Katherine Bourzac

San Francisco

Science and Tech Writer at Freelance

Articles

Materialphysik: Nano-Amboss schmiedet Metalle zu atomdünnen Schichten

1 month ago | spektrum.de | Katherine Bourzac

Bericht Lesedauer ca. 3 Minuten DruckenTeilen Materialphysik: Nano-Amboss schmiedet Metalle zu atomdünnen SchichtenEin chinesisches Forschungsteam hat einen trickreichen Weg gefunden, Metallplatten herzustellen, die nur wenige Atomlagen dünn sind. Sie haben merkwürdige physikalische Eigenschaften. Exklusive Übersetzung ausAlthergebrachte Schmiedetechniken haben chinesische Fachleute zu einer neuartigen Nano-Fertigungsmethode inspiriert.
Photonic Computers: Breakthrough in Bistable Nanoparticles

1 month ago | spectrum.ieee.org | Katherine Bourzac

Researchers have sought materials that can switched between dark and bright states when exposed to light that could make switches for future photonic computers. Now scientists in California say they have made nanoparticles with this property for the first time. This kind of switching behavior is a must for computing systems. To make digital logic, engineers need materials with bistability; that is they can be switched between two different states that represent the “1” or “0” of digital logic.
Move over graphene! Scientists forge bismuthene and host of atoms-thick metals

1 month ago | nature.com | Katherine Bourzac

Taking inspiration from ancient techniques, researchers have forged relatively large sheets of metal that are just atoms thick, enabling them to more readily study the weird properties of these materials in the laboratory. The method can be applied to any metal with a low melting point, and the team has used it to make 2D sheets of bismuth, gallium, indium, lead and tin. The feat was reported today in Nature1.
Why women’s brains are more resilient: it could be their ‘silent’ X chromosome

1 month ago | nature.com | Katherine Bourzac

Women tend to live longer than men and are often more resilient to cognitive decline as they age. Now researchers might have uncovered a source for this resilience: the second X chromosome in female cells that was previously considered ‘silent’.
How can treatment for eye disease be made easier?

1 month ago | nature.com | Katherine Bourzac

Until about 20 years ago, people in the advanced stages of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were almost certain to lose their central vision. Without the ability to see faces, read or drive, most people met the criteria for blindness. That changed for some people in 2006. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a treatment for an advanced form of the disease known as wet AMD, in which new blood vessels develop in the central part of the retina and leak fluid.
How to Grow a Laser on Silicon

2 months ago | spectrum.ieee.org | Katherine Bourzac

Today, silicon photonic circuits connect server racks and play key roles in chemical sensors, biosensors, and LIDAR for self-driving cars. But making these devices work requires an external light source, or multistep manufacturing processes to bring lasers onto silicon chips. You can’t make a quality laser from silicon itself, and the best laser materials, which are compound semiconductors like gallium arsenide, don’t play well with silicon.
TSMC’s Arizona Plant to Start Making Advanced Chips

Dec 27, 2024 | spectrum.ieee.org | Katherine Bourzac

After years of planning, building, geopolitical wrangling, and workforce challenges, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is officially starting mass production at an advanced chip-manufacturing facility in Phoenix in 2025.
Renewable hydrogen is having a moment - Nature Nanotechnology

Dec 22, 2024 | nature.com | Katherine Bourzac

Companies are scaling up proton exchange membrane electrolyser production, but the technology needs to grow much faster, and become less expensive, to meet ambitious climate goals.
Computing Memory: Combining Types Could Curb AI Energy Usage

Dec 16, 2024 | spectrum.ieee.org | Katherine Bourzac

The future of memory is massive, diverse, and tightly integrated with processing. That was the message of an invited talk this week at the International Electron Devices Meeting in San Francisco. H.-S. Philip Wong, an electrical engineer at Stanford University and former vice president of research at TSMC who remains a scientific advisor to the company, told the assembled engineers it’s time to think about memory and computing architecture in new ways.
Carbon Nanotubes Show Promising Developments at IEDM

Dec 12, 2024 | spectrum.ieee.org | Katherine Bourzac

This week at the International Electron Devices Meeting in San Francisco, research teams spanning academia and industry presented data on high-performance carbon nanotube transistors (CNTs) and circuits.