AI technique ‘decodes’ microscope images, overcoming fundamental limit

Atomic force microscopy, or AFM, is a widely used technique that can quantitatively map material surfaces in three dimensions, but its accuracy is limited by the size of the microscope’s probe. A new AI technique overcomes this limitation and allows microscopes to resolve material features smaller than the probe’s tip.

Rutgers is Part of NSF-funded Consortium to Advance Photonics Research and Workforce Development

Rutgers is part of a new federally funded regional collaboration to drive economic and technological advancements in photonics, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced. The consortium, which includes researchers from Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-New Brunswick, awarded a development grant from the NSF’s Regional Innovation Economic Engine consortium, led by Princeton University and co-led by Rowan University, with partners throughout New Jersey and neighboring states Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York.

Thin-film Photovoltaic Technology Combines Efficiency and Versatility

Stacking solar cells increases their efficiency. Working with partners in the EU-funded PERCISTAND project, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have produced perovskite/CIS tandem solar cells with an efficiency of nearly 25 percent – the highest value achieved thus far with this technology. Moreover, this combination of materials is light and versatile, making it possible to envision the use of these tandem solar cells in vehicles, portable equipment, and devices that can be folded or rolled up. The researchers present their results in the journal ACS Energy Letters (DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.2c00707)

Argonaut project launches design effort for super-cold robotics

A new robotics project named Argonaut at the Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will share that same name and spirit of adventure. Argonaut’s mission will be to monitor conditions within ultracold particle detectors by voyaging into a sea of liquid argon kept at minus-193 degrees Celsius — as cold as some of the moons of Saturn and Jupiter.