A feasible optical interconnect on a silicon complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor chip demands epitaxial growth and monolithic integration of diode lasers and optical detectors with guided wave components on a (001) Si wafer, with all the components preferably operating in the wavelength range of 1.3–1.55 μm at room temperature.
Finely patterned surfaces, known as metasurfaces, can control light with unprecedented ability. Unlike traditional optical elements, metasurfaces derive their optical properties from their subwavelength texture rather than their shape.
From the ancient art of origami to modern meta-materials research, a central goal has been to develop the ability to convert a flat, stiff sheet into its final three-dimensional shape with just one single folding motion. Except for a few known cases, general design rules for the required patterns of creases have been elusive.
A Bose-Einstein condensate, when shaken appropriately, shows universal dynamics at a ferromagnetic quantum critical point.
Soft robots possess many attributes that are difficult, if not impossible, to achieve with conventional robots composed of rigid materials. Yet, despite recent advances, soft robots must still be tethered to hard robotic control systems and power sources.
The MRSEC co-sponsored NEW.Mech, a one-day workshop held in October 2016 at Harvard. The annual conference brings together researchers to explore new directions in the mechanics of materials and structures.
A Solar Outreach Program for Haiti is comprised of an interdisciplinary team of students, professors, university partners, and non-governmental organizations whose goal is to design and build Integrated Energy Centers in energy scarce regions. This year, the program developed a business plan, located investors, and submitted several grant proposals.
Due to enormous challenges associated with theoretical modeling of multicomponent alloys, there are no reliable theoretical predictions available for their composition-dependent properties and structures. Taylor and Schroers have proposed to use combinatorial materials science to address this challenge.
CRISP continued its interactions with industrial companies that aim to commercialize broadly new and simpler approach for force microscopy measurements. Separately, CRISP continued to train graduate students in research, writing, and presentation skills by providing the opportunity to attend a number of international conferences.
Topological crystalline insulators feature conducting surface states for electrons whose existence is protected by crystal symmetry. Scanning probe microscopy experiments on SnTe reveal that such metallic topological states can coexist next to semiconducting regions.
