ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An adversary who steps inside a boxer’s sense of rhythm may land a punch the boxer never saw coming. A similar problem faces physicists struggling to achieve laboratory-scale nuclear fusion: A rogue event occurring between successively monitored images may knock an otherwise promising experiment off-kilter without anyone seeing the cause. To narrow […]
Category Archives: Nanotechnology
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Precise atom implants in silicon provide a first step toward practical quantum computers
May 24, 2016 – 8:45 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has taken a first step toward creating a practical quantum computer, able to handle huge numbers of computations instantaneously. Here’s the recipe: A “donor” atom propelled by an ion beam is inserted very precisely in microseconds into an industry-standard silicon substrate. The donor atom — in this case, antimony […]
Ingenious method enables sharper flat-panel displays at lower energy costs
April 26, 2016 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A perpetual quest of manufacturers and viewers is for ever-brighter colors and better images for flat-panel displays built from less expensive materials that also use less electricity. An intriguing method discovered by Sandia National Laboratories researcher Alec Talin and collaborators at the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology at the National Institute […]
Sandia nanomaterials researcher Hongyou Fan elected MRS Fellow
March 29, 2016 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researcher Hongyou Fan has been elected a fellow of the Materials Research Society (MRS). Fewer than one in 500 MRS members are honored with the distinction. Fan is the fifth Sandian named an MRS fellow and the first elected since 2011. His nanotechnology work was cited for “pioneering contributions […]
Unique phononic filter could revolutionize signal processing systems
January 12, 2016 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A unique filtering technology that combines light and sound waves on a single chip is expected to better detect radar and communications frequencies. “We have developed a powerful signal filtering technology that could revolutionize signal processing systems that rely solely on conventional electronics,” said Patrick Chu, manager of applied photonic microsystems for […]
Thor’s hammer to crush materials at 1 million atmospheres
January 5, 2016 – 5:00 am
Sophisticated features may influence eventual Z-machine rebuild ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new Sandia National Laboratories accelerator called Thor is expected to be 40 times more efficient than Sandia’s Z machine, the world’s largest and most powerful pulsed-power accelerator, in generating pressures to study materials under extreme conditions. “Thor’s magnetic field will reach about one million […]
Biological tools create nerve-like polymer network
August 24, 2015 – 5:00 am
Crowdsurfing motor proteins create possible prosthetic interface ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Using a succession of biological mechanisms, Sandia National Laboratories researchers have created linkages of polymer nanotubes that resemble the structure of a nerve, with many out-thrust filaments poised to gather or send electrical impulses. “This is the first demonstration of naturally occurring proteins assembling chemically […]
Hongyou Fan chosen for prestigious lecture on creating nanomaterials
April 2, 2015 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researcher Hongyou Fan has been selected by the Materials Research Society (MRS) and the Kavli Foundation to deliver the 2015 Fred Kavli Distinguished Lecture in Nanoscience. Fan is the first lecturer identified with a national laboratory to be so honored. “I am glad that I have an opportunity to […]
The quest for efficiency in thermoelectric nanowires
February 2, 2015 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Efficiency is big in the tiny world of thermoelectric nanowires. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories say better materials and manufacturing techniques for the nanowires could allow carmakers to harvest power from the heat wasted by exhaust systems or lead to more efficient devices to cool computer chips. Sandia researchers published a paper, […]
Turning biological cells to stone improves cancer and stem cell research
December 8, 2014 – 10:15 am
‘Zombie’ method also hardens biostructures for mass production ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Changing flesh to stone sounds like the work of a witch in a fairy tale. But a new technique to transmute living cells into more permanent materials that defy decay and can endure high-powered probes is widening research opportunities for biologists who are developing […]
Diamond plates create nanostructures through pressure, not chemistry
June 27, 2014 – 9:15 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — You wouldn’t think that mechanical force — the simple kind used to eject unruly patrons from bars, shoe a horse or emboss the raised numerals on credit cards — could process nanoparticles more subtly than the most advanced chemistry. Yet, in a recent paper in Nature Communications, Sandia National Laboratories researcher Hongyou […]
Novel nanoparticle production method could lead to better lights, lenses, solar cells
June 17, 2014 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has come up with an inexpensive way to synthesize titanium-dioxide nanoparticles and is seeking partners who can demonstrate the process at industrial scale for everything from solar cells to light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Titanium-dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles show great promise as fillers to tune the refractive index of anti-reflective coatings on […]
Improvements in MRIs, passenger screening, other image-detection applications on the horizon
June 11, 2014 – 4:45 am
Sandia, Rice University, Tokyo Institute of Technology developing terahertz detectors with carbon nanotubes LIVERMORE, Calif. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, along with collaborators from Rice University and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, are developing new terahertz detectors based on carbon nanotubes that could lead to significant improvements in medical imaging, airport passenger screening, food […]
American Physical Society names four Sandia fellows
May 7, 2014 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Four Sandia researchers have been named Fellows of the American Physical Society, an honor that indicates recognition by scientific peers of exceptional contributions to physics. No more than one half of 1 percent of APS membership can be elected in a given year. Those honored are: Charles Barbour, for outstanding contributions to […]
Engineering better machines and buildings by understanding mechanics of materials
May 5, 2014 – 5:00 am
Sandia project to fill gaps by linking atomic structure with how parts perform ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Humans have used metals for thousands of years, but there’s still a lot about them that isn’t fully understood. Just how much stretching, bending or compression a particular metal will take is determined by mechanical properties that can vary […]