Graphene is the wonder material that could solve the problem of making ever faster computers and smaller mobile devices when current silicon microchip technology hits an inevitable wall. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms in a tight hexagonal arrangement, has been highly researched because of its incredible electronic properties, with theoretical speeds 100 times greater than silicon. But putting the material into a microchip that could outperform current silicon technology has proven difficult.
The answer may lie in new nanoscale systems based on ultrathin layers of materials with exotic properties. Called two-dimensional layered materials, these systems could be important for microelectronics, various types of hypersensitive sensors, catalysis, tissue engineering and energy storage. Researchers at Penn State have applied one such 2D layered material, a combination of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride, to produce improved transistor performance at an industrially relevant scale. (more)
Transistors are the building blocks of the electronic devices that power the digital world, and much of the growth in computing power over the past 40 years has been made possible by increases in the number of transistors that can be packed onto silicon chips. But that growth, if left to current technology, may soon be coming to an end.
Researchers at Penn State and the University of Notre Dame have announced breakthroughs in the development of tunneling field effect transistors (TFETs), a semiconductor technology that takes advantage of the quirky behavior of electrons at the quantum level. Their advances show that these transistors are on track to solve problems with current technology, namely power leakage and the generation of excessive heat, while delivering much greater energy efficiency. (more)
The Materials Research Institute is offering guided public tours of the North Wing of the new Millennium Science Complex on Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. Registrants are asked to meet in the lobby of the Materials Research Institute wing where the tour will commence. Tour participation is limited to 40 seats per tour date. To register, visit: http://doodle.com/p7wbf58hd4a43is3 online. (more)
Controlling power consumption in mobile devices and large scale data centers is a pressing concern for the computer chip industry. Researchers from Penn State and epitaxial wafer maker IQE have created a high-performance transistor that could help solve one of the vexing problems of today's MOSFET (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor) technology -- reducing the power demand whether the transistors are idle or switching. (more)
Researchers in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Materials Research Institute at Penn State are part of a multidisciplinary team of researchers from universities and national laboratories across the U.S. who have fabricated piezoelectric thin films with record-setting properties. These engineered films have great potential for energy harvesting applications, as well as in micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS), micro actuators, and sensors for a variety of miniaturized systems, such as ultrasound imaging, microfluidics and mechanical sensing. (more)
Rising up along Pollock Road between Shortlidge and Bigler roads on Penn State's University Park campus, the 297,000-square-foot Millennium Science Complex is impressive for its size alone. But what is truly remarkable about the new building is in the details. "Every aspect of this building has been very thoughtfully designed in great detail, from the highly sensitive research labs to the configuration of the plants on a green roof," said Gordon Turow, director of campus planning and design. "It's very impressive that a building of this size could so successfully address such a huge range of complex design details." Contractors are putting the finishing touches on those details as the building -- the new home for the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and Materials Research Institute -- nears completion. Most construction work was finished by the end of July, and the University expects soon to receive an occupancy permit from the Department of Labor and Industry verifying it has been built to code. (more)
On May 13, 2011, Roger Geiger, distinguished professor of higher education at Penn State, spoke about the University's history as a land-grant institution at the initiation and awards ceremony of Penn State's Phi Beta Kappa chapter, Lambda of Pennsylvania. Following is a transcript of his talk. (more)
A safe, simple and cheap method of creating perfectly etched micron and smaller size wells in a variety of substrates has been developed by researchers in Penn State's Department of Chemical Engineering. Similar patterned surfaces are currently made using complex and expensive photolithography methods and etch processes under clean room conditions and used in the fabrication of many optical, electrical and mechanical devices. (more)
A celebration to mark the creation of the Battery and Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Center will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on March 21 in 125 Reber Building. The BEST Day celebration, which is free and open to the public, will highlight research activities and will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Battery Manufacturing Laboratory (BML), a battery manufacturing demonstration, a poster session, graduate student presentations and laboratory tours. (more)
Penn State's new Millennium Science Complex, the most comprehensive laboratory facility to be built at the University, is scheduled to open in 2011 and has already spawned a tremendous amount of innovation as it takes shape on a prominent corner of campus. As the epicenter of study and work for the Materials Research Institute and the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, the Millennium Science Complex promises to be home to groundbreaking research. That research, however, comes with unique needs, which have led to unique solutions in the building's design and construction. (more)
