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Novel method for crafting chiral nanostructures with lasers

By carefully controlling the direction of a laser beam’s vibrations, Wuhan University researchers created a variety of chiral structures made of platinum oxide in unique shapes, such as twisted micropillars and spiral superstructures. Such nanostructures could lead to the development of new types of advanced sensors or solar cells, as well as new types of optical displays. The researchers are testing more materials to identify which can be fabricated in the same way, for example, other semiconductors like cadmium sulfide. For more information, visit https://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=62641.php.

Visualizing spatial distribution of electric properties at microscales with liquid crystal droplets

Existing sensor probes for microelectrical devices can measure only their average electric properties, providing no information on their spatial distribution. Researchers from Ritsumeikan University, Japan, visualized the electric field and electrostatic energy distribution of microstructured electrodes by recording the motion of liquid crystal droplets under an applied voltage, making for high detection accuracy (5 μV/μm) and spatial resolution (10 μm). For more information, visit https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/news/detail/?id=796.