News from the NNI Community - Research Advances Funded by Agencies Participating in the NNI

A team of scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and the University of Chicago have explored how the structure and electronic properties of liquid water can be affected by the presence of ions and nanoconfinement (ions and water confined between material surfaces that are nanometers apart). The scientists performed simulations for water inside semiconducting nanotubes with diameters of 1.1 and 1.5 nanometers, respectively, and discovered that due to the nanoconfinement, there are competing effects of broken hydrogen bonds and water–carbon interactions on the molecular polarizability.

A team of scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and the University of Chicago have explored how the structure and electronic properties of liquid water can be affected by the presence of ions and nanoconfinement (ions and water confined between material surfaces that are nanometers apart). The scientists performed simulations for water inside semiconducting nanotubes with diameters of 1.1 and 1.5 nanometers, respectively, and discovered that due to the nanoconfinement, there are competing effects of broken hydrogen bonds and water–carbon interactions on the molecular polarizability.

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have described a new method that could pave the way toward more efficient and versatile light-emitting diode (LED) display and lighting technology. Light in LEDs is generated in a semiconductor material when excited electrons traveling along the semiconductor’s crystal lattice meet holes (an absence of electrons) and transition to a lower state of energy, releasing a photon along the way. Over the course of their measurements, the researchers found that a significant amount of these photons were being generated but were not making it out of the LED. The researchers designed an array of gallium nitride nanorods on a sapphire substrate, in which quantum wells of indium gallium nitride were embedded, to confine electrons and holes and thus emit light.

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have described a new method that could pave the way toward more efficient and versatile light-emitting diode (LED) display and lighting technology. Light in LEDs is generated in a semiconductor material when excited electrons traveling along the semiconductor’s crystal lattice meet holes (an absence of electrons) and transition to a lower state of energy, releasing a photon along the way. Over the course of their measurements, the researchers found that a significant amount of these photons were being generated but were not making it out of the LED. The researchers designed an array of gallium nitride nanorods on a sapphire substrate, in which quantum wells of indium gallium nitride were embedded, to confine electrons and holes and thus emit light.

Scientists at Rice University have confirmed, for the first time, that Brownian motion of boron nitride nanotubes in solution is the same as for carbon nanotubes. Brownian motion is the random way particles move in a fluid, like dust in air. This discovery means that boron nitride nanotubes can be used in liquid-phase processing for the large-scale production of films, fibers, and composites.

Scientists at Rice University have confirmed, for the first time, that Brownian motion of boron nitride nanotubes in solution is the same as for carbon nanotubes. Brownian motion is the random way particles move in a fluid, like dust in air. This discovery means that boron nitride nanotubes can be used in liquid-phase processing for the large-scale production of films, fibers, and composites.

The performance of magnetic storage and memory devices depends on the magnetization dynamics of nanometer-scale magnetic elements called nanomagnets. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz have developed a new optical technique that enables efficient analysis of single nanomagnets as small as 75 nanometers in diameter, which enabled the researchers to extract critical information for optimizing device performance.

The performance of magnetic storage and memory devices depends on the magnetization dynamics of nanometer-scale magnetic elements called nanomagnets. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz have developed a new optical technique that enables efficient analysis of single nanomagnets as small as 75 nanometers in diameter, which enabled the researchers to extract critical information for optimizing device performance.

Researchers at MIT have demonstrated that carbon nanotube field-effect transistors can be made swiftly in commercial facilities with the same equipment used to manufacture the silicon-based transistors that are the backbone of today's computing industry. Carbon nanotube field-effect transistors are more energy-efficient than silicon field-effect transistors and could be used to build new types of three-dimensional microprocessors. After analyzing the deposition technique used to make carbon nanotube field-effect transistors, the researchers made some changes to speed up the fabrication process by more than 1,100 times compared to the conventional method, while also reducing the cost of production.

Researchers at MIT have demonstrated that carbon nanotube field-effect transistors can be made swiftly in commercial facilities with the same equipment used to manufacture the silicon-based transistors that are the backbone of today's computing industry. Carbon nanotube field-effect transistors are more energy-efficient than silicon field-effect transistors and could be used to build new types of three-dimensional microprocessors. After analyzing the deposition technique used to make carbon nanotube field-effect transistors, the researchers made some changes to speed up the fabrication process by more than 1,100 times compared to the conventional method, while also reducing the cost of production.