NEWSROOM

Using a worldwide unique method physicists at the University of Vienna led by Jani Kotakoski have for the first time made graphene drastically more stretchable by rippling it like an accordion. This paves the way for new applications in which certain stretchability is required (e.g. wearable electronics).

This work was a big step toward sustainable computing, because encoding data via spin waves (whose quasiparticles are called magnons) could eliminate the energy loss, or Joule heating, associated with electron-based devices. But at the time, the spin wave signals could not be used to reset the magnetic bits to overwrite existing data.

Crystals are solid materials made up of particles that arrange themselves in repeating patterns. This process of self-assembly—“orchestrating order from chaos,” as the researchers describe it—was once thought to follow a predictable, classic pattern of growth. But instead of always forming building block by building block, scientists are learning that crystals can grow through more complex pathways.

MIT engineers have found a way to fabricate a metamaterial that is both strong and stretchy. The base material is typically highly rigid and brittle, but it is printed in precise, intricate patterns that form a structure that is both strong and flexible.

Researchers from Max Born Institute have demonstrated a successful way to control and manipulate nanoscale magnetic bits — the building blocks of digital data — using an ultrafast laser pulse and plasmonic gold nanostructures. The findings were published in Nano Letters.

By bridging the gap between traditional magnetic insulators and more complex electronic systems, the study opens new avenues for advancements in spintronics and quantum computing.