Billions of tiny transistors supply the processing power in modern smartphones, controlling the flow of electrons with rapid on-and-off switching. But continual progress in packing more transistors into smaller devices is pushing toward the physical limits of conventional materials. Common inefficiencies in transistor materials cause energy loss that results in heat buildup and shorter battery […]
Graphene Layered With Magnetic Materials Could Drive Ultrathin Spintronics
Researchers working at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) coupled graphene, a monolayer form of carbon, with thin layers of magnetic materials like cobalt and nickel to produce exotic behavior in electrons that could be useful for next-generation computing applications. The work was performed in collaboration with French scientists including Nobel […]
Valleytronics Discovery Could Extend Limits Of Moore’s Law
Research appearing today in Nature Communications finds useful new information-handling potential in samples of tin(II) sulfide (SnS), a candidate “valleytronics” transistor material that might one day enable chipmakers to pack more computing power onto microchips. The research was led by Jie Yao of the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Shuren Lin of […]
Photo of the Day: Can Strongly Lensed Type 1a Supernovae Resolve Cosmology’s Biggest Controversy?
This composite of two astrophysics simulations shows a Type Ia supernova (purple disc) expanding over different microlensing magnification patterns (colored fields). Because individual stars in the lensing galaxy can significantly change the brightness of a lensed event regions of the supernova can experience varying amounts of brightening and dimming, which scientists believed would be a […]
Applying Machine Learning to the Universe’s Mysteries
Computers can beat chess champions, simulate star explosions, and forecast global climate. We are even teaching them to be infallible problem-solvers and fast learners. And now, physicists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and their collaborators have demonstrated that computers are ready to tackle the universe’s greatest mysteries. The team […]
Scientists Solve A Magnesium Mystery In Rechargeable Battery Performance
Rechargeable batteries based on magnesium, rather than lithium, have the potential to extend electric vehicle range by packing more energy into smaller batteries. But unforeseen chemical roadblocks have slowed scientific progress. And the places where solid meets liquid – where the oppositely charged battery electrodes interact with the surrounding chemical mixture known as the electrolyte […]
High-Resolution Imaging Reveals New Understanding of Battery Cathode Particles
Using advanced imaging techniques, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have been able to observe what exactly happens inside a cathode particle as lithium-ion batteries are charged and discharged. In a research project led by Berkeley Lab materials chemist Guoying Chen, the researchers uncovered important insights into reactions in […]
Global Brain Initiatives Generate Tsunami Of Neuroscience Data
Three years ago the White House launched the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative to accelerate the development and application of novel technologies that will give us a better understanding about how brains work. Since then, dozens of technology firms, academic institutions, scientists and other have been developing new tools to give researchers […]
A New Way to Image Solar Cells in 3D
Next-generation solar cells made of super-thin films of semiconducting material hold promise because they’re relatively inexpensive and flexible enough to be applied just about anywhere. Researchers are working to dramatically increase the efficiency at which thin-film solar cells convert sunlight to electricity. But it’s a tough challenge, partly because a solar cell’s subsurface realm–where much […]
Brain Modulyzer Provides Interactive Window Into The Brain
Did you know that your brain processes information in a hierarchy? As you are reading this page, the signal coming in through your eyes enters your brain through the thalamus, which organizes it. That information then goes on to the primary visual cortex at the back of the brain, where populations of neurons respond to […]