Physics

Researchers are investigating how 3D printers could achieve unprecedented levels of precision when creating batteries, opening the door for new innovations.

Researchers in Japan have developed a new LED structure that generates circularly polarized light from a single chip. The advance could support smaller and more energy-efficient optical devices for AR/VR, 3D displays, quantum communication, and optical security. By combining a semipolar InGaN light-emitting structure with a stripe-shaped silicon nitride metasurface, the team created a compact light source that reduces energy-conversion loss and operates at room temperature. This advancement could help bring ultra-compact, durable light sources closer to practical use in AR/VR, 3D displays, quantum communication, and optical security.

This deep dive explains the ins and outs of a catalyst called graphitic carbon nitride that speeds up the production of hydrogen peroxide – a highly useful oxidizing agent used widely in both industrial and household settings.

Researchers have demonstrated the world’s first simultaneous generation of 3,070 optical vortices at megawatt-class peak power (58 MW). By reformulating Hermite–Gaussian to Laguerre–Gaussian mode conversion and implementing it through a compact multibeam interference architecture, the team achieved more than three orders of magnitude improvement in both vortex number and peak power. The work establishes a scalable framework for high-intensity structured-light generation.

Butterfly wings were the inspiration behind this new, lightweight lattice structure that doesn’t compromise on sturdiness.

Researchers investigated how the η′ meson behaves inside atomic nuclei and found evidence that it may form bound states known as η′-mesic nuclei. Using high-energy particle experiments and sophisticated data analysis, the team observed signals consistent with theoretical predictions and measured a possible change in the particle’s mass in nuclear matter. These findings provide new insight into the structure of the vacuum and the origin of mass.

What’s the point of methane reforming to make environmentally friendly fuels if the process itself is environmentally unfriendly? To make the process greener, researchers at Tohoku University used oxygen carriers to improve efficiency.

Free-electron lasers can be tuned to operate over a wide range of wavelengths, but they conventionally require large-scale facilities. Researchers from The University of Osaka show that laser wakefield acceleration can dramatically miniaturize this technology by improving plasma stability and electron beam quality. Their study demonstrates such lasers in the extreme ultraviolet, with the ultimate goal of further refining the technology to operate at x-ray wavelengths.

Hiroshima University researchers develop a new experimental method to demonstrate that interference physically delocalizes each photon.

Metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors can detect harmful pollutants in the air, but they only operate at extremely high temperatures. A new material design guideline using vanadium oxide may help us overcome this challenge.

Move over lithium-ion batteries – researchers found a creative way to combine materials (lithium metal and a ceramic surface) that may prove to be better for energy storage used in electric vehicles and portable electronics.

Researchers have discovered a new way to control magnetic “spin” using electric current, enabling states that were previously considered unstable. This breakthrough could move computing beyond simple binary systems by harnessing continuously fluctuating signals. The findings may lead to more powerful and efficient technologies for AI and next-generation devices.

Researchers developed high-performance, lead-free piezoelectric thin films on silicon that convert everyday vibrations into electricity. By using strain engineering and a novel sputtering method, they achieved record performance and demonstrated the compatibility of efficient, battery-free MEMS energy harvesters with standard semiconductor manufacturing processes.

This invited publication highlights the contributions of Distinguished Professor Hao Li to AI and materials science – focusing on their original concept for a digital materials ecosystem.

Researchers from Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo develop a mutual information estimator capable of accurately measuring information flow to biological outputs without needing input quantities

Researchers found that Y-doping (adding yttrium) to an inexpensive nickel catalyst was the key to speeding up an otherwise sluggish reaction that results in hydrogen – which can be used as a sustainable fuel.

What’s going on in there? An international research team developed a method to pull back the veil on the unknown processes going on inside quantum computers - which may help us build more reliable quantum machines.

A team led by researchers at Tohoku University have taken the first step toward developing antiferromagnetic technology. They detected a liquid-crystal phase that may change the game for spintronic devices.

We uncover moiré-induced electronic reconstruction in PtSe2/PtTe2 heterobilayers, where interfacial hybridization, geometric corrugation, and spin–orbit coupling generate emergent flat bands and distinctive eye-shaped band splitting, as directly confirmed by combined DFT and ARPES measurements.

We all want cheap, long-lasting, green, and efficient energy. Researchers are helping to make this dream a reality with a new distortion-resistant material that greatly improves these aspects of a battery’s cathode.

The Ateneo de Manila University’Research on Optical and Electronic Systems (ROSES) Laboratory, the Philippines' first and only facility dedicated to locally designing Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) and training PIC designers.

The University of Osaka’s Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology (QIQB) is a premier research institute in Japan, distinguished by its extensive global network of leading institutions worldwide.

Imagine a “smart fluid” whose internal structure can be rearranged just by changing temperature. In a new study in Matter, researchers report a way to overcome a long-standing limitation in a class of “smart fluids” called nematic liquid crystal microcolloids, allowing for reconfigurable self-assembly of micrometer-sized particles dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal host.

Research from The University of Osaka highlights a new model of a gyroscopic wave energy converter. The device was shown to be capable of absorbing up to half of incoming wave energy across a wide range of frequencies, meaning it could achieve the theoretical maximum efficiency. These results provide important design insights for more efficient and adaptable wave energy technologies.

Researchers at Tohoku University have developed a much more efficient way to produce ethylamine - a crucial component for dyes, pharmaceuticals, and more. It all starts with a catalyst.

Take a dive into the streamlined workflow of DIVE (Descriptive Interpretation of Visual Expression)! DIVE combines multiple AI agents to extract images from about 4,000 scientific publications to propose new materials – all within minutes.

Researchers at Tohoku University developed a wastewater treatment method to help clear pollution caused by toxic, non-biodegradable dyes. The method uses a 3D, sponge-like covalent organic network to purify wastewater in a sustainable manner.

Researchers have developed a new strategy to overcome a long-standing limitation in plasmonic loss by reshaping light–matter interactions through substrate engineering.

By utilizing the GaAs substrate miscut, we can modulate the superconducting critical temperature, current, and magnetic field of wafer-scale Al nanofilms grown by molecular beam epitaxy by approximately 10%, 100%, and 1000%, respectively. Our approach points to a simple method of tailoring grain architecture and superconductivity in Al, which is a critical requirement for advancements in quantum computation and engineering.

DGIST is creating AI that can physically collaborate with people, truly personalised healthcare, and quantum sensors which will perceive the world in entirely new ways.