Tag: Electronics

Engineers enable a drone to determine its position in the dark and indoors

In the future, autonomous drones could be used to shuttle inventory between large warehouses. A drone might fly into a semi-dark structure the size of several football fields, zipping along hundreds of identical aisles before docking at the precise spot where its shipment is needed. Most of today’s drones would likely struggle to complete this […]

Read More

MIT engineers develop a fully 3D-printed electrospray engine

An electrospray engine applies an electric field to a conductive liquid, generating a high-speed jet of tiny droplets that can propel a spacecraft. These miniature engines are ideal for small satellites called CubeSats that are often used in academic research. Since electrospray engines utilize propellant more efficiently than the powerful, chemical rockets used on the […]

Read More

Physicists measure a key aspect of superconductivity in “magic-angle” graphene

Superconducting materials are similar to the carpool lane in a congested interstate. Like commuters who ride together, electrons that pair up can bypass the regular traffic, moving through the material with zero friction. But just as with carpools, how easily electron pairs can flow depends on a number of conditions, including the density of pairs […]

Read More

This fast and agile robotic insect could someday aid in mechanical pollination

With a more efficient method for artificial pollination, farmers in the future could grow fruits and vegetables inside multilevel warehouses, boosting yields while mitigating some of agriculture’s harmful impacts on the environment. To help make this idea a reality, MIT researchers are developing robotic insects that could someday swarm out of mechanical hives to rapidly […]

Read More

Tiny, wireless antennas use light to monitor cellular communication

Monitoring electrical signals in biological systems helps scientists understand how cells communicate, which can aid in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions like arrhythmia and Alzheimer’s. But devices that record electrical signals in cell cultures and other liquid environments often use wires to connect each electrode on the device to its respective amplifier. Because only […]

Read More

MIT engineers grow “high-rise” 3D chips

The electronics industry is approaching a limit to the number of transistors that can be packed onto the surface of a computer chip. So, chip manufacturers are looking to build up rather than out. Instead of squeezing ever-smaller transistors onto a single surface, the industry is aiming to stack multiple surfaces of transistors and semiconducting […]

Read More

Physicists magnetize a material with light

MIT physicists have created a new and long-lasting magnetic state in a material, using only light. In a study appearing today in Nature, the researchers report using a terahertz laser — a light source that oscillates more than a trillion times per second — to directly stimulate atoms in an antiferromagnetic material. The laser’s oscillations […]

Read More

Noninvasive imaging method can penetrate deeper into living tissue

Metabolic imaging is a noninvasive method that enables clinicians and scientists to study living cells using laser light, which can help them assess disease progression and treatment responses. But light scatters when it shines into biological tissue, limiting how deep it can penetrate and hampering the resolution of captured images. Now, MIT researchers have developed […]

Read More

Photonic processor could enable ultrafast AI computations with extreme energy efficiency

The deep neural network models that power today’s most demanding machine-learning applications have grown so large and complex that they are pushing the limits of traditional electronic computing hardware. Photonic hardware, which can perform machine-learning computations with light, offers a faster and more energy-efficient alternative. However, there are some types of neural network computations that […]

Read More

Nanoscale transistors could enable more efficient electronics

Silicon transistors, which are used to amplify and switch signals, are a critical component in most electronic devices, from smartphones to automobiles. But silicon semiconductor technology is held back by a fundamental physical limit that prevents transistors from operating below a certain voltage. This limit, known as “Boltzmann tyranny,” hinders the energy efficiency of computers […]

Read More

“Wearable” devices for cells

Wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers interact with parts of our bodies to measure and learn from internal processes, such as our heart rate or sleep stages. Now, MIT researchers have developed wearable devices that may be able to perform similar functions for individual cells inside the body. These battery-free, subcellular-sized devices, made of […]

Read More

Quantum simulator could help uncover materials for high-performance electronics

Quantum computers hold the promise to emulate complex materials, helping researchers better understand the physical properties that arise from interacting atoms and electrons. This may one day lead to the discovery or design of better semiconductors, insulators, or superconductors that could be used to make ever faster, more powerful, and more energy-efficient electronics. But some […]

Read More