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Category: computing – Page 57

High-performance programmable photonic chip could transform radar and communication systems

Researchers at the University of Twente, in collaboration with the City University of Hong Kong, have designed a cutting-edge programmable photonic chip in a thin-film lithium niobate platform, an important material in photonics. Published in Nature Communications, this work paves the way for next-generation high-performance radar and communication applications.

An important material is changing the way work, making them smaller, faster, and more efficient: thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN). It offers exceptional properties for how light and electrical signals can interact. This enables the seamless integration of key components—such as electro-optic modulators and signal processors—onto a single chip. As a result, can achieve unprecedented compactness, efficiency, and performance.

Researchers at the University of Twente have designed a TFLN-based integrated photonic chip, working in close collaboration with City University of Hong Kong, where the fabrication takes place. At the same time, these chips are also being fabricated locally in the MESA+ Nanolab.

3D Integrated Circuits and Heterogeneous Integration

3D integrated circuits promise smaller, faster devices with lower power consumption. Vertically stacked 3D integrated circuits also enable novel in-memory and in-sensor computing paradigms and incorporate functionally diverse materials, which can benefit many edge applications. There are several complementary approaches to 3D integration. For example, 3D heterogeneous integration involves stacking and interconnecting multiple chips, each potentially made from different materials or optimized for different functions, within a single package. On the other hand, 3D monolithic integration refers to fabricating layers of transistors sequentially on a single wafer, creating a more seamless and compact structure. This approach offers even greater density and performance benefits by reducing interlayer distances and improving signal integrity. Both techniques are crucial for advancing the next generation of high-performance, energy-efficient electronic devices and require interdisciplinary collaborations across materials science, electrical engineering, and semiconductor manufacturing.

In this Communications Engineering collection, we aim to drive research in the engineering side of 3D integration by bringing together the following topics of interest:

A high-frequency artificial nerve based on homogeneously integrated organic electrochemical transistors

An artificial nerve that is based on a vertical n-type organic electrochemical transistor with a gradient-intermixed bicontinuous structure can operate at high frequencies and mimic basic conditioned reflex behaviour in animals.

Unlocking the secrets of phase transitions in quantum hardware

Phase transitions, like water freezing into ice, are a familiar part of our world. But in quantum systems, they can behave even more dramatically, with quantum properties such as Heisenberg uncertainty playing a central role. Furthermore, spurious effects can cause the systems to lose, or dissipate, energy to the environment. When they happen, these “dissipative phase transitions” (DPTs) push quantum systems into new states.

There are different types or “orders” of DPTs. First-order DPTs are like flipping a switch, causing abrupt jumps between states. Second-order DPTs are smoother but still transformative, changing one of the system’s global features, known as symmetry, in subtle yet profound ways.

DPTs are key to understanding how quantum systems behave in non-equilibrium conditions, where arguments based on thermodynamics often fail to provide answers. Beyond pure curiosity, this has practical implications for building more robust quantum computers and sensors. For example, second-order DPTs could enhance quantum information storage, while first-order DPTs reveal important mechanisms of system stability and control.

A Quantum “Goblet” May Hold the Key to the Future of Computing

However, as with much of quantum physics, this “language”—the interaction between spins—is extraordinarily complex. While it can be described mathematically, solving the equations exactly is nearly impossible, even for relatively simple chains of just a few spins. Not exactly ideal conditions for turning theory into reality…

A model becomes reality

Researchers at Empa’s nanotech@surfaces laboratory have now developed a method that allows many spins to “talk” to each other in a controlled manner – and that also enables the researchers to “listen” to them, i.e. to understand their interactions. Together with scientists from the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory and the Technical University of Dresden, they were able to precisely create an archetypal chain of electron spins and measure its properties in detail. Their results have now been published in the renowned journal Nature Nanotechnology.

DNA Printed Book By Isaac Asimov Now Available

Scientists have now cracked this secret using computational simulations and lab experiments, paving the way for bioengineered silk with game-changing applications, from medical sutures to ultra-strong body armor.

Spiders Strengthen Their Silk with Stretching

When spiders spin their webs, they use their hind legs to pull silk from their spinnerets. This pulling action does more than just release the silk—it strengthens the fibers, making the web more durable.

New Photon Entanglement Breakthrough Could Miniaturize Quantum Computers

Quantum computing has long struggled with creating entangled photons efficiently, but a team of researchers has discovered a game-changing method using metasurfaces—flat, engineered structures that control light.

By leveraging these metasurfaces, they can generate and manipulate entangled photons more easily and compactly than ever before. This breakthrough could open the door to smaller, more powerful quantum computers and even pave the way for quantum networks that deliver entangled photons to multiple users.

Revolutionizing Quantum Information Processing.

Quantum Revolution: Atoms Trapped on a Chip

By miniaturizing cold atom trapping with integrated photonics, researchers are making quantum technologies portable. Their photonic chip system replaces traditional free-space optics, offering a path toward highly precise, deployable quantum sensors and computing tools. Bringing Quantum Experime.