Scientists have been researching luminous coloured quantum dots (QDs) since the 1980s. These nanocrystals are now part of our everyday lives: the electronics industry uses them in LCD televisions to enhance colour reproduction and image quality. Quantum dots are spherical nanocrystals made of a semiconductor material. When these crystals are excited by light, they glow […]
Liquid Fuel for Future Computers
Researchers at ETH Zurich and IBM Research Zurich have built a tiny redox flow battery. This means that future computer chip stacks — in which individual chips are stacked like pancakes to save space and energy — could be supplied with electrical power and cooled at the same time by such integrated flow batteries. In […]
Solid Batteries Improve Safety
Lithium-ion batteries store a lot of energy in a small space, making them the energy source of choice for mobile electronic devices. Today, mobile phones, laptops, e-bikes and electric cars are all powered by such batteries. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a type of battery that, unlike conventional ones, consists entirely of solid […]
Open-Source Microprocessor
In future, it will be easier and cheaper for developers at universities and SMEs to build wearable microelectronic devices and chips for the internet of things, thanks to the PULPino open-source processor, which has been developed at ETH Zurich and the University of Bologna. Software source codes and hardware designs tend to be closely guarded […]
Atomic Vibrations in Nanomaterials
All materials are made up of atoms, which vibrate. These vibrations, or “phonons”, are responsible, for example, for how electric charge and heat is transported in materials. Vibrations of metals, semiconductors, and insulators in are well studied; however, now materials are being nanosized to bring better performance to applications such as displays, sensors, batteries, and […]
Game Apps for Creative Kids
Augmented creativity can encourage children towards a new-found sense of creativity, cooperation and interaction with their environment. ETH Zurich’s Game Technology Center will present its latest apps in the field at the CeBIT computer expo. With games on their smartphones and YouTube movies on their tablets, children learn about the possibilities of mobile devices early […]
Switching Light With a Silver Atom
The quantity of data exchanged via communications networks around the globe is growing at a breathtaking rate. The volume of data for wired and mobile communications is currently increasing by 23% and 57% respectively every year. It is impossible to predict when this growth will end. This also means that all network components must constantly […]
3D Mapping Of Entire Buildings With Mobile Devices
Computer scientists working in a group led by ETH Professor Marc Pollefeys have developed a piece of software that makes it very easy to create 3-D models of entire buildings. Running on a new type of tablet computer, the program generates 3-D maps in real time. When Thomas Schöps wants to create a three-dimensional model […]
Nanowalls For Smartphones
From smartphones to the operating interfaces of ticket machines and cash dispensers, every touchscreen we use requires transparent electrodes: The devices’ glass surface is coated with a barely visible pattern made of conductive material. It is because of this that the devices recognise whether and where exactly a finger is touching the surface. Researchers under […]