From astronauts and submariners to miners and rescue workers, people who operate in small enclosed spaces need good air quality to work safely and effectively. Electronic sensors now developed by a KAUST team can simultaneously detect at least three critical parameters that are important to monitor to ensure human comfort and safety. These new sensors […]
All-in-One Transparent Transistors
Small tweaks in component ratios generate electronically different layers from the same material to create transparent transistors. Worldwide demand is growing for transparent conducting oxides for use in solar cells, flat panel displays, smart windows and semiconductor-based consumer electronics. KAUST researchers have engineered a zinc-oxide-based transparent material that displays tunable electronic properties depending on the […]
Sensitive Robots Feel the Strain
Flexible skin for soft robots, embedded with electrical nanowires, combines conductivity with sensitivity within the same material. An artificial soft skin imbued with flexible electronics could enhance the way robots sense and interact with their surroundings, KAUST researchers have shown. The team has discovered how to program electrical conductivity and strain sensing into a single material embedded […]
Printable Solar Materials Could Soon Turn Many Parts of a House Into Solar Panels
New houses could soon deliver on a long-awaited promise and incorporate windows or roof tiles that harvest solar energy, research conducted at KAUST suggests. Derya Baran, at the KAUST Solar Center, and her colleagues have developed a photovoltaic organic material that captures light efficiently and that potentially could be coated on building materials. Traditional roof-mounted solar […]
Thin Films for More Efficient Solar Cells
The efficiency of solar cells can be increased by thin-film contacts developed by researchers at KAUST. Improving the performance of solar cells requires scrutinizing every aspect of their design. First, this means improving the crystalline quality of the absorbing material to maximize the conversion of photons to negatively charged electrons and positively charged holes. Next, the device’s […]
Nanoparticles with a Shell Structure Improve the Performance of Zinc-Oxide Photodetectors
Improving the sensitivity of light sensors or the efficiency of solar cells requires fine-tuning of light capturing. KAUST researchers have used complex geometry to develop tiny shell-shaped coverings that can increase the efficiency and speed of photodetectors. Many optical-cavity designs have been investigated to seek efficiencies of light: either by trapping the electromagnetic wave or […]
Searching For Wind For The Future
The first quantification of wind energy in Saudi Arabia points to high wind power potential for many decades to come. Using outputs from a high-resolution regional climate model, KAUST researchers have confirmed the potential for wind as a significant energy resource across the Arabian Peninsula. This is an important first step in developing a strategy for Saudi Arabia’s wind […]
Superior Seismic Imaging For Better Drilling
Software could transform underground imaging of fossil fuel reserves by providing unprecedented detail in record time. For an oil-rich country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, seismic imaging is vital for efficient extraction of fossil fuels. New software, known as GIRIH, could improve the underground imaging system for more precise drilling of oil wells. Seismic images are created by bouncing […]
Electronic Skin Stretched To New Limits
An electrically conductive hydrogel that takes stretchability, self-healing and strain sensitivity to new limits has been developed at KAUST. “Our material outperforms all previously reported hydrogels and introduces new functionalities,” says Husam Alshareef, professor of materials science and engineering. Smart materials that flex, sense and stretch like skin have many applications in which they interact […]
The Interface Between Two Tin-Oxide Semiconductors Can Exhibit Unexpected Metallic Properties
Metal oxidation is harnessed in many industrial applications. KAUST researchers have modeled the boundary between two metal oxides to reveal their metallic properties, which could lead to positive applications in electronics. Our familiarity with rust, which occurs through the oxidation of iron to make it flaky and weak, means we usually consider oxidation of metals […]