Semiconductor fridges get into shape
At room temperature, the extraordinary magnetoresistance of such non-magnetic materials is much larger than that of other magnetic materials, including those that exhibit giant or colossal magnetoresi...
Spintronics turns a corner
Devices that use the spin on electrons move a step closer
Elastic laser spans the spectrum
Fibre optics could benefit from a stretchy laser that changes colour
Read article: Elastic laser spans the spectrum
Novel nitrogen is a semiconductor
Compressed nitrogen could be the fuel of the future
Wonder wire puts up no resistance
A wire made from a perfect crystal can transmit electricity with no resistance
Nanotube devices in the pipeline
New insights into the electronics of nanotubes could bring real devices a step closer
LED could signal silicon laser
A new LED could lead to a silicon-compatible light source
First light on silicon laser
The internal energy levels of bulk silicon – in particular its ‘indirect bandgap’ – makes it emit light very inefficiently. Existing lasers are therefore based on ‘direct...
Descartes prize applauds European cooperation
Dago de Leeuw, a physicist at Philips Research Laboratories in the Netherlands, leads a team of physicists recognized for their pioneering research in plastic electronics. De Leeuw and colleagues from...
The great atom race
Atoms move through the crystal lattice of a solid by a process called diffusion. The atoms migrate by swapping places with ‘point defects’ such as vacancies – empty spaces in the lat...
