A piezoelectric ceramic foam supported by a flexible polymer support provides a 10-fold increase in the ability to harvest mechanical and thermal energy over standard piezo composites, according to Penn State researchers. In the search for ways to harvest small amounts of energy to run mobile electronic devices or sensors for health monitoring, researchers typically […]
Scalable Two-Dimensional Materials Advance Future-Gen Electronics
Since the discovery of the remarkable properties of graphene, scientists have increasingly focused research on the many other two-dimensional materials possible, both those found in nature and concocted in the lab. However, growing high quality, crystalline 2D materials at scale has proven a significant challenge. A pair of papers published online in two nanotechnology journals […]
Chip-Based Sensors With Incredible Sensitivity
In London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, a whisper can be heard far across the circular whispering gallery as the sound curves around the walls. Now, an optical whispering gallery mode resonator developed by Penn State electrical engineers can spin light around the circumference of a tiny sphere millions of times, creating an ultrasensitive microchip-based sensor for […]
Energy Storage Solution Combines Polymers And Nanosheets
A new, lightweight composite material for energy storage in flexible electronics, electric vehicles and aerospace applications has been experimentally shown to store energy at operating temperatures well above current commercial polymers, according to a team of Penn State scientists. This polymer-based, ultrathin material can be produced using techniques already used in industry. “This is part […]
A Device to Control ‘Color’ of Electrons in Graphene Provides Path to Future Electronics
A device made of bilayer graphene, an atomically thin hexagonal arrangement of carbon atoms, provides experimental proof of the ability to control the momentum of electrons and offers a path to electronics that could require less energy and give off less heat than standard CMOS transistors. It is one step forward in a new field […]
Graphene Key to Growing Two-Dimensional Semiconductor with Extraordinary Properties
A newly discovered method for making two-dimensional materials could lead to new and extraordinary properties, particularly in a class of materials called nitrides, say the Penn State materials scientists who discovered the process. This first-ever growth of two-dimensional gallium nitride using graphene encapsulation could lead to applications in deep ultraviolet lasers, next-generation electronics and sensors. […]