System Bits: Feb. 26


Firefly microstructures in LED light bulbs Pennsylvania State University researchers wanted to improve the energy efficiency of commercial light-emitting diode light bulbs to save even more energy. They found the answer in the lantern surface of fireflies. "LED lightbulbs play a key role in clean energy," said Stuart (Shizhuo) Yin, professor of electrical engineering at Penn State. "Overall... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Dec. 4


Bio-hybrid fungi Researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology combined a white button mushroom, electricity-producing cyanobacteria, and graphene nanoribbons into a power-generating symbiotic system. "In this case, our system - this bionic mushroom - produces electricity," said Manu Mannoor, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stevens. "By integrating cyanobacteria that ca... » read more

System Bits: April 11


Tiny transistors made from self-assembled carbon nanotubes While carbon nanotubes can be used to make very small electronic devices, they are difficult to handle. Now, researchers from the University of Groningen, the University of Wuppertal, and IBM Zurich, have developed a method to select semiconducting nanotubes from a solution, and make them self-assemble on a circuit of gold electrodes. ... » read more

System Bits: March 17


Symmetry in graphene growth According to Rice University researchers, what lies beneath growing islands of graphene is important to its properties. The team analyzed patterns of graphene – a single-atom-thick sheet of carbon – grown in a furnace via chemical vapor deposition and discovered that the geometric relationship between graphene and the substrate, the underlying material on whi... » read more