Techniques and instrumentation articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors present μeV electron spectromicroscopy, a technique that combines free-space light and electron beams to achieve unmatched spatial and spectral resolution. This approach enables detailed investigation of photonic structures, promising advancements in microscopy and quantum optics.

    • Yves Auad
    • , Eduardo J. C. Dias
    •  & Mathieu Kociak

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Volumetric additive manufacturing generally suffers from systematic undercuring of fine features, which limits its application range. Here, authors develop a model to predict print time variation with feature size and propose a deconvolution method, enabling precise fabrication of intricate structures.

    • Antony Orth
    • , Daniel Webber
    •  & Chantal Paquet

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Recent electron microscopy techniques have attracted significant attention for their ability to image electric fields at the atomic level. Here, the authors investigate the possibility to separate the charge density contributions of core and valence electrons in monolayer MoS2, highlighting the limitations induced by the electron probe shape.

    • Joel Martis
    • , Sandhya Susarla
    •  & Arun Majumdar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanical and electrical properties of liquid-metal particle fibers are limited by incompatible coating techniques. Here, Lee et. al. present a solution shearing-based deposition technique for high performance bi-layer stretchable fibers, showcasing applications in smart clothing and 1D bioelectronics.

    • Gun-Hee Lee
    • , Do Hoon Lee
    •  & Steve Park

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The reliable fabrication of 2D heterostructures with controllable moiré patterns is important for the investigation of their emergent physical properties. Here, the authors report an alignment technique enabling the fabrication of double-aligned hBN/graphene/hBN supermoiré lattice structures with a yield close to 100%.

    • Junxiong Hu
    • , Junyou Tan
    •  & A. Ariando

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors utilized an evolutionary algorithm and artificial intelligence to design new basic 2D biomolecular NMR experiments to accelerate the acquisition of large biomolecular spectra. The method enables recording the spectra of poorly soluble or unstable macromolecules and analyzing the kinetics of biomolecular aggregation and oligomerization. The authors laid the foundation for accelerating multidimensional NMR experiments at high and ultra-high magnetic fields.

    • V. S. Manu
    • , Cristina Olivieri
    •  & Gianluigi Veglia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) in anisotropic van der Waals materials hold promise for nanophotonic applications, but their far-field characterization remains challenging. Here, the authors demonstrate the application of Raman spectroscopy in a backscattering configuration to determine the dispersion of HPhPs in thin GaSe crystals.

    • Alaric Bergeron
    • , Clément Gradziel
    •  & Sébastien Francoeur

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The existence of peripheric charged groups on poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (pNIPAM) microgels together with the corresponding counter ion clouds has been proposed to be responsible for the spontaneous deswelling of pNIPAM microgels in concentrated suspensions but no direct measurement of such an ionic cloud exists. Here, the authors use small-angle neutron scattering with contrast variation with different ions to isolate the change in the form factor directly related to the counterion cloud and obtain its radius and width.

    • Boyang Zhou
    • , Urs Gasser
    •  & Alberto Fernandez-Nieves

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Graphene has many intriguing electronic properties. One of note is the absence of backscattering of electrons confined to a single valley. Spin-orbit interactions can allow backscattering, and here, Sun et al. use this spin-orbit coupling dependence of backscattering to measure the strength of the spin-orbit interaction in a graphene/tungsten selenide heterostructure.

    • Lihuan Sun
    • , Louk Rademaker
    •  & Christoph Renner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Most non-line-of-sight imaging requires scanned illumination, limiting applicability for dynamic scenes. Here the authors exploit occlusion and a sensor array to estimate locations and sizes of moving foreground objects and a static background map.

    • Sheila Seidel
    • , Hoover Rueda-Chacón
    •  & Vivek K Goyal

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Marangoni swimmers have high relative speed, considering the body length and absence of a mechanical system but the fabricating is complex. Song et al. transform simple pen strokes into dynamic, programmable robots that can ‘swim’ with striking versatility.

    • Seo Woo Song
    • , Sumin Lee
    •  & Jiyun Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Organic redox-flow batteries have the potential to cheaply store renewable electricity at grid scale but require further development. Here, the authors show that combining spectroscopic measurements with statistical inference techniques can shed light on why these batteries lose capacity over time.

    • Sanat Vibhas Modak
    • , Wanggang Shen
    •  & David G. Kwabi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Optoacoustic super-resolution at millimeter-scale depths has been impeded by the strong background absorption from blood cells. Here, the authors use dichloromethane microdroplets with high optical absorption and demonstrate 3D microangiography of the mouse brain via optoacoustic localization.

    • Xosé Luís Deán-Ben
    • , Justine Robin
    •  & Daniel Razansky

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The solid-electrolyte interphase is crucial for most batteries, but its characterization is challenging. Here, authors develop a depth-sensitive plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy method to enable in-situ and nondestructive resolving of its structure and chemistry as well as formation mechanisms.

    • Yu Gu
    • , En-Ming You
    •  & Bing-Wei Mao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors develop a deep learning-based incoherent holographic camera system in order to deliver visually enhanced holograms in real-time. The neural network filters the noise in the captured holograms, and by integrating a holographic camera and a display, they demonstrate a holographic streaming system.

    • Hyeonseung Yu
    • , Youngrok Kim
    •  & Hong-Seok Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Single molecule magnets (SMMs) are molecules with magnetic states separated by an energy barrier. These two (or more) states can serve as basis for quantum information processing, but this requires a detailed understanding of the ligand field of the molecule that forms the SMM. Here, Taran et al use a combination of two experimental techniques, µSQUID and EPR, to precisely measure the higher-order ligand field parameters.

    • Gheorghe Taran
    • , Eufemio Moreno-Pineda
    •  & Wolfgang Wernsdorfer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Excess of l-amino acids in meteorites suggests an extraterrestrial origin of biomolecular homochirality, which may stem from chiral light-matter interactions. Here the authors support this hypothesis with asymmetric photolysis experiments on racemic isovaline films, showing that circularly polarized starlight can produce l-enantiomeric excesses that can be amplified during parent bodies’ alteration.

    • Jana Bocková
    • , Nykola C. Jones
    •  & Cornelia Meinert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Majorana bound states are an elusive but promising platform for future topological quantum computation. Here, the authors use local shot noise spectroscopy to determine the nature of charge transfer into zero-energy bound states in superconducting vortices and rule out the presence of impurity states.

    • Jian-Feng Ge
    • , Koen M. Bastiaans
    •  & Milan P. Allan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Catalytic CO2 dissociation pathways are selectively determined by surface geometry in heterogeneous catalysis. The authors find that the stepped Cu surfaces effectively affect CO2 activation in elementary reaction steps at the atomic level

    • Jeongjin Kim
    • , Youngseok Yu
    •  & Jeong Young Park

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The sparse, noisy, and distorted raw photon data captured by single-photon cameras make it difficult to estimate scene properties under challenging illumination conditions. Here, the authors present Collaborative photon processing for Active Single-Photon Imaging (CASPI), a technology-agnostic, application-agnostic, and training-free photon processing pipeline for high-resolution single-photon cameras.

    • Jongho Lee
    • , Atul Ingle
    •  & Mohit Gupta

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A light-driven, chemical looping approach to CH3COOH synthesis from methane using a Pd/PdO–WO3 nanocomposite is reported. Methane is converted to methyl and carbonyl intermediates at the Pd and PdO sites, respectively, to produce CH3COOH.

    • Wenqing Zhang
    • , Dawei Xi
    •  & Yujie Xiong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lattice reconstruction crucially influences the electronic properties of twisted van der Waals structures. Here, the authors report a quantitative characterization of the mechanical deformations occurring in small-angle twisted bilayers and heterobilayers of 2D semiconductors via interferometric 4D scanning transmission electron microscopy.

    • Madeline Van Winkle
    • , Isaac M. Craig
    •  & D. Kwabena Bediako

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Disorder and device variability in hybrid superconductor-semiconductor devices pose challenges for their application in quantum technologies. Here, the authors show that Joule heating can provide a detailed fingerprint of such devices, uncovering different sources of inhomogeneities.

    • A. Ibabe
    • , M. Gómez
    •  & E. J. H. Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The parasitic capacitance of conductive yarns greatly affects the performance of e-Textile devices. Here, Qu et al. show the parasitic capacitance varies from 1-3 fF/cm depending on yarn microstructure, offering valuable insights for the design and use of conductive yarns in e-textile.

    • Ziqi Qu
    • , Zhechen Zhu
    •  & Terry Tao Ye

  • Article
    | Open Access

    2D materials are promising substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based molecular sensing, but their performance is usually inferior to their plasmonic counterparts. Here, the authors report the synthesis of 1D/2D WO3-x/WSe2 heterostructures, showing high molecular sensitivity associated to ultrafast charge transfer timescales of ~1 ps.

    • Qian Lv
    • , Junyang Tan
    •  & Ruitao Lv

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In this work, the authors use near-field ptychographic nanotomography to visualize cement hydration in situ. They report hydration features with submicrometer detail including calcium silicate dissolution rates, etch-pit growth rates and water-to-air porosity evolution.

    • Shiva Shirani
    • , Ana Cuesta
    •  & Miguel A. G. Aranda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In time-resolved measurements it is crucial to know the time delay between the exciting and probing light pulses. Here the authors demonstrate a self-referencing common-path interferometer method measuring the arrival time between the X-ray free electron laser and the optical pulse to the target and thus their inherent timing jitter.

    • Michael Diez
    • , Henning Kirchberg
    •  & Christian Bressler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Despite advances in additive manufacturing of piezoceramics, resultant transducers generally suffer from high porosity, weak piezoelectric responses, and limited geometry. Here, authors report the design and printing of fully packaged freeform ultrasonic transducers capable of traveling inside mm-sized channels and deliver localized high ultrasound energy.

    • Haotian Lu
    • , Huachen Cui
    •  & Xiaoyu (Rayne) Zheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors probe the phonon changes across an atomically sharp h-10BN/h-11BN isotope interface with sub-unit-cell spatial resolution and momentum resolution. The observed phonon delocalization suggests strong electron-phonon coupling at isotopic interface.

    • Ning Li
    • , Ruochen Shi
    •  & Peng Gao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In 3D ceramic printing, the need for additional supports can increase processing time and introduce defects during post-processing removal. Here, authors merge direct ink writing and up-conversion particles-assisted photopolymerization under near-infrared irradiation for support-free printing with controlled curing rates reducing material waste, printing time, and post-processing steps.

    • Yongqin Zhao
    • , Junzhe Zhu
    •  & Ren Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Chemical order/disorder in materials can be difficult to determine for atoms with similar X-ray scattering factors and neutron scattering lengths. Here authors use resonant XRD and NMR to elucidate hidden Mo/Nb chemical order in disordered hexagonal perovskite Ba7Nb4MoO20, with Mo atoms found to be localized near the ion-conducting oxygen deficient layer.

    • Yuta Yasui
    • , Masataka Tansho
    •  & Masatomo Yashima

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ionic-junction devices are difficult to integrate with fiber-shaped tissues like nerves and muscles for applications in implantable bioelectronics due to their large size and bulk structure. Authors realize here easy to implant fiber-shaped iontronics through an integrated opposite charge grafting process, enabling the construction of ionic logic gates and artificial neural pathways.

    • Yi Xing
    • , Mingjie Zhou
    •  & Gang Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) is the state-of-the-art method for determining the Li+ diffusion coefficients in battery materials. Here, authors propose the intermittent current interruption method as a reliable, accurate and faster alternative to GITT-based methods.

    • Yu-Chuan Chien
    • , Haidong Liu
    •  & Matthew J. Lacey

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biominerals contain trace elements that can give important environmental information, but the mechanism by which these are incorporated into the structure is not well understood. Here, the authors explore the crystallization pathways involved in the formation of nacre, and how these affect the incorporation of trace elements.

    • L. M. Otter
    • , K. Eder
    •  & D. E. Jacob

  • Article
    | Open Access

    No experimental observations have been reported to clarify how a melting transition proceeds inside a crystal. Here the authors demonstrate that melting is initiated at two-dimensional faults inside BaCeO3 crystals below the melting temperature in a layer-by-layer manner.

    • Hye-Sung Kim
    • , Ji-Sang An
    •  & Sung-Yoon Chung

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Neutron scattering experiments are important for studying materials properties. Here, the authors present a probabilistic active learning approach for neutron spectroscopy with three-axes spectrometers and demonstrate optimization of beam time use by favoring informative regions of signal.

    • Mario Teixeira Parente
    • , Georg Brandl
    •  & Astrid Schneidewind

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A challenge in making a flexible mold stamp using roll-to-roll nanoimprint lithography is to increase area while minimizing perceptible seams. Here, based on Fourier spectral analysis of moiré patterns resulting from superposed identical patterns, a method that enables the fabrication of scalable, quasi-seamless functional surfaces without the use of alignment marks is proposed.

    • Woo Young Kim
    • , Bo Wook Seo
    •  & Young Tae Cho

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In order to be used on a large scale, unclonable tags for anti-counterfeiting should allow mass production at low cost, as well as fast and easy authentication. Here, the authors show how to use one-step annealing of gold films to quickly realize robust tags with high capacity, allowing fast deep-learning based authentication via smartphone readout.

    • Ningfei Sun
    • , Ziyu Chen
    •  & Qian Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    IR spectra are great for characterizing single-crystals and large nanoparticles, but not for highly dispersed heterogeneous catalysts made up of single-atoms and ultra-small clusters. To solve this, the authors developed a method to generate synthetic IR spectra using data-based approaches and physics-driven surrogate models.

    • Vinson Liao
    • , Maximilian Cohen
    •  & Dionisios G. Vlachos

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