A team led by Yale University researchers has created the first rudimentary solid-state quantum processor, taking another step toward the ultimate dream of building a quantum computer.

If one University of Houston professor has his way, the inexpensive plastic now used to manufacture CDs and DVDs will one day soon be put to use in improving the integrity of electronics in aircraft, computers and iPhones.

By combining the results of a number of powerful techniques for studying material structure at the nanoscale, a team of researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working with colleagues in other federal labs and abroad, believe they have settled a long-standing debate over the source of the unique electronic properties of a material with potentially great importance for wireless communications.

In the quest to pack ever-smaller electronic devices more densely with integrated circuits, nanotechnology researchers keep running up against some unpleasant truths: higher current density induces electromigration and thermomigration, phenomena that damage metal conductors and produce heat, which leads to premature failure of devices.

Many hopes are pinned on spintronics. In the future it could replace electronics, which in the race to produce increasingly rapid computer components, must at sometime reach its limits.

A Princeton-led team of researchers has discovered an entirely new mechanism for making common electronic materials emit laser beams. The finding could lead to lasers that operate more efficiently and at higher temperatures than existing devices, and find applications in environmental monitoring and medical diagnostics.

A group of scientists at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has fabricated a working computer chip that is almost completely clear -- the first of its kind. The new technology, called transparent resistive random access memory (TRRAM), is described in this week's issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters, which is published by the American Institute of Physics.

LG Electronics (LG), a global technology leader and pioneer in home appliance convergence, will participate in the Maison&Objet living design exhibition, held in Paris from September 5 to 9. Under the theme of “Eco-Chic Lifestyle,” the company will demonstrate how LG’s stylish design supported by technological excellence allows consumers to enjoy their daily lives in modern style.

Managing heat is a major challenge for engineers who work on devices from jet engines to personal electronics to nano-scale transistors.

Electronics work better under cold conditions (-150oC): with less thermal noise, detectors are more sensitive and low-noise amplifiers reduce noise further. Furthermore, the speed and reliability are increased.

In a case study on how not to recycle electronic waste (e-waste), scientists in the United States and Hong Kong have documented serious environmental contamination with potentially toxic metals from crude e-waste recycling in a village located in southeast China.

A new technique for printing extraordinarily thin lines quickly over wide areas could lead to larger, less expensive and more versatile electronic displays as well new medical devices, sensors and other technologies.