Research Bits: Sept. 8


Gallium oxide pn diodes Researchers at Nagoya University fabricated functional gallium oxide pn diodes that can carry twice as much electrical current as previous gallium oxide diodes and waste less energy than silicon-based diodes. The key challenge in making the pn diode was creating a stable p-type gallium oxide layer. While gallium oxide's crystal structure easily accepts the atoms need... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: Dec. 2


Harvesting more of the sun's energy As solar panels become less expensive and capable of generating more power, solar energy is becoming a more commercially viable alternative source of electricity and today’s photovoltaic cells can only absorb and use a small fraction of that light, which means a significant amount of solar energy goes untapped. However, a new technology created by research... » read more