Nov 2019
Dubbed SunBOTs, the devices can capture much more solar energy than stationary devices
The first artificial material that follows sunlight may upgrade solar panels
Nov 2019
Light waves can transport information more efficiently than electric current
A tiny switch could redirect light between computer chips in mere nanoseconds
Jan 2015
Although sales will continue for as long as inventory remains, worldwide production of incandescent lights (lamps) has mostly been phased out by the push for more energy-efficient lighting and improvements in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Between 2009 and 2015 the price of an LED lamp as bright as a 60-watt incandescent lamp dropped from U.S. $70 to $10. Meanwhile, the efficiency (or efficacy) of LEDs for turning power into light (as measured in lumens per watt) increased, as did their working lifetime, which greatly lowered their effective operating costs. See also: Fluorescent lamp; Illuminance; Illumination; Incandescent lamp; Lamp; Light-emitting diode; Luminous efficacy; Luminous efficiency; Luminous flux
The bright future of LED lighting
Jan 2014
For over 30 years, predictions that lithography for microelectronics and nanoelectronics would reach its limit have been overcome by engineers pulling out of their hats every imaginable optical trick for shrinking linewidths to cram more and smaller transistors onto the horizontal plane of a single chip. Now, in the quest to build smaller, faster, less-expensive devices, chip architects are following the lead of city planners who ran out of real estate for expanding horizontally: They are looking up. With vertical integration techniques, chipmakers can arrange transistors in three dimensions, not just two. See also: Integrated circuits; Microlithography
Chipmakers build integrated circuits in three dimensions
Jan 2015
An artificial leaf is a solar cell that uses water and an electrical current generated from sunlight to produce hydrogen (for fuel) and oxygen. It is currently in development at laboratories worldwide. If successful, the artificial leaf could serve as an abundant and carbon-free source of hydrogen for use in fuel cells, in which hydrogen reacts with oxygen to produce water and electricity. In combination, artificial leaf and fuel cell technologies would yield very clean energy. See also: Electrolysis; Energy; Energy conversion; Fuel cell; Hydrogen; Oxygen; Solar cell
Progress in developing an "artificial leaf" for hydrogen fuel generation
Aug 2020
Solar panels, also known as photovoltaic (PV) panels, convert sunlight to electricity and are thus often used for residential or large-scale power generation. Most PV panels presently in use have a life expectancy of 30 years. Because the bulk of functioning PV panels were installed after 2010, the current waste stream is not significantly large to support dedicated recycling facilities. By 2050, however, 80 million metric tons of PV panels could reach the end of their lifespan. As a result, dedicated recycling facilities need to be operating before 2040 to avoid adding to the already growing mountain of electronic waste that is not recycled. One detail that has yet to be resolved is how to recover all of the materials during PV-panel recycling, keeping in mind that there is also an environmental impact to recycling. Researchers reporting in the journal Nature Energy (July 2020) say that now is the time to plan and develop processes for maximizing material recovery and minimizing environmental impact caused by disposal through landfilling. See also: Recycling technology; Solar cell; Solar energy
Solar-panel recycling concerns
Jan 2014
Flexible circuitry, which can bend but not stretch, has been used by the electronics industry for years. Stretchable electronics offer the potential for new consumer electronic devices such as stretchable displays and wearable electronics as well as implantable biomedical devices that can conform to the body's shape and change shape during movement. See also: Printed circuit board
Stretchable conductors
Jan 2014
Researchers at Tel Aviv University, Israel have developed a prototype for a nanosensor array on a chip that can rapidly and accurately detect explosives in air at ultralow concentrations irrespective of their chemical composition. A description of the sensing device was published June 24, 2014, in Nature Communications. See also: Environmental sensors; Integrated nanosensors; Microsensor; Nanotechnology
Ultrasensitive nanosensor for detecting explosives
Jan 2014
Researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and Stanford University reported in Nature Communications on January 8, 2014 an organic thin-film transistor with the highest speed rating ever measured. For liquid crystal displays, faster transistor switching speed allows for smaller transistors and smaller pixels (higher resolution), which translates into better performance. See also: Liquid crystals; Transistor
World’s fastest organic transistor