research News

New research suggests that materials commonly overlooked in computer chip design actually play an important role in information processing, a discovery which could lead to faster and more efficient electronics. Using advanced imaging techniques, an international team led by Penn State researchers found that the material that a semiconductor chip device is built on, called the substrate, responds to changes in electricity much like the semiconductor on top of it. 

Known for its ability to withstand extreme environments and high voltages, silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconducting material made up of silicon and carbon atoms arranged into crystals that is increasingly becoming essential to modern technologies like electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, telecommunications infrastructure and microelectronics.  

The scientific community has long been enamored of the potential for soft bioelectronic devices, but has faced hurdles in identifying materials that are biocompatible and have all of the necessary characteristics to operate effectively. Researchers have now taken a step in the right direction, modifying an existing biocompatible material so that it conducts electricity efficiently in wet environments and can send and receive ionic signals from biological media.

Silicon has long reigned as the material of choice for the microchips that power everything in the digital age, from AI to military drones — so much so that “silicon” is almost a synonym for tech itself.

Moore's Law, a fundamental scaling principle for electronic devices, forecasts that the number of transistors on a chip will double every two years, ensuring more computing power — but a limit exists.

If you have a deep-seated, nagging worry over dropping your phone in molten lava, you’re in luck.

A research team led by materials scientists at Duke University has developed a method for rapidly discovering a new class of materials with heat and electronic tolerances so rugged that they that could enable devices to function at lava-like temperatures above several thousands of degrees Fahrenheit.

Penn State has been selected by the Department of Defense (DoD) as a partner for two of the four newly created DoD research centers of excellence. The DoD awarded a total of $40 million to establish the four centers at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Minority-serving Institutions (MI), which will conduct research over a five-year period in technology areas deemed critical by the DoD. 

Penn State’s total research expenditures reached a record high of $1.239 billion in fiscal year 2022-23, a 14%* increase from the previous year and driven by a $98 million jump in federal funding for research — by far the largest in the University’s history. This funding enables Penn State faculty, staff and students to conduct cutting-edge research and drive innovation that positively impact people’s lives, both locally and around the globe. 

More than half of the estimated 374 million new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in 2020 were either chlamydia or gonorrhea, which are often asymptomatic and co-occurring, according to the World Health Organization. Despite the prevalence, neither disease currently has a clinically available rapid test, but that could change thanks to a Penn State-led research team.

Quantum materials include superconductors, where pairs of electrons move together; magnets, where the spin of one electron influences the spin of its neighbor; topological materials, where the electrons on the surfaces of the materials have exotic properties; and quantum-confined materials, where the electron properties are determined by the size of the material.