Category archives: Technology

How dopants induce plasmon decay in graphene

How dopants induce plasmon decay in graphene

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyPhysicsTheoretical physics

By DIPC

For centuries, metals were employed in optical applications only as mirrors and gratings. New vistas opened up in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the discovery of surface-enhanced Raman scattering and the use of surface plasmon (collective electronic oscillations at the surface of metals) resonances for sensing. However, it was not until the 1990s […]

Towards a bottom-up engineering of molecular spintronic devices

Towards a bottom-up engineering of molecular spintronic devices

ChemistryCondensed matterNanotechnology

By DIPC

During the last decades, the electronics industry has been very successful in pushing forward the advancement of electronic building blocks, but the limit of silicon-based electronic devices especially in terms of miniaturization are almost reached. There are many ideas how to overcome this problem, for example, by adding functionality based on approaches originating from molecular […]

A Kondo effect by manipulating spin chains

A Kondo effect by manipulating spin chains

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnology

By DIPC

The scattering of conduction electrons in metals owing to impurities with magnetic moments is known as the Kondo effect, after Jun Kondo, who analysed the phenomenon in 1964. This scattering increases the electrical resistance and has the consequence that, in contrast to ordinary metals, the resistance reaches a minimum as the temperature is lowered and […]

Antibody-drug conjugates, a fine example of teamwork

Antibody-drug conjugates, a fine example of teamwork

BiomedicineMolecular biologyPharmacy

By Isabel Perez Castro

The immune system is a complex network that recognises foreign substances in the body. When it detects an alien substance (antigen), it creates antibodies to attack and destroy it. This system protects vertebrates against viruses, bacteria, fungi and other parasites, and is the reason for the “rejection” after organ transplants. When we have cancer, our […]

Towards a universal quantum simulator: acoustic traps for quasiparticles

Towards a universal quantum simulator: acoustic traps for quasiparticles

Condensed matterMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

The ability to trap and control particles with the help of well-controlled electromagnetic fields has led to revolutionary advances in the fields of biology, condensed- matter physics, high-precision spectroscopy, and quantum information, enabling unprecedented control both in the study of isolated single particles as well as in few and many-body systems subject to controlled and […]

Modified adsorption geometry preserves the topological surface state

Modified adsorption geometry preserves the topological surface state

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnology

By DIPC

Topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have conducting states on their edge or surface. The conducting surface is not what makes topological insulators unique, but the fact that it is protected due to the combination of spin-orbit interactions and time-reversal symmetry, the so-called topological surface […]

Novel strategies to selectively reduce pain

Novel strategies to selectively reduce pain

MedicineNeurobiologyPharmacy

By Sergio Laínez

A recurrent problem with pain is the absence of therapeutic strategies to selectively block the nociceptors (neurons responsible to detect painful stimuli) that need to be targeted for a particular indication. Things get even worse if we take into account that some molecules used for pain management do affect other, more general physiological processes. Local […]