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Highlights

Highlights

BResearchers at Cornell have developed a new class of voltage-controllable electrochemical actuators that operate at low voltages (200 mV), and are completely compatible with silicon processing. The actuators are made of a 7-nm thin film of platinum capped on one side by titanium dioxide. When voltage is applied to the titanium, ions from the surrounding solution adsorb onto its uncapped surface causing surface stresses that bend the film. To demonstrate their potential, standard silicon fabrication was employed to make prototype sub-100-micron walking robots with these actuators. These results establish a clear pathway to mass-manufactured, complex and functional robots too small to be resolved by the naked eye.
BResearchers at Cornell have developed a new class of voltage-controllable electrochemical actuators that operate at low voltages (200 mV), and are completely compatible with silicon processing. The actuators are made of a 7-nm thin film of platinum capped on one side by titanium dioxide. When voltage is applied to the titanium, ions from the surrounding solution adsorb onto its uncapped surface causing surface stresses that bend the film. To demonstrate their potential, standard silicon fabrication was employed to make prototype sub-100-micron walking robots with these actuators. These results establish a clear pathway to mass-manufactured, complex and functional robots too small to be resolved by the naked eye.
May 15, 2020
Cornell University

Breakthrough in materials for actuators paves way to electronically integrated microscopic robots

Fifty years of Moore’s Law scaling in microelectronics have brought remarkable opportunities for the rapidly-evolving field of microscopic robotics. Electronic, magnetic, and optical systems now offer an unprecedented combination of complexity, small size, and low cost, and could readily be appropriated to form the intelligent core of microscopic robots. But one major roadblock exists: there is no micron-scale actuator system that seamlessly integrates with semiconductor processing and responds to standard electronic control signals.
Difference in internal polarization fields at the metal-polar GaN/AlN interface gives rise to a negative sheet charge, which induces a layer of mobile positive holes– no chemical impurity doping is required. The resulting holes maintain their high densities at temperatures down to 10 degrees above absolute zero.
Difference in internal polarization fields at the metal-polar GaN/AlN interface gives rise to a negative sheet charge, which induces a layer of mobile positive holes– no chemical impurity doping is required. The resulting holes maintain their high densities at temperatures down to 10 degrees above absolute zero.
May 15, 2020
Cornell University

High-conductivity 2D holes induced by polarization discontinuity in GaN/AlN

Chaudhuri R., S. J. Bader, Z. Chen, D. A. Muller, H. G. Xing, and D. Jena (all Cornell University)
When an electrically-insulating material is grown on top of another insulator, the interface between the two insulators can be populated by mobile electrons. This has been achieved in interfaces that have a polarization discontinuity, such as AlGaN/GaN and LaAlO3/SrTiO3. It would be valuable to create a layer of mobile positive charges called holes, because electronic devices rely on charge carried by both electrons and holes.
Designing the flow properties of concentrated particle suspensions
Designing the flow properties of concentrated particle suspensions
May 15, 2020
University of Chicago

Designing the flow properties of concentrated particle suspensions

Abhinendra Singh (University of Chicago), Christopher Ness (University of Edinburgh), Ryohei Seto (Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences), Juan J de Pablo (University of Chicago), Heinrich M Jaeger (University of Chicago)
In a concentrated suspension of small solid particles in a liquid under shear, a large number of dynamically evolving particle-particle and particle-liquid interfaces controls the overall flow properties.
Wafer-scale synthesis of monolayer two-dimensional porphyrin polymers
Wafer-scale synthesis of monolayer two-dimensional porphyrin polymers
May 15, 2020
University of Chicago

Wafer-scale synthesis of monolayer two-dimensional porphyrin polymers

Yu Zhong, Baorui Cheng, Chibeom Park, Ariana Ray, Sarah Brown, Fauzia Mujid, Jae-Ung Lee, Hua Zhou, Joonki Suh, Kan-Heng Lee, Andrew J. Mannix, Kibum Kang, S.J. Sibener, David A. Muller, and Jiwoong Park
At the University of Chicago MRSEC, Park and Sibener developed a synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) polymers with wafer-scale homogeneity, one monolayer thick, using a general and scalable growth method called laminar assembly polymerization.
CDCM is Creating Informal, Accessible K-12 Education for All Students
CDCM is Creating Informal, Accessible K-12 Education for All Students
May 14, 2020
University of Texas at Austin

CDCM is Creating Informal, Accessible K-12 Education for All Students

CDCM MRSEC – University of Texas at Austin
The CDCM Stuff program engages diverse young learners and public audiences in the beauty, excitement, and impact of materials science and materials-based technologies. CDCM has facilitated 39 events during this reporting period, impacting more than 2,300 community participants.
Pure Spin Current in a Non-Equilibrium Magnetic Insulator
Pure Spin Current in a Non-Equilibrium Magnetic Insulator
May 14, 2020
University of Texas at Austin

Pure Spin Current in a Non-Equilibrium Magnetic Insulator

X. Li, G. Fiete, J. Zhou: Univ. of Texas at Austin
We investigate spin current in a magnetic insulator, YIG, under thermally driven  non-equilibrium conditions, a challenging task for conventional transport techniques. 
Chemically-Triggered Synthesis, Remodeling, and Degradation of Soft Materials
Chemically-Triggered Synthesis, Remodeling, and Degradation of Soft Materials
May 14, 2020
University of Texas at Austin

Chemically-Triggered Synthesis, Remodeling, and Degradation of Soft Materials

E. Anslyn, N. Lynd: Univ. of Texas at Austin
This works demonstrated a series of morphological changes could be induced with a small set of monomers due to the use of reversible covalent bonding interactions.
Unique Facilities: Benchtop X-ray Spectrometer for Accelerating Discovery and Characterization of Novel Phosphorous-Rich Materials
Unique Facilities: Benchtop X-ray Spectrometer for Accelerating Discovery and Characterization of Novel Phosphorous-Rich Materials
May 12, 2020
University of Washington

Unique Facilities: Benchtop X-ray Spectrometer for Accelerating Discovery and Characterization of Novel Phosphorous-Rich Materials

Gerald Seidler, easyXAFS LLC, and MEM-C Shared Facilities Molecular Engineering Materials Center (MEM-C) University of Washington, Seattle
MEM-C has developed a unique high-resolution x-ray emission spectrometer for studying phosphorus-rich, air-sensitive materials.
Magnetic properties of bilayer CrCl3. (a) Schematic of a magnetic tunnel junction. (b) Magnetic phase diagram vs temperature and in-plane magnetic fields. (c) Tunneling current vs magnetic fields with the corresponding magnetic states indicated.
Magnetic properties of bilayer CrCl3. (a) Schematic of a magnetic tunnel junction. (b) Magnetic phase diagram vs temperature and in-plane magnetic fields. (c) Tunneling current vs magnetic fields with the corresponding magnetic states indicated.
May 12, 2020
University of Washington

MEM-C IRG-2: An atomically thin in-plane layered antiferromagnetic insulator

X. Cai*, T. Song, N. P. Wilson, G. Clark, M. He, X. Zhang, T. Taniguchi, K. Watanabe, W. Yao, D. Xiao, M. A., McGuire, D. Cobden*, X .Xu* *MEM-C participants
We investigate the magnetic order of atomically thin CrCl3 by employing vertical tunneling measurements, which are sensitive to the relative alignment of spins in different layers. 
A scene in the series in which the students are gathered in the garage and realize they have a strange new material.
A scene in the series in which the students are gathered in the garage and realize they have a strange new material.
May 8, 2020
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

I-MRSEC educational web series: “Magnetic Fields”

In Summer 2019 the I-MRSEC officially released the web series “Magnetic Fields,” which follows middle school aged characters as they encounter a new material at the I-MRSEC, and emphasizes the scientific process, persistence, and the diversity of scientists. The episodes include “Behind the science,” featuring interviews with I-MRSEC researchers sharing their paths in science and advice to those interested in STEM studies.

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