Novel semiconductor structure bends light 'wrong' way -- the right direction for many applications

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An easy-to-produce material made from the stuff of computer chips has the rare ability to bend light in the opposite direction from all naturally occurring materials. The semiconductors that constitute the Princeton invention are grown from crystals ...
An easy-to-produce material made from the stuff of computer chips has the rare ability to bend light in the opposite direction from all naturally occurring materials. The semiconductors that constitute the Princeton invention are grown from crystals using common manufacturing techniques, making it less complex, more reliable and easier to produce than other metamaterials. Credit: Keith Drake

A Princeton-led research team has created an easy-to-produce material from the stuff of computer chips that has the rare ability to bend light in the opposite direction from all naturally occurring materials. This startling property may contribute to significant advances in many areas, including high-speed communications, medical diagnostics and detection of terrorist threats.


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All News summaries for October 14, 2007

Tunable microlenses shine light on medical imaging

55 minutes ago | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers have developed tunable liquid microlenses that can quickly scan images and record video. Integrated onto fiber-optic probes, the lenses further could reduce the invasiveness ...

ITER, IAEA sign deal to move nuclear fusion research forward

6 hours ago | User rating: not rated yet
Key nuclear international institutions on Monday signed a deal to step up their collaboration, marking a step forward in the development of a multibillion dollar experimental nuclear fusion project.

Researchers team up to probe iron-arsenic superconductors with new instrument

Oct 10, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory are part of collaborative team that's used a brand new instrument at the DOE's Spallation Neutron Source to probe iron-arsenic compounds, the "hottest" new find ...

New spintronics effect could lead to magnetic batteries

Oct 10, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists have recently discovered that heating one side of a magnetized nickel-iron rod causes electrons to rearrange themselves according to their spins. This so-called "spin Seebeck effect" ...

Ripple effect: Water snails offer new propulsion possibilities

Oct 09, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- A UC San Diego engineer has revealed a new mode of propulsion based on how water snails create ripples of slime to crawl upside down beneath the surface.
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