommunication is the waveguide, which is a metal tube for guiding radio waves. It is also one of the heaviest payloads satellites carry into orbit. Now, researchers from Drexel University and the University of British Columbia are trying to lighten the load by creating and testing a waveguide made from 3D-printed polymers coated with a conductive nanomaterial called MXene.

Using imaging tools at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, researchers have detected a phenomenon known as pre-melting at temperatures far lower than those previously observed. Pre-melting is the reason a patch of ice can be slippery even on a frigid, clear day. Although the spot is frozen, some part at the surface is wet. To make this discovery, the team used Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials, a DOE Office of Science user facility that enabled them grow and observe ice nanocrystals at temperatures below minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have created a metasurface-based imager (meta-imager) that can potentially replace traditional imaging optics in machine-vision applications, producing images at higher speed and using less power. A metasurface is a thin material composed of arrays of subwavelength nanostructures. The nanostructuring of the material into the meta-imager filter reduces the typically thick optical lens and enables front-end processing that encodes information more efficiently.

Rice University scientists have uncovered a new way to make high-purity boron nitride nanotubes – hollow cylindrical structures that can withstand temperatures of up to 900°C (1,652°F) while also being stronger than steel by weight. The scientists figured out how to get rid of hard-to-remove impurities in boron nitride nanotubes using phosphoric acid and fine-tuning the reaction. "The challenge is that during the synthesis of the material, in addition to tubes, we end up with a lot of extra stuff," said Kevin Shumard, lead author on the study.