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Vote for MRS Officers & Board Members!
Attention MRS Members—the 2015 MRS election of officers and directors will remain open until 11:59 pm (ET) on August 24, 2015. Don't forget to vote and influence the future of your Society! Candidate bios and statements are available now at www.mrs.org/elections-2015. |
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FREE Webinar on Perovskite Photovoltaics
Wednesday, August 26 | 12:00 - 2:00 pm (ET)
This webinar, complementing the August issue of MRS Bulletin, will highlight various synthesis methods and properties of perovskite solar cells. Attendance for these and all MRS OnDemand Webinars is FREE, but advance registration is required. |
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Looking to Hire Qualified Candidates? Start and End Your Search with the MRS Career Central Job Board.
We have access to some of the best professionals in materials science and research. Review the resumes in our database and only pay for the ones that interest you! Check it out here: jobs.mrs.org |
MATERIALS NEWS
Keep up with materials research news through MRS!
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Materials in Focus
Ferroelectric polarization changes local structure at complex oxide interfaces |
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By coupling an electron’s charge and spin, spintronic memories could transport information at a much faster rate than conventional computer memories. A unique way of making a spintronic memory is by using a magnetoelectric material—a material with magnetic properties that can be controlled by an electric field. One way to make this type of materials system is by alternating layers of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials. |
3D superlattice of nanoparticles and DNA assembled through directionality of interactions |
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A research group led by Oleg Gang from Brookhaven National Laboratory has assembled a complete three-dimensional (3D) superlattice from nanosized cubes and spheres, using complementary DNA matching and shape-related directional interactions. Significantly, the researchers are able to change the type of the lattice by using octahedra instead of cubes and have shown that the final structure is a function of DNA flexibility and the relative cube-to-sphere sizes. |
Liquid gain provides real-time tuning of plasmonic lasing |
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The advent of the plasmon laser has revolutionized how nanoscopic features can overcome the diffraction limit of light. A recent collaboration between groups at Northwestern University and Duke University has achieved real-time dynamic tuning of the plasmon laser’s wavelength. Their groundbreaking research produced devices in which the emission wavelength was controlled using the surrounding dielectric environment of a liquid gain medium rather than through physical doping of a solid-state medium or using a different dye molecule. |
Multiphoton lithography creates conducting polymer-based biomaterials |
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Electronic devices that can signal directly to living cells have a variety of medical applications, from targeted drug delivery to artificial eyes and ears. But getting rigid traditional electronics to interface well with soft tissue can be challenging. Now, an international team of researchers has used multiphoton lithography to create bioelectrodes from conducting polymers. Their results open the door for more customizable and precise bioelectronic devices. |
Screw dislocations revealed at atomic resolution |
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For decades, the atomic structure of screw dislocations has eluded capture by camera. Although theory and experiments have long been used to study their positions and motions, because the associated displacements run parallel to the dislocation line, seeing atomic details at the screw dislocation core has proven difficult. In a recent study, electron microscopy optical sectioning has now been used to visualize and characterize the atomic structure of dislocations with a screw component. |
Industry Focus
At a crossroads, biofuels seek a new path forward
New microbes and new techniques show promise for advanced biofuels, but the industry is still years away from real progress.
Kepler Energy reveals plans for tidal energy scheme in Bristol Channel
With its large tidal range, Britain's Bristol Channel has a huge potential for generating tidal electric power. The problem is that, until now, schemes for tapping that power have required building extremely large dams and barrages. As a more economical alternative, Kepler Energy has announced plans for a 30 MW tidal energy fence to be built in the Channel, using its Transverse Horizontal Axis Water Turbine technology.
Could This Machine Push 3-D Printing into the Manufacturing Big Leagues?
The inventor of a new kind of 3-D printer says his research group will build a massive machine capable of mass-producing competitively priced plastic parts within two years.
Policy Focus
Japan's nuclear revival won't lower carbon emissions enough
The Sendai Nuclear Power Plant on the island of Kyushu broke a four-year lull on 11 August when it switched one of its reactors back on. The restart is the first since Japan's nuclear-power industry ground to a halt two years ago following safety concerns in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster.
Senate energy bill that calls for 4% DOE science boost moves forward
Just before Congress takes its August break, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has finished marking up its bipartisan energy bill, an effort to make the most sweeping update to the country's energy policy in more than 8 years. The legislation—which would authorize a wide array of programs—includes a call to boost funding for the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Science by 4% per year for 5 years.
For more science policy news, follow @MaterialsSciPol
OF INTEREST TO THE MATERIALS COMMUNITY
How Lexus' Hoverboard Gets Off the Ground
In the classic 1989 film Back to the Future 2, intrepid time traveler Marty McFly jumps ahead a few decades, to October 21, 2015. Luxury car manufacturer Lexus appears to be ready for him. This week, they announced that they've built a "real, rideable" hoverboard. More.
MEETINGS UPDATE
Critical Meeting Deadlines
PUBLICATIONS UPDATE
Critical Publications Deadlines
Advertise in JMR.
JUST PUBLISHED
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Perovskite solar cells, especially those based on methylammonium lead triiodide, have seen unprecedented progress in recent years. This issue of MRS Bulletin overviews perovskite photovoltaics. The articles highlight various deposition methods of perovskite absorbers, vapor-assisted solution process techniques, as well as hole-transporting material free perovskite solar cells. The cover shows a schematic representation of a perovskite solar cell architecture for solar energy conversion into electricity. The three-dimensional perovskite materials are deposited using various methods and sandwiched between two electrodes, which concurrently act as a light absorber and an electron and hole transporter, generating power conversion efficiency exceeding 20% under 1 sun illumination.
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Methylammonium lead triiodide perovskite solar cells: A new paradigm in photovoltaics
Mohammad Khaja Nazeeruddin and Henry Snaith, Guest Editors
Steps toward efficient inorganic–organic hybrid perovskite solar cells
Jun Hong Noh and Sang II Seok
Two-step deposition method for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells
Jin-Wook Lee and Nam-Gyu Park
Technical Feature
Advances in thermoelectrics: From single phases to hierarchical nanostructures and back
Mercouri G. Kanatzidis
This article is based on the MRS Medal presentation given by Mercouri G. Kanatzidis at the 2014 Materials Research Society Fall Meeting in Boston.
MRS Bulletin will present a free webinar on Perovskite photovoltaics on Wednesday, August 26.
Advertise in MRS Bulletin.
Journal of Materials Research
August 2015, Volume 30, Issue 15
Access is now free to MRS members
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From Volume 1691, 2014 MRS Spring Meeting, Symposium BB – Materials for End-of-Roadmap Devices in Logic, Power and Memory
Dielectric Morphology and RRAM Resistive Switching Characteristics
G. Bersuker, B. Butcher, D. C. Gilmer, L. Larcher, A. Padovani, R. Geer and P. D. Kirsch
From Volume 1692, 2014 MRS Spring Meeting, Symposium CC – New Materials and Processes for Interconnects, Novel Memory and Advanced Display Technologies
Prospects for dielectric constant reduction in integrated circuits interconnects
Maxime Darnon, Nicolas Posseme, Thierry Chevolleau and Thibaut L. David
From Volume 1693, 2014 MRS Spring Meeting, Symposium DD – Silicon Carbide‒Materials, Processing and Devices
Defect Reduction Paths in SiC Epitaxy
J. Zhang, D.M. Hansen, V.M. Torres, B. Thomas, G. Chung, H. Makoto, I. Manning, J. Quast, C. Whiteley, E.K. Sanchez,S. Mueller, M.J. Loboda, H. Wang, F. Wu and M. Dudley
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SCIENCE AS ART
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Caverns of the Nano-world
by Rujuta D. Munje, University of Texas at Dallas
Colourized SEM image of ZnO thin film on nanoporous flexible membrane obtained by physical vapor deposition using AJA RF magnetron sputtering.
A finalist in the Science as Art competition at the 2015 MRS Spring Meeting
Copyright for all Science as Art images belongs to the Materials Research Society. To request permission to re-use the images, please contact Anita Miller. |
EDITOR'S CHOICE VIDEO
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Nature
Graphene Kirigami
Graphene is a one-atom thick 'supermaterial' with incredible strength and resilience. Kirigami is the ancient Japanese art of paper cutting. Combined, they could lead to a future of tiny mechanical parts and even mini machines. |
NEW PRODUCTS FOCUS
| High Grade Agarose for Nucleic Acid Electrophoresis |
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Cleaver Scientific, specialists in gel electrophoresis, has introduced a new range of high grade agarose for nucleic acid electrophoresis. CleverGEL is an environmentally friendly agarose suitable for routine analysis of nucleic acids using standard electrophoretic procedures. Manufactured by a process which excludes organic solvents harmful to marine life, CleverGEL is far kinder to the environment than conventional agarose. In independent testing, CleverGEL has been shown to produce a low EEO (electroendoosmotic) flow that minimizes diffusion so that even the smallest of nucleic acid fragments remains sharp and tightly resolved, while its high gel strength aids handling and maintains compatibility with blotting techniques..
[Contact: [email protected] or 44-1788-565300] |
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| New High-Speed EMCCD Camera |
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Princeton Instruments is pleased to announce an addition to the ProEM®-HS line of high-speed EMCCD cameras. The new ProEM-HS:1024BX3 is a 1024 x 1024 pixel back-illuminated EMCCD camera with patented eXcelon®3 technology (X3) for low-light imaging and spectroscopy applications. This advanced camera offers a combination of high sensitivity (>95% QE) and best fringe suppression in the near infrared as well as single-photon sensitivity. Three times faster than previous generation cameras, the ProEM-HS:1024BX3 is one of the best EMCCD camera offerings on the market for low-light imaging and spectroscopy applications such as single-molecule fluorescence [SMF], astronomy, Bose-Einstein condensates [BECs], and plasma studies.
[Contact: [email protected] or 609-587-9797] |
To suggest items for inclusion in Industry News and New Products Focus, please contact Mary Kaufold at 724-779-2755.
ABOUT MATERIALS360®
Materials360 is edited by Judy Meiksin, News Editor, and produced by Kirby Morris, Electronic Communications Assistant, Materials Research Society.
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