Year: 2024

An international team of researchers has developed tunable transistors using silk and graphene, offering a potential solution to the growing problem of electronic waste. Tunable transistors are crucial components in electronic devices, allowing circuits to adjust their performance in real-time based on changing conditions such as signal strength or environmental factors. These components are found in devices ranging from smartphones to quantum computing systems, but they are traditionally made from non-biodegradable materials like silicon, contributing to e-waste.

In their latest study, the researchers demonstrated how silk can be used to create biodegradable electronic devices. Silk’s durability and strength have long made it an appealing material for high-tech applications, but its naturally disordered protein structure has posed challenges for use in electronics.

Human activities release a wide range of pollutants into the air, water, and soil, posing serious threats to both human health and the environment. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution alone is responsible for an estimated 4.2 million deaths annually. In response, scientists are exploring innovative solutions, including a class of materials known as photocatalysts. When exposed to light, these materials trigger chemical reactions that can break down common toxic pollutants, offering a promising method to reduce pollution.

As a researcher in materials science and engineering at the University of Tennessee, I am working alongside my colleagues to develop new photocatalysts. With the help of robots and artificial intelligence, we are aiming to design materials that can efficiently mitigate air pollution.

As modern computers approach their physical limits, semiconductor components currently operate at maximum frequencies of just a few gigahertz, performing billions of computing operations per second. To maintain performance, systems often rely on multiple chips to distribute tasks, as the speed of individual chips cannot be further increased. However, a game-changing leap in speed could be achieved if photons (light) were used instead of electrons (electricity) in computer chips, potentially making them up to 1000 times faster.

A promising approach to unlocking this leap in speed is through plasmonic resonators, often called “antennas for light.” These nanometer-sized metal structures allow for interaction between light and electrons, and their performance can vary depending on their geometry. “The challenge,” says Dr. Thorsten Feichtner, a physicist at Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Germany, “is that plasmonic resonators cannot yet be modulated effectively, unlike transistors in conventional electronics. This limitation prevents the development of fast, light-based switches.”

Electroninks, an Austin-based leader in metal organic decomposition (MOD) inks for additive manufacturing (AM) and semiconductor packaging, has unveiled what it claims to be the world’s first commercially available copper MOD ink. This breakthrough ink is generating buzz, particularly for its application in “seed layer printing,” a process where ultra-thin metal layers are deposited onto a substrate, streamlining subsequent plating procedures.

One of the most promising applications for seed layer printing is in solar cells. Electroninks asserts that its copper ink significantly outperforms traditional methods like electroless (e-less) copper plating and physical vapor deposition (PVD), by using far less water and energy. This advancement not only enhances the sustainability of production but also reduces capital expenditures (CAPEX) for manufacturers, making the production of components more efficient and cost-effective.