Materials

Latest articles

Engineering world-changing materials: Nicola Spaldin on the importance of curiosity-driven research and what it means to be a physicist

New elastocaloric cooling system shows promise for commercial use

Nickel titanium system will be used to create a wine chiller

Moore’s law in peril and the future of computing

Demand for computer power continues to soar, but can the hardware keep up?

Research headlines

Conceptual image showing blue magnetic field lines leaving both ends of a dipole and connecting in the middle

Applied magnetic field flips a material’s thermal expansion

New technique could be an alternative to chemical substitution for regulating the expansion of magnetic materials

Lined-up quantum dots become highly conductive

Semiconducting nanostructures behave like metals when placed in quasi-two-dimensional superlattices

A photo showing the new bendy silicon solar cells flopping over in a person's hand like a piece of flimsy card

Silicon solar cells gain new flexibility

Blunted edge technique could make silicon a viable material in applications that call for lightweight, bendable cells

Diagram of a flat sheet of germanene, a two-dimensional, graphene-like form of the element germanium. Red and blue arrows representing spin and current flow line the edges of the sheet, showing how the material can carry electricity along its edges with no resistance

Graphene’s ‘cousin’ makes a switchable topological insulator

A two-dimensional form of the element germanium could make electronics faster and more energy efficient

Electron-hole symmetry in quantum dots shows promise for quantum computing

Bilayer graphene devices could find widespread use as qubits and sensors

New method is based on stably encapsulating DNA files functionalized with the polymer biotin in individual populations of the thermoresponsive microcapsules

DNA microcapsules deliver retrievable data storage

New DNA-based data storage technique enables repeated random access to archived files

Videos

Innovation in diamond applications from Element Six

Researchers at the Centre for Print Research

Bristol print innovators make a strong impression

A female photographer wearing glasses, holding a camera

Are we living in the Age of Glass?

Physics World Careers

The 2023 edition of Physics World Careers is packed full of advice for early-career scientists. Including a range of valuable advice, informative case studies and recruiter profiles, it demonstrates the variety of jobs that use a physics degree.

Explore more in materials science

Moore’s law: further progress will push hard on the boundaries of physics and economics

James McKenzie pays tribute to the foresight of Gordon Moore, the founder of Intel who died earlier this year

Materials
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Defect engineering for quantum memory chips

Available to watch now, Physics World explores the developments in the defect engineering of materials to create chip devices for quantum communications and computing

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Boron arsenide single crystals with ultrahigh thermal conductivity and carrier mobility

Available to watch now, Physics World explores the potential of this “wonder material” for semiconductor devices of the future

Photo of Esma Ugur, a woman wearing a head covering, lab coat, safety glasses and gloves, holding a chip the size of a small coin. This chip contains the solar cell.

Perovskite solar cells reach new milestones for stability and efficiency

Three recent results highlight how the technology just keeps getting better

Calculations suggest that palladates might hit the sweet spot of electronic configuration for high-temperature superconductivity

Palladium oxides could make better superconductors

New calculations reveal that palladates remain superconducting at higher temperatures than cuprates or nickelates

Surface plasmon polaritons launched by nano-emitters are imaged in the near field

Tip-enhanced nanospectroscopy reveals quasiparticle standing waves

a laser striking atoms in an optical cavity.

Transparency window appears in an ensemble of ions

"Collectively induced transparency" in an optical cavity has applications in quantum optical technologies

Concentrated solar reactor generates unprecedented amounts of hydrogen

Photoelectrochemical device also produces usable heat and oxygen and could be commercialized in the near future

Photo of a Pacific cleaner shrimp showing its brilliant white whisker-like antennae, white stripe down its back and white spots on its tail

Mystery of bright-white shrimp solved

Optical nanostructure in the antennae, cuticle, tail, and jaw of Pacific cleaner shrimp explains the animal’s striking pigmentation

A transistor made out of a plank of wood incorporates electrically conducting polymers throughout the material

A transistor made from wood

Delignified piece of balsa wood incorporates a conductive polymer to modulate electrical current

Photonic time crystal amplifies microwaves

New 2D metamaterial could boost 6G telecoms

Exchange bias in a single-layer film is created using ion implantation

New approach could be used to create antiferromagnetic spintronics devices

Giant tunnelling magnetoresistance appears in an antiferromagnet

New spin-filter magnetic tunnel junction could make a promising platform for spintronic devices

Polar bear fur inspires new on-body solar thermal textiles

Polar bear fur inspires solar-thermal textiles

New fabric is 30% lighter in weight than cotton and keeps wearers warmer at colder temperatures

Wireless trend demands radiofrequency innovation

The defence and security company QinetiQ is looking for physicists and engineers who are keen to explore the properties of radio waves to solve wireless challenges and create novel...

Membrane mirrors take off for use in large space telescopes

High-quality, flexible mirrors could be rolled up for transport on a spacecraft

Porotech showcases the power of materials science in full colour

Tongtong Zhu from UK firm Porotech reveals how its micro LEDs could transform the display industry

Lithium-ion batteries break energy density record

New design of lithium-ion battery could benefit applications such as electric aviation

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Related events

Materials | Meeting Faraday Discussion – Electrosynthesis 12—14 July 2023 | Edinburgh, UK
Materials | Workshop Elastic Manipulation and Dynamics of Quantum Materials 31 July — 11 August 2023 | Dresden, Germany
Materials | Exhibition 2023 World Battery & Energy Storage Industry Expo (WBE) 8—9 August 2023 | Guangzhou, China

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