Browse Articles

Developing scalable strategies of miniaturization and integration is key for achieving high-density integrated circuit devices. Here, the authors propose a silicon-based one-transistor device with a 40% reduction in circuit footprint, which combines the functionalities of logic gates, memory, and artificial synapses for mass production.

Nanoscale light manipulation and characterization are essential in nano-optics, but conventional microscopy or indirect imaging methods are often limited by low resolution or invasive nature. Here, a non-destructive light-field imaging with ~20 nm resolution is realized by p-n junction photodetection in graphene controlled by gate voltage.

Stable performance is a key requirement for solar cell devices. Here, spectroscopy combined with depth profiling reveals I₂ and PbI₂ are distributed evenly in a perovskite solar cell under an electric field, while the electric field itself promotes chemical heterogeneity and device degradation.

Understanding grain morphology and kinetics of solid-phase crystallization is important for controlling the functional properties of polycrystalline materials. Here, in situ coherent X-ray diffraction imaging and transmission electron microscopy elucidate quantitatively the kinetics of a single-grain growth in Zr-doped In₂O₃ films.

Visualizing the composition of grain networks is key for understanding the structure evolution and functional properties of composite materials. Here, X-ray fluorescence tomography, coupled with an absorption correction algorithm, reveals mechanistic insights in the phase transformations and transport properties of a mixed ionic-electronic conductor.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of materials that block airborne virus transmission. Here, a nanostructured membrane is shown to filter coronavirus-sized particles, while the membrane surface incorporates enzymes that denature the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein within 30 s.

Long-range interactions have often been considered as a nuisance or correction to the desired features of metamaterials. Here, nonlocal interactions in 2D acoustic metamaterials are instead exploited as a tool to engineer peculiar wave dispersions, such as multiple roton-like minima, leading to negative and triple refraction.

UTe₂ is an unconventional superconductor with a putative multicomponent triplet order parameter, but the observation of two superconducting transitions remains controversial. Here, UTe₂ single crystals exhibit reduced disorder and a single transition at 2 K, setting new constraints on the multicomponent superconductivity scenario.

Disordered hyperuniform materials are interesting due to the asymptotic absence of long-wavelength density fluctuations, leading to unconventional phenomenology. Here, planar disorder in superconducting vortex matter is shown to suppress hyperuniformity in an anisotropic way, providing insight into the thickness dependence of hyperuniformity.

Battery research is often focused on candidate materials that result in the most promising battery performance numbers, which makes it vital that findings are accurately reported. This paper discusses a number of errors that often occur in the battery literature, which impact reproducibility.

Kagome metals are interesting for the coexistence of chiral charge density wave and superconductivity. Here, the structural distortion responsible for the charge density wave in KV₃Sb₅ is investigated by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and first-principles calculations, providing microscopic insight into the charge density wave and superconducting mechanisms.

Light diffusion effects in liquid crystals are important for security and lighting devices. Here, viewing angle dependent pearlescence and iridescence are reported in a nematic liquid crystal elastomer with a stabilized director buckling pattern, which can be controlled by deformation or temperature.

Graphene is known to display a number of attractive mechanical properties. Here, anisotropy in the fracture toughness of graphene is investigated by in-situ mechanical testing, revealing weak anisotropy between armchair and zigzag directions.

Ferrofluids are magnetic liquids interesting for the periodic patterns they form in external magnetic fields. Here, an aqueous two-phase system based on polyethylene glycol and dextran achieves an ultralow interfacial tension of ~ 1 μN m⁻¹, resulting in micro-patterns with periodicities of ~ 200 μm.

Losses induced by triplet excitons are a major obstacle for electrically pumped organic lasers. Here, a combination of enhanced triplet-triplet upconversion and suppressed singlet-triplet annihilation is demonstrated as a route towards lasing in organic light emitting diodes.

Tissue regeneration by injecting cells into the damaged area is a common clinical treatment, but is not always affective. Here, a shrink-wrap-like process is reported for corneal endothelial cells, allowing them to be engrafted into the corneal endothelium of a rabbit animal model.

Rare-earth hexaborides are of interest for their pressure-induced phase transformations, but further understanding is needed regarding their failure mechanisms. Here, nanoindentation of EuB₆ causes dislocation-mediated shear band formation, driven by the breaking of boron-boron bonds.

Theoretical studies have predicted a Kondo effect driven charge density wave order with two sublattices characterized by different single-ion Kondo temperatures. Here, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy provides evidence of a dual Kondo effect in the charge ordered phase of YbPd, elucidating the mechanism of its zero thermal expansion.

Metal halide to perovskite phase conversion is a facile approach for synthesizing high-quality perovskite semiconductors for optoelectronic applications. Here, these reactions are investigated at the nanoscale via in-situ x-ray scattering, revealing links between reaction kinetics, structure and composition.