Shedding Light on Weyl Fermions
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Struktur und Dynamik der Materie
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Researchers from the Theory Department of the Max Planck Institute for Structure and Dynamics (MPSD) in Hamburg and North Carolina State University in the US have demonstrated that the long-sought magnetic Weyl semi-metallic state can be induced by ultrafast laser pulses in a three-dimensional class of magnetic materials dubbed pyrochlore iridates. Their results, which have now been published in Nature Communications, could enable high-speed magneto-optical topological switching devices for next-generation electronics.
Shielded Quantum Bits
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- Written by Universität Konstanz
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A theoretical concept to realize quantum information processing has been developed by Professor Guido Burkard and his team of physicists at the University of Konstanz. The researchers have found ways to shield electric and magnetic noise for a short time. This will make it possible to use spins as memory for quantum computers, as the coherence time is extended and many thousand computer operations can be performed during this interval. The study was published in the current issue of the journal “Physical Review Letters”.
A Fine-tuned Laser Welds More Effectively
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- Written by Empa - Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt
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Using laser technology Empa scientists optimized a technique to weld the electronics of implantable pacemakers and defibrillators into a titanium case. The medtech company Medtronic is now using the method worldwide to produce these devices. In Tolochenaz (Canton of Vaud) the US medtech company Medtronic produces one out of five heart pacemakers available on the global market and one out of four defibrillators. The electronics of these implantable devic-es are housed in titanium cases, which thus far were welded hermetically with a solid state flash laser. However, the lasers are high-maintenance and often the source of irregularities. Moreover, they require water cooling and take up a lot of space.
Fiber-based Quantum Communication - Interference of Photons Using Remote Sources
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- Written by Universität Stuttgart
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Scientists are working on the totally bug-proof communication – the so-called quantum communication. Current approaches for long-distance signal transmission rely on repeaters which are based on a crucial effect, the interference of two photons, that is, two individual light quanta coming from distant sources. Physicists from University of Stuttgart and Saarland University, in Germany, were now able to manipulate the single photons by means of small crystals without compromising their quantum mechanical nature. This manipulation is necessary to transmit the signal via optical fibers which may enable a large-area quantum network. The results were now published in Nature Nanotechnology.
Less Animal Experiments on the Horizon: Multi-organ Chip Awarded
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik IWS
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Dresden Fraunhofer engineers have developed a so-called "multi-organ chip". This microsystem from the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS Dresden, which has now received an "EARTO Innovation Award" in Brussels, simulates the blood circulation and the organs of animals or humans. The "lab-on-a-chip" will help industry to develop new drugs and cosmetics more quickly than before. But what is even more important: "We see good opportunities to eliminate the need for many animal experiments," emphasized Dr. Udo Klotzbach, Business Unit Manager Microtechnology at Fraunhofer IWS. In addition, this system opens the door to individualized medicine a little further, in which doctors can determine an exactly fitting therapy for each patient within days instead of years.
Goodbye, Silicon? On the Way to New Electronic Materials with Metal-organic Networks
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung
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Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz (Germany) together with scientists from Dresden, Leipzig, Sofia (Bulgaria) and Madrid (Spain) have now developed and characterized a novel, metal-organic material which displays electrical properties mimicking those of highly crystalline silicon. The material which can easily be fabricated at room temperature could serve as a replacement for expensive conventional inorganic materials used in optoelectronics.
Novel Topological Insulator
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- Written by Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
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For the first time, physicists have built a unique topological insulator in which optical and electronic excitations hybridize and flow together. They report their discovery in "Nature". Topological insulators are materials with very special properties. They conduct electricity or light particles on their surface or edges only but not on the inside. This unusual behaviour could eventually lead to technical innovations which is why topological insulators have been the subject of intense global research for several years.
Harder 3D-printed tools – Researchers from Dresden Introduce new Process for Hardmetal Industry
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Keramische Technologien und Systeme IKTS
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Extremely hard tools are required in forming technology, metal-cutting and process engineering. They are conventionally made by powder pressing. Although this achieves a high degree of hardness, it is often necessary to carry out a complex and therefore expensive post-processing. Additive manufacturing enables complex geometries, but has been limited in terms of hardness and component size so far. Researchers at the Fraunhofer IKTS in Dresden have now adapted the 3D printing process Fused Filament Fabrication for hardmetals. The development meets all requirements for the first time.
Micro Energy Harvesters for the Internet of Things
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik IWS
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![The engineers coated a glass plate with a particularly smooth and conductive polymer layer of “Poly(Kx[Ni-itto])” by rotation coating (“spin coating”). Fraunhofer IWS Dresden](/images/media/pressoffice/images/2018/10/thumbnails/thumb_10-15_Micro_energy_harvesters_for_the_Internet_of_Things.jpg)
Thin organic layers provide machines and equipment with new functions. They enable, for example, tiny energy recuperators. In future, these will be installed on pipes or other surfaces in order to convert waste heat into electricity. The experts at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS Dresden use ink based on conductive polymers for this purpose.
Fighting Forgetfulness with Nanotechnology
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung
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About 29 million people around the world are affected by the disease "Alzheimer". In an international collaboration, scientists of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz together with teams from Italy, Great Britain, Belgium and the USA are now working together on an approach for a therapy. On the one hand, the goal is to understand the processes occurring in the brain that lead to the disease; on the other hand the development of a method for targeted drug delivery.
COMPAMED '18 Presents International Medical Technology Experts with their Future Trend Technologies
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- Written by IVAM Fachverband für Mikrotechnik
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The COMPAMED, which takes place annually co-located to the MEDICA in Dusseldorf, Germany, is an established and world-wide well-known marketplace for medical components and technologies. Every year, the COMPAMED asserts itself as the leading international marketplace for suppliers of medical manufacturing.
Especially in the field of medical devices for mobile diagnostics, therapy and laboratory equipment increasingly powerful, smart and reliable high-tech solutions are needed. This is why the demand for miniaturization of medical components continues to grow steadily.
Additive Manufacturing: Budget-friendly Retrofit of Module for Wire-based Laser Deposition Welding
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnologie IPT
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When economic or safety considerations rule out the use of powder materials in additive manufacturing, the option of wire-feed laser deposition welding resents itself. The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen has developed a smart laser module for wire deposition welding, which can easily be integrated within existing process chains, handling systems or machine tools. The engineers from Aachen will be unveiling the LMD-W-20-L module for the first time to the visitors from industry at Formnext, the Fair for Additive Technologies in Frankfurt/Main, Hall 3, Booth E70, 13-16 November 2018.
HZB Researchers are Used to Boost the Efficiency of Silicon Solar Cells
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- Written by Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH
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The efficiency of a solar cell is one of its most important parameters. It indicates what percentage of the solar energy radiated into the cell is converted into electrical energy. The theoretical limit for silicon solar cells is 29.3 percent due to physical material properties. In the journal Materials Horizons, researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and international colleagues describe how this limit can be abolished.
Molecular Multitools
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung
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The functionalization of surfaces with different physical or chemical properties is a key challenge for many applications. For example, the defined structuring of a surface with hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas can be used for the separation of emulsions, like water and oil. However, the creation of user-defined surface properties is a challenge. Researches from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz (MPI-P), the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei and the University of Electronic Science and Technology in Chengdu (China) have now developed surfaces that can easily be patterned with different functionalities using visible light.
Decoding the Regulation of Cell Survival - A Major Step Towards Preventing Neurons from Dying
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- Written by DFG-Forschungszentrum für Regenerative Therapien TU Dresden
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An interdisciplinary and international research group led by Dr. Volker Busskamp from the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden at the TU Dresden (CRTD) has decoded the regulatory impact on neuronal survival of a small non-coding RNA molecule, so-called miRNA, at the highest resolution to date. This deciphering of gene regulation primes applications for strengthening neurons in order to protect them from neurodegenerative diseases. The extensive systems biology methods used here could become a new standard for the way miRNAs are researched.
Breakthrough in Quantum Physics: Reaction of Quantum Fluid to Photoexcitation of Dissolved Particles
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- Written by Technische Universität Graz
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Researchers from Graz University of Technology have described for the first time the dynamics which takes place within a trillionth of a second after photoexcitation of a single atom inside a superfluid helium nanodroplet. In his research, Markus Koch, Associate Professor at the Institute of Experimental Physics of Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), concentrates on processes in molecules and clusters which take place on time scales of picoseconds (10⁻¹² seconds) and femtoseconds (10⁻¹⁵ seconds). Now Koch and his team have achieved a breakthrough in the research on completely novel molecular systems.
