E-MRS Spring Meeting runs the gamut of cutting-edge research
- PDF / 2,994,401 Bytes
- 17 Pages / 585 x 783 pts Page_size
- 106 Downloads / 159 Views
E-MRS Spring Meeting runs the gamut of cutting-edge research
temperature and become superconducting when cooled. At all temperatures, the carrier density reacts very sensitively to electric fields and can transition to completely insulating phases. The interfaces can be reliably patterned on a nanometer scale, enabling researchers to write quantum circuitry. In the final plenary address, Stephen Mann (University of Bristol, UK) presented a heuristic path for constructing and transforming hybrid nanoscale objects and nanostructures. The path consisted of the synthetic construction of discrete inorganic–organic hybrid nanoobjects and higher-level nanostructured networks by self-assembly processing routes, both equilibrium and non-equilibrium. Here, self-organizing media, reaction-diffusion systems, and M R S M coupled mesophases are used to produce higher level hybrid structures under non-equilibrium conditions. As an example of a self-organizing media, Mann discussed microemulsions, which provide a confined reaction medium for the synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles and the self-assembly of those nanoparticles into organized superstructures such as linear prismatic chains. Depending
www.european-mrs.com
T
his June, the annual European Materials Research Society (E-MRS) Spring Meeting boasted a near-record attendance of over 2,200 participants from over 60 countries, despite the current economic crisis. Convened in Strasbourg, France, and chaired by Ian W. Boyd (Melbourne Centre for Nanotechnology, Australia), Thomas K. Lippert (Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland), Giovanni Marletta (Università di Catania, Italy), and Rodrigo Martins (New University of Lisbon, Portugal), the meeting was organized into four symposium clusters: Biomaterials, Sensors and Surfaces; Electronic, Photonic and Optoelectronic; Carbon and Energy; and Methods and Properties. Following are a few highlights, sampling from the diverse array of innovative science and technology on display.
Plenary session
Kicking off the Plenary Session, Stuart Parkin (IBM Almaden Research Center, USA) discussed spintronics, devices based on controlling the spin of electrons. Advances in materials science have revolutionized the ability of researchers to generate, manipulate, and detect spinpolarized electrical current, said Parkin, and have facilitated this new class of spin-based sensor, memory, and logic devices. The development of spin valves and magnetic tunnel junctions provide a 1000-fold increase in hard drive storage capacity at low cost and increased reliability. A further leap in memory capacity may come from the introduction by IBM of a novel three-dimensional-memory concept, dubbed “race track memory,” which is based on the manipulation of magnetic domain walls in nanowires by a spin-polarized current. Parkin also outlined the development of a new memory concept mimicking the synaptic switching of neurons, which could lead to circuits having similar capabilities to neural networks with connecting flexibility and hence adaptability. Continuing t
Data Loading...
