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A direct electrical current can drive high-frequency oscillations of the magnetization of a nanomagnet. A current-tunable microwave oscillator has now been demonstrated that shows large-amplitude oscillations.
The thermoelectric properties of molecular junctions can now be investigated with scanning tunnelling microscopy. Such experiments provide insights into charge transport in single molecules, which is inaccessible to more standard transport techniques.
The integration of electronics and clothing promises a variety of new technologies, but constructing electronic circuits on fabrics is complex. Coating fibres to create electrodes and forming transistors at their crossing points offers an elegant solution.
Wall paint gives the best result if the surface is primed with an undercoat. The same concept, applied to biomaterials, yields successful fixation of implant and tissue integration.
Carbon nanostructures in zero, one and two dimensions offer great potential in a broad range of applications. The most recent developments in the study of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene were highlighted at a conference held in the Austrian Alps.
The integration of semiconducting nanowires and metallic nanoparticles in a single device leads to a biosensor with enhanced sensitivity that detects molecules over a broad range of concentrations.
The assembly of nanoparticles in polymer films is driven by a complex combination of both enthalpic and entropic effects. Careful control of these factors during preparation can lead to finely structured composites.
To achieve the often-promised capabilities of polymer nanocomposites, the properties of the interfacial region between polymer and filler must be controlled. Model nanocomposites offer a path towards understanding the physics of this region.
The magnetization direction in the centre of a submicrometre magnetic disk can now be switched by an electrical current. This discovery demonstrates the potential of realizing all-electrically controlled magnetic memory devices.
Multiferroics might hold the future for the ultimate memory device. The demonstration of a four-state resistive memory element in a tunnel junction with multiferroic barriers represents a major step in this direction.
The future of quantum computing relies on keeping information in quantum spin phases. A study of molecular nanomagnets shows that their dephasing time may be more suitable than previously thought.
Simulations of nanoscale sharp tips sliding on a salt surface predict vanishing friction at temperatures close to the melting temperature, as the tip skates on a layer of liquefied salt. This insight opens the way to applications in MEMS, NEMS and auto/aerospace engines.
Reducing the operating voltage and power consumption of organic-based logic circuits for portable applications is a critical step towards the commercialization of organic electronics.
Raman spectroscopy experiments show that the interaction between electrons and phonons in graphene resembles the Dirac fermion–photon coupling in quantum electrodynamics.
Ice, silicon and oxide glasses can show amorphous phases of distinct densities. Based on changes in atomic bond lengths, a similar polyamorphism has now been observed in structurally different metallic glasses.
An explanation for the need of a reduction process in electron-doped superconductors offers new insight into the conductivity mechanism of these lesser-known superconductors.
Despite intense research efforts, no three-dimensional materials with a photonic bandgap for visible wavelengths have yet been fabricated. A new self-assembly strategy lays out the route towards the realization of this dream.
