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2004

June

© NanoTechWeb
Nanowires: Nanodevice connections leap forward
(NanoTechWeb)
An integrated contact and interconnection method has been developed for nanotubes and nanowires. The technique transforms selected regions of silicon nanowires into metallic nickel silicide with low resistivities. This eliminates the need to use lithographic methods for metal contacts. (6.30.04)

Nanoparticles: Heated nanoshells kill cancer cells
(NanoTechWeb)
Gold-coated particles called nanoshells - 110 nm diameter silica core covered by a 8 to 10 nm thick gold shell - were injected into the bloodstream in mice to selectively accumulate in tumours. The nanoshells were tailored to convert near-infrared light into heat by shining 808 nm light from a fibre-coupled 800 mW diode laser on the tumor for three minutes. The heating was localized thereby destroying the tumors and did not affect nearby healthy tissue. (6.30.04)

Polymers: Electronic skin could give machines a sophisticated sense of touch
(Nature)
An electronic skin as sensitive to touch as human skin is currently being developed. It consists of a sheet of rubbery polymer, impregnated with flakes of electrically conducting graphite. The electrical resistance of the sheet changes when it is squeezed, and this change is detected by an array of transistors made from pentacene beneath the rubber. (6.30.04)

Superconductors: Carbon-doped Magnesium Diboride Superconductors Withstand Higher Magnetic Fields
(Ames Laboratory)
A 5 percent substitution of boron with carbon in the superconductor MgB2 was found to more than double the magnetic field it can withstand and still remain superconducting. Even though the carbon-doping of MgB2 lowers its critical temperature to 35 K (minus 397 F), 4 K less than in the pure material, the magnetic field as a function of temperature exceeds any of the NbSn compounds. (6.28.04)

Magnetic Refrigeration: Tiny Iron Supplement Has 'Chilling' Effect That Bodes Well for Magnetic Refrigeration (NIST)
Magnetic Refrigeration: Cool Magnet: A little bit of iron gives magnetic refrigeration a boost (Science News)
Adding a small amount of iron (about 1 percent by volume) to a gadolinium-germanium-silicon alloy enhanced the effective cooling capacity of the so-called “giant magnetocaloric effect” material by 15 to 30 percent. The result “is a much-improved magnetic refrigerant for near-room-temperature applications.” (6.28.04)
[Provenzano, V., A.J. Shapiro, and R.D. Shull. 2004.Nature 429(June 24):853-857. Abstract available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature02657]

Ultrasound Imaging: A sound way to see nanostructures
(Nature Materials)
The spatial resolution of acoustic imaging, wherein sound waves are scattered from the sample under study, is normally around 1-10 micrometers. Researchers have now found a way to increase the resolution to around 700 nm extending the technique to image nanostructures. (6.24.04)
[Daly B. C. et al., Applied Physics Letters 84, 5180-5182 (2004) Article]

© PhysicsWeb
Molecular Electronics: New look for molecular photodiodes
(PhysicsWeb)
A new type of molecular photodiode, whose current switches direction depending on the wavelength of the light used to excite it, has been developed. The device consists of two helical peptide molecules, whose dipole moments point in opposite directions. This technique could be used to make a wide variety of molecular electronics devices on the nanoscale. (6.24.04)

Amorphous Steel: Amorphous steel fabricated
(Physics News Update)
Amorphous structural steel, a long time goal of metallurgists, has been fabricated for the first time by scientists. The amorphous steel produced has a hardness and strength more than twice that of the best ultra-high-strength conventional steel. (6.22.04)
[Lu et al. , Physical Review Letters , 18 June 2004]

Nanotubes: Nanotube water
(Physics News Update)
Nanotube water, a one-dimensional form of water consisting of a string of water molecules confined in a carbon nanotube, has been studied with neutron scattering. It was confirmed that water molecules had successfully been taken up into the nanotubes in the form of a wire. Surrounding the water wire was another water structure, a sheath of water, a cylindrical square-ice- sheet formation. (6.22.04)
[Kolesnikov et al. , Physical Review Letters , upcoming article]

Lithography: Nanoimprint lithography
(Physics News Update)
Nanoimprint lithography featuring line widths of only 16 nm and a line spacing of 14 nm has been achieved. Sustaining this delicate work of fine patterning and fabrication was sustained across the face of 4-inch wafer. (6.22.04)
[Austin et al. , Applied Physics Letters, 28 June 2004]

Ultrafast Imaging : Electron movies in attoseconds
(Chemical & Engineering News)
Scientists have developed a procedure for imaging electron motions on a timescale of attoseconds. The new technique, which also supplies angstrom-scale spatial information, may enable researchers to monitor chemical reactions in unprecedented detail by providing a means for uncovering the most fundamental steps in a reaction-the movements of electrons. (6.21.04)

Electroactive Polymers: Electric flex
(IEEE Spectrum)
Electrically activated plastic muscles will let robots smile, arm-wrestle, and maybe even fly like bugs. (6.21.04)

Flexible Electronics: Printable silicon for ultrahigh performance flexible electronic systems
(University of Illinois)
By carving specks of single crystal silicon from a bulk wafer and casting them onto sheets of plastic, scientists have demonstrated a route to ultrahigh performance, mechanically flexible thin-film transistors.(6.21.04)

DNA Self-Assembly: Join the dots with DNA
(Nature Materials)
DNA can be used to solve difficult computing problems by allowing linear and branched DNA molecules to assemble into graphs, in which vertices are connected by lines (edges). A proof of principle of this form of DNA computing was demonstrated by making a DNA graph containing five vertices and eight edges. (6.18.04)
[ Sa-Ardyen P., Jonoska N. & Seeman N. C., Journal of the American Chemical Society 126, 6648-6657 (2004)]

Nanotubes: Filling boron nitride nanotubes with potassium halide crystals
(Nature Materials)
The preparation and structural characterization of nanotubes made from hexagonal boron nitride (BN) and filled with one-dimensional crystals of potassium halide (including Kl, KCl and KBr) has been reported. The BN nanotubes act effectively as electrically and chemically inert protecting layers that could enhance the stability of potassium in a harsh environment. (6.18.04)
[ Han W.-Q., Chang C. W. & Zettl A., Nano Letters Published online 02 June 2004]

Nanotubes: Twisted by design
(Chemical & Engineering News)
Using a molecule with just 96 carbon atoms, researchers have created a new type of self-assembled structure: helical, graphitelike nanotubes up to 10 µm long. When oxidized, the nanotubes have conductivity properties that suggest potential electronics applications for the new structures. (6.17.04)
[Science, 304, 1481 (2004)]

Tissue Engineering: Designer bones
(NIBIB eAdvances)
Using adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) (versatile precursor cells, found in bone marrow and fat tissue, which can transform into different cell types, including bone, cartilage, and skeletal muscle) taken from leg bones of rats, scientists have fashioned a human-shaped mandibular condyle-the rounded protrusion on each side of the lower jawbone, or mandible, that forms a ball-and-socket joint with the bottom of the skull. (6.17.04)

Nanoparticles: Clothes launder own fabric
(Nature)
An efficient method to coat cotton cloth with nanoparticles of titanium dioxide has been developed. These nanoparticles are catalysts that help to break down carbon-based molecules, and require only sunlight to trigger the reaction. These fabrics could be made into self-cleaning clothes that tackle dirt, environmental pollutants and harmful microorganisms. (6.15.04)
[Daoud, W. A. & Xin, J. H.. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. , 87, 953 - 955 , (2004)]

Microwaves: Microwave tissue welding
(Physics News Update)
A new microwave generation technique can heat a tiny spot, one half by one quarter of a millimeter in size, by getting really close to the sample of soft matter up to temperatures of 120 C. A possible application is "tissue welding," the process of binding together edges of cut tissue using "biological solder" such as albumin. (6.15.04)
[Copty et al. , Applied Physics Letters , 21 June 2004.]

Colloidal Materials: Shaping colloidal assemblies
(Materials Today) (PDF)
An MeV ion beam penetrating an amorphous material causes rapid heating of a cylindrically shaped region around the ion track leading to anisotropic deformation: the irradiated material shrinks in the direction of the ion beam and expands
perpendicular to it. This provides a unique way to tailor the shape of colloidal materials. (6.14.04)

Integration Technology: Self-assembly made easy
(PhysicsWeb)
A novel field configured assembly (FCA) technique that allows for the manipulation of mesoscale device components has been developed. The method employs electric fields to direct the assembly of components into integrated systems and could be an alternative to conventional techniques for making electronic devices. (6.14.04)

Atomic Force Microscopy: Microscopy moves to the picoscale
(PhysicsWeb)
A single carbon atom has been used as a probe in an AFM to image an individual atom on the surface of a sharp tip made of tungsten. Picometers-scale resolution was demonstrated. (6.14.04)

Zinc Oxide: Nanostructures of ZnO
(Materials Today) (PDF)
Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a unique material that exhibits
semiconducting, piezoelectric, and pyroelectric
multiple properties. A number of nanostructures such as nanocombs,nanorings, nanohelixes/nanosprings, nanobows,
nanobelts, nanowires, and nanocages of ZnO have
been synthesized demonstrating that ZnO is probably the richest family of nanostructures among all materials, both in
structures and properties. (6.9.04)

Zinc Oxide: ZnO: Growth, Doping and Processing
(Materials Today) (PDF)
Recent developments in improved control of growth, doping, and fabrication processes for ZnO devices with possible applications as ultraviolet (UV) light emitters, spin functional
devices, gas sensors, transparent electronics, and
surface acoustic wave devices. (6.9.04)

Superfluidity: Observing Superfluidity in Hydrogen Molecules
(Physics News Update)
A new experiment has demonstrated that that tiny H₂ droplets—clusters, with up to 8 molecules, in a gas jet—are liquid in form. This provides some evidence for superfluidity in hydrogen. (6.7.04)
[G. Tejeda et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92 , 223401 (2004)]

Microfluidics: Sorting Without Diffusion
(Physics News Update)
A potentially faster, non-diffusion-based sorting method for complex biological mixtures using microfluidics has been developed. This microfluidic method allows for sorting the mixtures deterministically. The device could find applications in the area of sorting inorganic nanoparticles as well. (6.7.04)

Nanoimaging: Visualize the Vibe
(Physical Review Focus)
Researchers used a pair of near-infrared lasers and a silver-coated silicon tip to elicit coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) from strands of DNA attached to a glass surface in order to image the molecules. They achieved a resolution of roughly 15 nanometers which was good enough to see individual bundles of DNA.
[Tip-enhanced Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering for Vibrational Nanoimaging, Taro Ichimura, Norihiko Hayazawa, Mamoru Hashimoto, Yasushi Inouye, and Satoshi Kawata
Phys. Rev. Lett. 92 , 220801(issue of 4 June 2004)]
(6.7.04)

© Brookhaven National Laboratory
Superconductivity: Fluid 'Stripes' May Be Essential For High-temperature Superconductivity
(Science Daily News )
Scientists have discovered evidence supporting a possible mechanism for high-temperature superconductivity that had previously appeared incompatible with certain experimental observations. The study on LBCO indicates that alternating "stripes" of holes and magnetic regions may be necessary for superconductivity. (6.4.04)
News Release

Nanotubes: Nanobulbs make their debut
(PhysicsWeb)
A light bulb has been developed in which the conventional tungsten filament is replaced by carbon nanotubes. (6.4.04)

Multiferroics: Making electronic memories magnetic
(Nature)
Two different but potentially useful phenomenon have been observed in multiferroics. The first is the ability to reproducibly switch the electric polarization of the material. The second is the imprinting of a permanent electric polarization when both magnetic and electric fields are applied simultaneously. (6.3.04)

Metamaterials: Reversing Light With Negative Refraction
(Physics Today)
Metamaterials can be engineered to have negative permittivity and permeability, and can demonstrate interesting behavior, from a negative refractive index to subwavelength focusing. (6.3.04)

Antiferromagnetic nanoparticles: Magnetization Increases with Temperature
(Physics News Update)
In antiferromagnetic nanoparticles, magnetization is found to increase with temperature. This is contrary to what is observed for the bulk antiferromagnetic materials. Physicists now have an explanation for this behavior. (6.3.04)

Nanotubes: A ship in a bottle - Metal clusters are grown inside a nanohorn through a hole in its side
(Chemical & Engineering News)
A Japanese research group has devised a method to precisely control the size and location of metal clusters within a single-walled carbon nanohorn--a megaphone-shaped type of nanotube. They demonstrated this by encapsulating Gd atoms within a nanohorn. (6.1.04)

Nanoparticles: Nanoparticles Illuminate Brain Tumors For Days Under MRI
(Science Daily News )
Iron oxide nanoparticles have been shown to outline not only brain tumors but other lesions in the brain using magnetic resonance imaging for at least 24 hours and even up to 5 days. This represents one of the first clinical trials of nanoparticles in the brain. (6.1.04)

May

© NIST
Nanofriction: Scaling Friction Down To The Nano/Micro Realm
(Science Daily News )
An improved method for correcting nano- and micro-scale friction measurements has been developed. This incorporates a way to measure precisely the size, shape and orientation of the diamond tips used for the measurements so that friction forces caused by "plowing" can be subtracted to produce a more accurate final measurement. (5.28.04)

Nanoscience: Lord of the molecular rings created
(New Scientist)
A new molecule composed of three interlocking rings - a Borromean ring - has been synthesized for the first time, thereby providing a new component for future nano-devices. Zinc ions were used to nudge three component parts to come together spontaneously. The resulting Borromean ring has a diameter of 2.5 nanometres and an inner chamber lined with 12 oxygen atoms. (5.28.04)

NEMS: Single-electron transistor goes mechanical
(PhysicsWeb)
A single-electron transistor that operates using a nanometre-scale vibrating arm has been built. The NEMS device was built using a simple two-step process and does not need a surrounding cooled to cryogenic temperatures like previous devices of its kind. (5.26.04)

Molecular Machines: DNA Robot Takes Its First Steps
(Bio.com)
A microscopic biped, the nanowalker, with legs just 10 nanometres long and fashioned from fragments of DNA has taken its first steps. The biped's inventors say that this is the first successful nanoscale device capable of bipedal motion. (5.26.04)

© Sasa Zaric / Rice University
Carbon Nanotubes: Magnetic Forces May Turn Some Nanotubes Into Metals
(Science Daily News )
The "band gap" of semiconducting nanotubes was found to shrink steadily in the presence of a strong magnetic force. This sheds new light on the unique electrical properties of carbon nanotubes (5.24.04)

Nanostructures: Recasting natural nanostructures
(Nature Materials)
Scientists have been able to convert a naturally occurring nanopatterned, biogenic silica structure into one made from titania. They replaced the silica by titania in a metathesis reaction - a chemical swapping procedure - using a gas-phase reactant thereby preserving the fine details of the original object. (5.24.04)
[Unocic R. R., Zalar F. M., Sarosi P. M., Cai Y. & Sandhage K. H., Chem. Commun. 2004, 796-797 (2004)]

Optical Tweezers: Twisty Tweezers
(Physical Review Focus)
Optical tweezers user a laser beam to spin a microscopic bead, but it has not been possible to measure or control the twisting force. New reports now demonstrate that the twisting force, or torque, can be measured by analyzing the light passing through the object. The torque can also be controlled by creating an "optical torque wrench." The technique could be useful for exploring cellular machinery such as molecular motors or the proteins that replicate DNA. (5.20.04)

Photonic Crystals: Tungsten Inverse Opal
(Physics News Update )
Tungsten inverse opal has been created for the first time in a lab and is a type of photonic crystal which excludes (or nearly excludes) all light at certain wavelengths. Very small silica beads are packed into a vessel and tungsten metal is introduced in the spaces between the beads. The beads are then corroded away with acid and the remnant metallic lattice becomes an "inverse opal." (5.20.04)

Biomimetics: The turbulent life of dolphins
(PhysicsWeb)
The reason why dolphins are able to swim so quickly and smoothly through water, has been discovered. The unusual skin of the dolphin -- which flakes off and is completely replaced every two hours -- plays a crucial role, in addition to its streamlined shape, in helping reduce drag effects. The results could help engineers design energy-efficient boats, ships and submarines. (5.20.04)

Nanotubes: Ion beams put nanotubes on the straight and narrow
(NanoTechWeb)
Ga ion beams were found to straighten single-wall carbon nanotubes grown between catalyst-coated pillars. The technique also preferentially removed carbon nanotubes that were lying on the substrate and many of the iron nanoparticles that were formed during CVD. (5.18.04)

Entangled Photons : Quantum trick may multiply CD capacity
(New Scientist)
Researchers have been able to entangle 3 and even 4 photons - the particles of light share a single quantum state, which makes them behave like a single photon with a shorter wavelength and higher energy. This decreased the wavelenth by a third or one fourth respectively. This could significantly increase the volume of data stored on a CD. (5.12.04)

Biomaterials : Strengthened cement devised for facial reconstructive surgery
(News-Medical.Net)
A strengthened cement has been devised specifically for facial reconstructive surgery. By adding sodium citrate to the liquid phase, calcium phosphate cement was found to be more than three times stronger. (5.12.04)

Negative Index Materials: Beating the diffraction limit
(PhysicsWeb)
Numerous groups have demonstrated negative refraction in metamaterials. This provides significant impetus for the development of a new generation of lenses which could result in perfect image reconstruction. (5.10.04)

Superconductors: Superconducting R&D Wire Achieves Major Milestone
(Science Daily News )
Electric current carrying capacity in superconducting wires in multiple 10-meter lengths of second-generation (2G) HTS wire equal to or better than 250 Amperes per centimeter of width has been demonstrated. This represents an industrial world record that approaches performance levels required for commercial applications. (5.10.04)

Nanotechnology: New Coating For Nanoscale Probes
(Bio.com)
A unique new coating for inorganic particles at the nanoscale has been developed that may be able to disguise the particles as proteins. The organic coatings -- short chains of peptides -- can be used to disguise quantum dots, quantum rods and quantum wires so effectively that cells mistake them for proteins, even when the coatings are used on particles that are inorganic and possibly even toxic. (5.7.04)

Immersion Lithography: Chip Making's Wet New World
(IEEE Spectrum)
A modification to the standard optical lithography process for making chips could breathe new life into the technique extending its use for several years. A thin film of water is used between the optical system's projection lens and the silicon wafer. (5.7.04)

© PhysicsWeb/PNAS
Nanotechnology: Viruses go from strength to strength
(PhysicsWeb)
Researchers have used an AFM to measure the mechanical properties of the shell or "capsid" of a bacteriophage - a virus. The capsids, which are made of proteins, could potentially be used for nanotechnology applications as nanocontainers. (5.6.04)

© NASA
Astro-Geology: How Mars got its rust
(Nature)
A new model shows why Mars has twice as much iron oxide on the surface when compared to the Earth even though they were formed from the same original material. The intense heat inside the early Earth converted a significant portion of the iron oxide into metallic iron. The heat within the smaller Mars was not large enough to achieve the same result.
(5.6.04)

Superconductors: Magnesium-Diboride Superconductors
(Physics News Update )
Carbon-doped MgB 2 was shown to be able to tolerate twice the critical magnetic field as compared to the undoped material, up to a value of 32.5 Tesla. (5.6.04)

Nanotubes: A nano conveyor
(Chemical & Engineering News)
An electrical current was applied to a multiwalled carbon nanotube it was transformed into a tiny conveyer belt that was able to shuttle molten metal along the length of the tube, This was likened to a nanosoldering iron that might someday be used to fabricate nanoscale devices. (5.4.04)

Femtosecond Lasers: Seeing into the heart
(Nature Materials)
A new imaging technique promises to enable observations of collagen and elastic fibres - the critical structural elements of heart valves - hundreds of micrometres into the tissue, without any invasive procedure. The technique uses two nonlinear optical effects, induced by a femtosecond laser: two-photon excited autofluorescence of elastic fibres, and second-harmonic generation in collagen. (5.4.04)
[Reference]

Superconductivity: Ghost of Superconductivity on a Fall Day
(Physical Review Focus)
Lanthanum-strontium-copper-oxygen compound superconducts upto about 40K. But even at 290 kelvin, near room temperature, the material shows possible hints of the superconducting state.
[C. Panagopoulos, M. Majoros, and A. P. Petrovic,
Phys. Rev. B 69 , 144508 (issue of April 2004)]
(5.3.04)

April

© Science
Fullerenes: Carbon-50 makes its debut
(PhysicsWeb)
Carbon-50 molecules in the solid state have been synthesized for the first time. The molecules were obtained in an arc-discharge technique involving chlorine. The result will allow scientists to study the properties of carbon-50 with a view to exploiting its unusual properties. (4.30.04)

Nanotubes: Nanotube transistors speed up
(PhysicsWeb)
The first high-speed transistor made from a carbon nanotube has been created. The new device consisting of a single-walled carbon nanotube sandwiched between two gold electrodes operates at extremely fast microwave frequencies. (4.30.04)

Minerals: Making new minerals on the moon
(PhysicsWeb)
A new mineral has been discovered in a rock from the Moon. The mineral - which has been named "hapkeite" - is made of iron and silicon, and was probably formed by the impact of micrometeorites on the lunar surface. (4.30.04)

Bio-bar-codes: Future Blood Tests May Use Tiny Bar-codes To Speed Disease Diagnosis
(Science Daily News )
Researchers have developed a way to label tiny disease markers in blood with unique DNA tags, which they call bio-bar-codes. The tags can then be scanned by an instrument to identify diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's, or identify exposure to bioterror agents such as anthrax and smallpox. (4.28.04)

Nanocrystals: Gold nanocrystals self-assemble to form 3D arrays
(NanoTechWeb)
Self-assembly of water-soluble nanocrystal micelles has been used to make a new nanocrystal mesophase. The structure consists of gold nanocrystals arranged in a cubic lattice in a silica matrix and is suitable for integration into devices using standard microelectronic processing techniques. (4.28.04)

Nanowires: Silicon branches out
(Nature Materials)
Researchers have been able to make nanoscale wires made from semiconductors sprout branches. By repeating the branching procedure, they have grown secondary branches from the first ones, creating semiconducting nano-trees. (4.27.04)

Magnetic Storage: Magnetic recording has a speed limit
(PhysicsWeb)
It has been demonstrated that the maximum speed at which data can be recorded onto a magnetic medium is at least a 1000 times slower than previously believed. This is related to how quickly an applied field can reverse the magnetisation of a grain of the magnetic storage material. (4.23.04)

Solar Cells: Greatly improved solar cells
(Physics News Update )
The use of a photophysical process in which for each incident solar photon not one but two excitons (electron-hole pairs) are created could have implications for improving solar cells efficiencies. PbSe nanocrystals were shown to render more photo-current. (4.23.04)

Adhesion: Spiders get a grip
(PhysicsWeb)
Spiders can walk upside-down across almost any type of surface because they exploit electrostatic, van der Waals forces. Researchers have calculated that these forces are strong enough to allow the animal to carry more than 170 times its own body weight. The results could be exploited to develop new types of adhesives. (4.21.04)

Nanotubes: Carbon nanotubes break small record
(NanoTechWeb)
Researchers from Japan and Germany have made what they say is the smallest stable carbon nanotube. The tube, just 3 Angstroms in diameter, grew inside a multiwalled carbon nanotube during a hydrogen arc discharge process. (4.20.04)

Liquid Crystals: A new direction for liquid crystals
(Physical Review Focus)
The existence of a biaxial liquid crystal phase has been proved for the first time by two groups using x-ray diffraction and nuclear magnetic resonance. These rigid, bent-core molecules have a boomerang-shaped central core, with long hydrocarbon chains attached to each end. (4.20.04)

Diamonds: Diamond adds superconductivity to its list of assets
(Nature Materials)
As well as being the hardest, most thermally conducting, and chemically resistant of all known materials, diamond is also biocompatible, highly transparent and of great interest for use in the electronics industry. Now, a study indicates that under the correct conditions, it can also become a superconductor. (4.8.04)

Nanostructured Materials: Dye memory stacks up
(Nature Materials)
Canadian researchers have created a nanostructured plastic for data storage in which several different optical bits can be superimposed without interfering with each other. Potentially, this material therefore has a very high storage density with a 'grain size' of the memory is about 1 µm, with each grain containing, in effect, up to three different binary memory elements. Such units have 8 different memory states, as opposed to just the 1's and 0's of magnetic media. (4.8.04)

Friction: Reducing Friction without Oil
(Physical Review Focus)
Two groups have obtained definitive evidence that ultralow friction occurs between various pairs of materials. One team dragged a microscopic silicon point over a salt crystal; the other slid a tungsten point over a graphite layer. The results imply that researchers might be able to design nano-scale motors or other devices to glide smoothly. (4.8.04)

© Penn State Univ.
Metal Atom Clusters: Research Reveals Halogen Characteristics Of Cluster Of Metal Atoms
(Science Daily News )
A stable cluster of aluminum atoms, Al13, acts as a single entity in chemical reactions, demonstrating properties similar to those of a halogen. Experimental results and theoretical calculations indicate that the cluster chemically resembles a "superhalogen" atom, retaining its properties during the reaction and in reaction products. (4.5.04)

Sensors: Titania nanotube sensors clean themselves (NanoTechWeb)
Self-cleaning titania nanotube hydrogen sensors have been developed. The sensors removed coatings of motor oil and stearic acid on exposure to ultraviolet light by a process of photocatalytic oxidation. (4.5.04)

Trace Analysis: Dating Water and Tracing Bones
(Physics News Update )
Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA), in which researchers trap desired isotopes with lasers and magnetic fields and then count them with laser techniques, has been shown to be able to date ancient water and bones to high precision . (4.2.04)

Geomaterials: The Core-Mantle Boundary
(Physics News Update )
New computer simulations predict the existence of another polymorph of the mineral MgSiO3 in the D" layer just above the earth's core-mantle boundary, that is more stable than the other phase previously known. This new form of MgSiO3 , called "post perovskite," was found to be stable at the D" layer (4.2.04)

Metal Strength/Conductivity: Strong and conductive copper
(Nature Materials)
A new processing technique has been developed for producing copper that exhibits a tensile strength ten times higher than conventional coarse-grain copper, while retaining a conductivity that is comparable to unprocessed samples. (4.1.04)

Sensors: Enlisting Carbon Nanotubes To Unmask Nerve Agents
(Science Daily News )
The successful lab test of a disposable OP sensor (organophosphate-based pesticides, or OP compounds) was demonstrated. The sensor was fashioned from carbon nanotubes chemically fused to enzymes borrowed from the nervous system-the same enzymes that act as catalysts in neurotransmitters.(4.1.04)

March

© PhysicsWeb
NEMS: Nanomechanics weighs in
(PhysicsWeb)
A team of researchers has been able to measure the mass of a particle with a precision of one attogram (10^-18 g) using a nano-scale device. This is three orders of magnitude more sensitive than the previous record. (3.31.04)

Tissue Engineering: Self-assembling Proteins Could Help Repair Human Tissue
(Science Daily News )
A new class of artificial proteins, that can assemble themselves into a gel and encourage the growth of selected cell types, has been developed. This biomaterial, which can be tailored to send different biological signals to cells, is expected to lead to new ways to repair injured or diseased body parts.(3.30.04)

Hydrophobic Surfaces: How plants keep dry
(Nature Materials)
The properties of lotus and other highly water-repellent leaves may be more subtle than previously suspected. Researchers have shown that nature uses at least two different, precise, and surprisingly sphisticated mechanisms for keeping leaves dry. (3.30.04)

Nanotechnology: Molecular motor spins ahead (NanoTechWeb)
Simple electron transfer processes and photoexcitation have been used to control the rotary motion of a molecule. The resulting molecular machines could have applications as nanovalves or in modifying surface properties.(3.29.04)

Forensics: Chemical matching of bullets comes under fire
(Science News Online)
A growing body of research has revealed that the practice of chemically matching bullets is seriously flawed. A recent report released by the National Academies in Washington D.C. called on the FBI to revise its rules on interpreting data from chemical analyses of bullets and to limit how its examiners testify about such data in the courtroom. (3.29.04)
[Press Release: National Academy of Sciences Releases FBI-Commissioned Study on Bullet Analysis]

Carbon: Carbon Nanofoam is the First Pure-Carbon Magnet
(Physics News Update)
Carbon nanofoam is the fifth known allotrope of carbon, and, along with aerogel, one of the lightest known solid substances (with a density of ~2 mg/cm3). Physicists have just announced that though made entirely from carbon atoms, normally considered nonmagnetic, the foam nevertheless can act like a ferromagnet. (3.29.04)

Microporous Materials : Microporous polymeric materials
(Materials Today)
An approach for preparing organic microporous materials involving the construction of rigid polymeric structures is reported. By using selected organic components, it is possible to exert exquisite control over the chemical nature of the surface and introduce specific molecular recognition
or catalytic sites. (3.25.04)

© NanotechWeb
Nanotechnology: Tiny 'elevator' most complex nanomachine yet (New Scientist)
Nanotechnology: Molecular elevator gets a lift (NanoTechWeb)
Nanoscale elevators made of two interlinking organic molecules have been built. These structures are the most complex molecular machines built yet, consisting of a platform flanked by three rings that thread through three vertical rods. The force of an acid-base reaction is used to power the "elevator". (3.25.04)

Superconductivity: Another Twist In The Field Of Superconductivity
(Science Daily News )
An interesting type of electronic behavior has been reported in the recently discovered class of superconductors known as cobalt oxides, or cobaltates. These materials operate quite differently from the high-temperature superconducting copper oxides (or cuprates),. (3.25.04)
[View news release]

OLEDs: A novel blue light
(Alchemist)
A novel, highly efficient blue-light-emitting material, 2,3,6,7-tetramethyl-9,10-dinaphthyl-anthracene (TMADN), was synthesized and characterized. Using this material an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), which has a double-layer structure, has been fabricated (3.24.04)

Nanotechnology: Tiny 'elevator' most complex nanomachine yet
(New Scientist)
Nanoscale elevators made of two interlinking organic molecules have been built. These structures are the most complex molecular machines built yet, consisting of a platform flanked by three rings that thread through three vertical rods. The force of an acid-base reaction is used to power the "elevator". (3.24.04)

Carbon: Fifth form of carbon - nanofoam - created
(Nature)
A new form of carbon - a nanofoam - has been created by bombarding carbon with a high frequency pulsed laser. The nanofoam is also magnetic, though this effect wears off after a few hours at room temperature (3.23.04)

Nanostructures: Nanopropellers made by atomcraft
(Nature Materials)
Using the synthetic techniques of dendrimer chemistry, researchers have fashioned nanoscale carbon propellers just 3 to 4.5 nm across. The structures have three or four blades with a screw-like twist with the blades are made from six-membered rings of carbon atoms hexagonally tiled into large sheets. (3.22.04)

Photonics: Light at the end of the tunnel
(Physical Review Focus)
Getting light in and out of a photonic crystal has been a challenge, but is crucial for connecting with conventional fiber optics for applications. Two recent reports describe using the surface of the photonic crystal as a kind of antenna to beam the emitted light in a single direction. (3.22.04)

Friction: Ultra-low Friction without lubrication
(Physics News Update )
Ultra-low friction, without lubricants, has been observed in an experiment wherein the gliding of a force microscope tip across a sample was observed to undergo a transition from stick-slip to continuous sliding. (3.19.04)

© NanotechWeb
Nanowires:Low-loss nanowires create a wealth of applications
(NanoTechWeb)
An international team of scientists has created silica nanowires smaller than 1 µm in diameter. Despite their small size, low-loss silica nanowires look set to have a big future. They could become connections for miniature photonic circuits, optical probes capable of detecting biological particles or even the basis of photonic devices such as tiny wavelength splitters. (3.19.04)

© NASA/JSC
Microgravity Science: Record-breaking protein crystal growth experiment completed on the ISS
(NASA)
A record-breaking 31-day experiment on the International Space Station on protein crystal growth and holographic microscopy has been completed. This is the longest duration experiment ever conducted inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox. (3.18.04)

Semiconductors: New spin coating method with 10-times charge developed
(Electronic News )
IBM Researchers have developed a way to dissolve such higher-mobility materials in a liquid that could be used in a spin-coating process, leaving a very uniformly controlled film of 5 nm thickness that exhibited 10 times the charge mobility of any previously spin-coated material. (3.18.04)

Quasicrystals: Supramolecular twelve-a-side
(Nature)
Researchers report the discovery of a highly ordered molecular quasicrystal that has the 'forbidden' twelve-fold, or dodecagonal, symmetry. All but one of the quasicrystals known so far are metallic alloys. The new quasicrystal is formed from organic dendritic structures that self-assemble into supramolecular spheres, or micelles. (3.17.04)

Plasmonics: Ultrafast switching from structural transformations in gallium
(Nature Materials)
'Plasmonics' is a new field of optics that uses propagating plasmon-polariton excitations in nanostructured metal films as information carriers for highly integrated optical devices. A new concept has now been developed for 'active plasmonics', which allows for active manipulation of surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) signals on ultrafast timescales (3.17.04)

© PhysicsWeb
Fullerenes: Single molecules pass doping test
(PhysicsWeb)
Researchers have demonstrated a new way to dope single carbon-60 molecules with potassium atoms. This would be the molecular equivalent of the n-type doping that is widely used in the semiconductor industry. (3.16.04)

Organic Electronics: Towards better, colorful devices
(Chemical and Engineering News)
Single-crystal organic transistors have been made using an unusual fabrication method. The components are placed on a silicone rubber support and then with the organic material--a high-quality rubrene crystal. This "lamination" process can be carried out under ambient conditions and requires no pressure or adhesives and is completely nondestructive. (3.16.04)

Circuits: Stretchy wires form bendy circuits
(Nature)
Electronic circuits that can stretch like rubber, using squashed but extendable gold wires, have been created. The wires can be stretched by over half their initial length without loss of electrical conductivity. These wires have a flat, oscillating shape, like a meandering river, and they were manufactured by electroplating gold onto a sheet of silver, surrounding the wires with polymer and then stripping the silver away. (3.15.04)

Ultraviolet Radiation: Light wave mesurements make circuits better
(Science Daily News )
New measurements, at NIST, of key wavelengths of ultraviolet light---down to a few millionths of a nanometer---are among the most precise ever reported and are improving calibrations of microlithography tools used in making integrated circuits (3.15.04)

© Science - AAAS
Nanotubes: Yarn spun from nanotubes
(Nature)
Scientists have spun long, rope-like fibres from nanotubes. The tiny twisted ropes were made by winding freshly made nanotubes onto spinning rods as they came out of a furnace. (3.12.04)

Molecular Electronics: Charge doping Of molecules one atom at a time
(Science Daily News )
A team of physicists has succeeded in changing the properties of a single molecule by doping it just one atom at a time. They were able to precisely change the exact number of dopant atoms attached to a single molecule, either adding or removing them. (3.12.04)

Microfluidics: Microfluidic machines
(Physics News Update )
Self-assembled and reconfigurable microfluidic machines have been created. They consist largely of patterns of rotors which perform a variety of tasks in a liquid environment. (3.11.04)

Molecular Electronics: Multilevel molecular memory
(Physics News Update )
One way of cramming more data into a fixed region on a data storage device, other than shrinking the cell's size, is to store more than one bit in each memory cell. Now, a memory cell with three different controllable bit states, with a total of 8 distinct levels has been created.
(3.11.04)

Nanotubes: Evaporation leads to nanotube foams
(NanoTechWeb)
Two-dimensional cellular nanotube foams have been created by evaporating a liquid from an array of multiwalled carbon nanotubes. This represents a simple method that provides exquisite control over nanotube assembly. The foams could have applications as shock-absorbent structural reinforcements and elastic membranes. (3.10.04)

Pt/Zeolite Catalyst: Platinum moles
(Chemical and Engineering News)
Platinum particles deposited on a porous zeolite support were observed to dig out new, well-defined pores in the zeolite surface. This phenomenon could turn out to be useful as a technique to control the structure of catalysts. (3.9.04)

Magnetic Properties: Terahertz magnetism from non-magnetic materials
(Science Daily News )
Researchers have successfully created a "metamaterial" that displays strong, tunable magnetic activity at terahertz frequencies. This will allow for the development of materials and devices that operate in the gap between optical frequencies and microwave frequencies. (3.9.04)

© JILA Univ. Colorado-NIST
Fermionic Condensates: Fermionic first for condensates
(PhysicsWeb)
The creation of the first fermionic condensate is expected to lead to new research into the properties of superfluids and superconductors. (3.8.04)

Nanotubes: Carbon nanotubes go magnetic
(PhysicsWeb)
It has now been experimentally shown that carbon nanotubes can be magnetized when placed in contact with a magnetic material. The main challenge in this srudy was to measure the very small magnetic moments of the nanotubes over tha large magnetic moment coming from the magnetic material. (3.8.04)

Feature
Amorphous Alloys: The case for bulk metallic glass
(Materials Today) (PDF)
Bulk metallic glasses are stonger than steel, have greater wear and corrosion resistance, are tougher than ceramics, and yet have greater elasticity. Increased plasticity in amorphous/crystalline composites now promises new structural applications. (3.5.04)

Martensitic Transformations: Irreversible differences
(Nature)
A long-standing open question is that of the reversibility of martensitic transformations. In steels, the transformation microstructures induced by quenching are irreversible; in shape-memory alloys they are reversible or 'thermoelastic'. A simple explanation for this sharp difference on the basis of crystal symmetry has now been offered. (3.4.04)

Left-Handed Materials: Sub-wavelength lensing
(Physics News Update )
Sub-wavelength lensing in flat panels of left-hand materials has now been observed in two new experiments, wherein a planar sheet can be used to focus light into a tight spot to a size less than half the wavelength of the light being used. This would mean the possibility of imaging an object smaller than the wavelength of the light used. (3.4.04)

© Georgia Tech
Nanostructures: Zinc-oxide nanorings circle new applications
(NanoTechWeb)
U.S. Researchers have grown nanorings of single-crystal zinc oxide. The material is piezoelectric and semiconducting, therefore the nanostructures could have applications in sensors, resonators and transducers. The authors indicate that this is the first reported growth of freestanding, single-crystal, complete nanorings, demonstrating the possibility of synthesizing extreme structures and offering a new nanostructure that was not previously thought possible (3.2.04)

Silicon: Straining for Speed
(Science News Online)
Miniaturization of silicon-based integrated circuits and transistors has been pursued thus far for obtaining better performance. Researchers have now started using crystal strain and strained silicon to further improve the performance of the devices. Strain makes CMOS transistors work better by enabling charges to pass more easily through the silicon lattice of the gate channel (3.1.04)

Stopping Light: Stop light on a chip
(Physical Review Focus)
A new report, with the help of computer simulations, shows that rows of tiny semiconductor pillars could slow light waves to a stop and store them as electromagnetic fields oscillating within the pillars. (3.1.04)

February

Microfluidic Devices: 'Liquid Teflon' used to fabricate microfluidic device
(Chemical and Engineering News)
A photocurable perfluoropolyether-based elastomer, that is liquid at room temperature and is resistant to organic solvents, has been used to fabricate microfluidic devices with micrometer-scale fluid channels. (2.27.04)

Rheology: Negative normal stress
(Physics News Update )
Negative normal stress, first observed in liquid crystalline polymer melts, has now been reported in two other very different systems. The first is in a semi-dilute suspension of carbon nanotubes dispersed in a Newtonian polymer melt. The second is in a concentrated suspension of soft water droplets in a Newtonian oil emulsion (2.27.04)

NEMS: Mass detection enters attogram regime
(PhysicsWeb)
For the first time, objects with a mass of just 10^-18 grams (attograms) have been weighed. The measurements were made their on small gold dots using a nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) device. The new sensitivity far exceeds the best previous result, which was on the femtogram (10^-15 grams) scale. (2.26.04)

Spintronics: Spintronics goes organic
(PhysicsWeb)
US researchers have made the first organic "spin valve" - a device that changes resistance depending on the applied magnetic field - with a 100 nm thick organic semiconductor made from aluminium and hydroxyquinoline . Previous spin valves were made from metals or insulators. (2.26.04)
[Univ. Utah Press Release]

Wet-SEM: 'Wet Suits' Are Big Advance for Microscopy
(Scientific American )
In a new wet-SEM technique, biological samples were encased in a thin polymer membrane and observed in an SEM. The SEM can now be used to probe the inside of whole cells. (2.26.04)

© NASA/JPL
Mars: Mars mysteries pile up
(Chemical and Engineering News)
The Mars rover Opportunity has unearthed a collection of mysterious shiny spheres in the martian soil, while its companion rover, Spirit, is preparing to scoop into soil that could possibly bear evidence of a briny upwelling. (2.23.04)

Sensors: Sensor rapidly detects mercury
(Chemical and Engineering News)
A novel chemical sensor for the colorimetric detection of toxic mercuric salts in water, based on a mesoporous nanocrystalline TiO2 film sensitized with a commercially available ruthenium dye, exhibits submicromolar sensitivity. (2.23.04)

Superconductivity: Closing in on a theory of superconductivity
(PhysicsWeb)
While there are several theories of high-temperature superconductivity, new experimental results rule out theories based on phonons and the creation of a magnetic resonance state in the material, but they are consistent with the "magnetic-pairing" model of high-temperature superconductivity. (2.20.04)

Si Optical Modulator: Intel Makes Experimental Component for Linking Chips With Light
(IEEE Spectrum)
A new silicon device has been developed by Intel that can modulate light at a rate of 1 GHz. This is the first step in developing a set of optical components that can take advantage of silicon's vast infrastructure to build complete optical systems cheaply. The Si optical modulator encodes data 50 times faster than any previous silicon component. (2.19.04)
[Official Press Release]

Nanospheres : Novel Nanoproperties in Selenium Produced By Bacteria Open New Area of Exploration
(Bio.Com)
Researchers show that three different kinds of common bacteria "grow" the element selenium in the form of uniform nanospheres. The nanoscopic balls exhibit vastly different properties than selenium that is found as a trace mineral in topsoil.
(2.18.04)

Nanoparticles : Nanometals formation and color
(Materials Today)(PDF)
A review of chemical synthesis routes to metal nanoparticles and the origin of their spectacular optical properties.
(2.18.04)

Nanostructures: Photosynthesis proteins bring new platinum nanostructures
(NanoTechWeb)
A new type of platinum nanostructure has been created by scientists using a catalyst based on porphyrins, the active part of photosynthetic proteins, to seed the growth of the structures. (2.17.04)

Nanotubes: Nanotubes Go with the Flow
(Physical Review Focus)
Researchers have assembled carbon nanotubes into arrays of loops, lassos, and hooks. They did this by rinsing the nanotubes in water and drying them slowly at different rates. (Abstract) (2.17.04)

© Purdue University
Nanotechnology: Tiny scales weigh virus
(Nature)
A miniature cantilever beam made of silicon just 30 nanometres thick, wobbles naturally at a frequency that can be measured by bouncing a laser off the tip. When a tiny object such as a virus sticks to the end of the cantilever, the frequency of the wobble changes by an amount that corresponds to the weight of the virus. (2.12.04)

Organic Materials: Radical molecule breaks the rule
(PhysicsWeb)
The first organic molecule that breaks Hund's rule - it has three unpaired electrons in its ground state - has been synthesized. This has previously only been observed in molecules that contain transition metals. This could lead to the development of new non-metallic magnets made from polymers. (2.12.04)

Porous Materials: Crystal breaks surface area record
(PhysicsWeb)
A porous metal-organic framework that has the largest internal surface area ever observed in an ordered material has been developed. The material has an estimated surface area of 4500 metres squared per gram - nearly 5 times larger than the previous record. (2.12.04)

Molecular Magnets: The biggest molecular magnet
(Nature Materials)
The largest single molecule magnets containing 30 manganese atoms have been created. They are the size of small protein molecules - globular units about 2 nm wide, with a complex but ordered structure. (2.9.04)

© NanoTechWeb
Nanotubes: Scientists embed nanotubes in hybrid semiconductors
(NanoTechWeb)
Danish scientists claim to have made the first electronic hybrid nanotube-semiconductor devices by encapsulating single-walled carbon nanotubes in epitaxially grown semiconductor heterostructures such as GaAs/AlAs and (Ga,Mn)As. (2.6.04)

Crystallization: Birth of a crystal
(Physical Review Focus)
The first computer simulations giving detailed structures of what appear to be nascent sodium chloride crystals have been reported. The simulations showed the formation of a sodium ion surrounded by six chloride ions forming a crude octahedron. (2.6.04)

© Chemical and Engineering News
Feature Article
Diamonds: The many facets of man-made diamonds
(Chemical and Engineering News)
Synthetic diamond makers are looking beyond the gemstone market and looking at various industrial and scientific applications based on diamond's remarkable optical, thermal, chemical, and electronic properties. (2.4.04)

Elements: Modern alchemists make two new elements (Nature)
By firing a beam of heavy calcium atoms at an americium target, Russian and American scientists have found evidence for the formation of elements with atomic numbers 113 and 115. They have been provisionally been named ununtrium (113) and ununpentium (115) (2.4.04)

© Science and PhysicsWeb
Ferroelectromagnetic Materials: Electromagnets double up
(PhysicsWeb)
A new technique has been developed for making nanostructures that have both ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties. Laser deposition on a ceramic substrate was used to make a composite ferroelectromagnet from barium titanate (ferroelectric) and cobalt ferrite (ferromagnetic) with matching lattices. (2.2.04)

Nanoscience: Existence of temperature at the nanoscale
(Nature Materials)
A new paper argues that the very idea of temperature becomes ambiguous at the nanoscale since one cannot be sure that all parts of a system are in the same thermal state. There is a limiting length scale below which 'temperature' is no longer a meaningful concept (2.2.04)

January

© NIST
Fermionic Condensate