Photo Molecules Flip Current
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Photodiode made from peptide molecules sends current in directions determined by light color.
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(InfoWorld) - IBM has demonstrated how to perform certain computer functions on single atoms and molecules, a discovery that could someday lead to processors the size of a speck of dust, the company said Thursday. Researchers at IBM's Almaden Research Center in California developed a technique for measuring magnetic anisotropy, a property of the magnetic field that gives it the ability to maintain a particular direction. Being able to measure magnetic anisotropy at the atomic level is a crucial step toward the magnet representing the ones or the zeroes used to store data in binary computer language. In a second report, researchers at IBM's lab in Zurich, Switzerland, said they had used an individual molecule as an electric switch that could potentially replace the transistors used in modern chips. The company published both research reports in Friday's edition of the journal Science. The new technologies are at least 10 years from being used for components in commercial products, but the discoveries will allow scientists to take a large step forward in their quest to replace silicon, said IBM spokesman Matthew McMahon. To build faster, smaller chips, IBM and other chip vendors like Intel and AMD have shrunk the dimensions of chip features from 90 nanometers to 65nm in the current generation of chips and plan to continue to 45nm and 32nm in coming years. The problem is that wires built from silicon tend to leak more electricity at each step on that scale and will eventually reach a limit where they are no longer useful. "Across all our areas of nanotechnology research, we're trying to determine the new kinds of materials we can use in computing when silicon reaches its fundamental limits. The ultimate goal is molecular-level computers, but the interim products will probably be hybrids with current technology, using things like carbon nanotubes," McMahon said. IBM defines nanotechnology as work done at a scale of 100nm or smaller. At that scale, scientists must use a tool called the STM (scanning tunneling microscope) to photograph and manipulate individual atoms as they did in their latest research. Their next challenge is to find a way to make these laboratory demonstrations work at room temperature, he said. Having measured the magnetic anisotropy of a single atom, "their next step is finding atoms that can do it at stable temperatures that are suitable for storage devices. If they can find that, it's still a decade out from commercialization," he said. The Zurich researchers also developed a technique for using a molecule containing two hydrogen atoms as a switch, either on its own or with an adjacent molecule. They are now looking to apply the method to many other molecules, enabling the system to work as a collection of logic gates, the building blocks of microprocessors. Even if the teams reach those goals, they must find a way to manufacture the systems on a large scale, instead of moving single atoms with the STM. One possibility is to use the process of self-assembly, where atoms under certain conditions will naturally form the desired shapes. In May, IBM said it had used that approach to insulate the wires on a chip by creating trillions of tiny, vacuum-filled holes around each one.
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Poorly-formed carbon nanotubes grown on carbon cloth make an efficient electron emitter, which promises cheaper displays, x-ray sources, and microwave power supplies.
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Forcing a trio of incompatible molecules together yields multi-compartment nano containers.
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By Larkin, Timothy J; Bubb, William A; Kuchel, Philip W  ABSTRACT  Two resonances are seen in the ^sup 1^H-NMR spectrum of water in erythrocyte suspensions spun at the magic angle, a broad signal from water inside the cells and a sharp signal from extracellular water.
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By Larry Gierer, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga.  Feb. 12--Elijah Johnson looked at the camera and noticed stuff "oozing out of it." It was a 20-year-old Nikon -- and the batteries hadn't been changed in more than six years.
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British researchers find a way to close a potential flaw in quantum communication systems.
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Nanoparticles can be activated by radio frequencies.
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Researchers have harnessed the light harvesting molecules of spinach and bacteria to make solar cells that could one day be sprayed on many surfaces.
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You electrons - one at a time, please Boffins at Britain's University of Manchester have created a transistor out of an atom-thick sheet of carbon. The high-speed device is so small only one electron can pass through at once. Crucially, the transistor operates at room temperature making it potentially viable for future microprocessors.â¦
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An electrically driven laser expands the range of photonic crystal devices.
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OLED or Organic LED is not made of semiconductors. It&#39;s made from carbon-based molecules. That is the key science factor that leads to potentially eliminating LEDs&#39; biggest drawback - size.
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By exploiting the physics of how light reflects off of pits in a plastic surface, researchers have come up with a method for storing 1,000 gigabytes of data on a DVD-size disk.
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Tiny antennae focus infrared laser light down to 100 nanometers, providing a way for scientists to see cells at work.
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Nanowire electrodes could improve the performance of electric vehicles.
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For a science that's about manipulating substances at the molecular level, nanotechnology is starting to bring big profits to many consumer product makers.
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Heating droplets with a laser makes for a simple and potentially cheap type of lab-on-a-chip.