In the news

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Researchers have shown how to create a rechargeable "spin battery" made out of materials called topological insulators, a step toward building new spintronic devices and quantum computers. Unlike ordinary materials that are either insulators or conductors, topological insulators are both at the same time - they are insulators inside but conduct electricity on the surface. The materials might be used for spintronic devices and quantum computers more powerful than today's technologies.

Graphene could be utilised in a wider range of highly sensitive optical devices by combining it with a silicon carbide substrate, claim researchers in the US.

Purdue University researchers are developing a nontoxic, biodegradable orthopedic implant that could be safely absorbed by the body after providing adequate support to damaged bones. The development of the technology originated in the lab of Lia Stanciu, a professor of materials engineering at Purdue in 2009. The technology could eliminate the need for a second surgery to remove conventional hardware.

On April 5-7, the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Discovery Park will host its annual NanoDays event. NanoDays is a nationwide, annual celebration that features educational programs about nanoscale science and engineering and their effect on society. NanoDays events are organized by participants in the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network and are hosted by science museums, research centers and universities. "The Birck Nanotechnology Center has had the privilege of hosting NanoDays for eight consecutive years, thereby inspiring young minds to develop an interest and fascination with science and engineering," says Ron Reger, NanoDays organizer and engineering manager at the Birck Nanotechnology Center.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A new approach to control forces and interactions between atoms and molecules, such as those employed by geckos to climb vertical surfaces, could bring advances in new materials for developing quantum light sources. "Closely spaced atoms and molecules in our environment are constantly interacting, attracting and repelling each other," said Zubin Jacob, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University. "Such interactions ultimately enable a myriad of phenomena, such as the sticky pads on gecko feet, as well as photosynthesis."

Your most sophisticated lawn sprinkler system may rely on a junk-drawer staple. Because magic tape — that whisper-thin, nearly invisible wonder of modern household adhesion — holds not just daily utility but super-powers. Professor Babak Ziaie is working to unleash them.

Researchers have created a new type of transparent electrode that might find uses in solar cells, flexible displays for computers and consumer electronics and future "optoelectronic" circuits for sensors and information processing. The electrode is made of silver nanowires covered with a material called graphene, an extremely thin layer of carbon. The hybrid material shows promise as a possible replacement for indium tin oxide, or ITO, used in transparent electrodes for touch-screen monitors, cell-phone displays and flat-screen televisions. Industry is seeking alternatives to ITO because of drawbacks: It is relatively expensive due to limited abundance of indium, and it is inflexible and degrades over time, becoming brittle and hindering performance.

Researchers have married two biological imaging technologies, creating a new way to learn how good cells go bad. "Let's say you have a large population of cells," said Corey Neu, an assistant professor in Purdue University's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. "Just one of them might metastasize or proliferate, forming a cancerous tumor. We need to understand what it is that gives rise to that one bad cell."

Researchers are developing a new type of semiconductor technology for future computers and electronics based on "two-dimensional nanocrystals" layered in sheets less than a nanometer thick that could replace today's transistors. The layered structure is made of a material called molybdenum disulfide, which belongs to a new class of semiconductors - metal di-chalogenides - emerging as potential candidates to replace today's technology, complementary metal oxide semiconductors, or CMOS.

A new type of transistor shaped like a Christmas tree has arrived just in time for the holidays, but the prototype won't be nestled under the tree along with the other gifts.