69 results match your criteria: "Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering[Affiliation]"

The ability to train ever-larger neural networks brings artificial intelligence to the forefront of scientific and technical discoveries. However, their exponentially increasing size creates a proportionally greater demand for energy and computational hardware. Incorporating complex physical events in networks as fixed, efficient computation modules can address this demand by decreasing the complexity of trainable layers.

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Spin wave nonreciprocity is crucial for signal processing in magnonic circuits. Domain walls (DWs) have been suggested as channels for nonreciprocal spin waves (magnons) with directional-dependent properties. However, the experimental investigations are challenging due to the low-damping magnetic material with DWs demanded and the nanoscale length scales involved.

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Recent advances in the development of intra-cortical neural interfacing devices show the bright horizon of having access to brain-implantable microsystems with extremely high channel counts in the not-so-distant future. With the fabrication of high-density neural interfacing microelectrode arrays, the handling of the neural signals recorded from the brain is becoming the bottleneck in the realization of next generation wireless brain-implantable microsystems with thousands of parallel channels. Even though a spectrum of engineering efforts has been reported for this purpose at both system and circuit levels, it is now apparent that the most effective solution is to resolve this problem at the signal level.

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Short-wave magnons with multipole spin precession detected in the topological bands of a skyrmion lattice.

Commun Mater

July 2025

Laboratory of Nanoscale Magnetic Materials and Magnonics, Institute of Materials (IMX), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.

Topological magnon bands enable uni-directional edge transport without backscattering, enhancing the robustness of magnonic circuits and providing a novel platform for exploring quantum transport phenomena. Magnetic skyrmion lattices, in particular, host a manifold of topological magnon bands with multipole character and non-reciprocal dispersions. These modes have been explored already in the short and long wavelength limit, but previously employed techniques were unable to access intermediate wavelengths comparable to inter-skyrmion distances.

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Single-atom catalysts (SACs) present a promising subclass of classic heterogeneous catalysts by maximizing metal dispersion and enhancing efficiency. Although high-density SACs (HD-SACs) are reported, their synthesis is typically constrained to specific metal-support combinations and high-temperature annealing, limiting their translation to wider applications. Herein, a universal bottom-up approach for the preparation of mono- and bimetallic HD-SACs based on the polycondensation of 1,2,4,5-benzenetetramine with a wide range of metal monomers containing 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione ligands is introduced.

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Antiferromagnetic spin textures, compared to their ferromagnetic counterparts, innately possess high stability with respect to external disturbance and high-frequency dynamics compatible with ultrafast information processing. However, deterministic creation and reconfigurable switching of different antiferromagnetic spin textures have not been realized. Here, we demonstrate room-temperature deterministic switching between three antiferromagnetic textures identified by characteristically different high frequency dynamics in single-crystal hematite (α-Fe2O3).

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Valorizing CO into chemical building blocks via efficient electrified processes could significantly decrease carbon emissions. In this work, a device that allows generation of tunable micro-plasma modes (arc, pulsed, pulsed arc) on a chip for efficient, low-power and renewable chemical production is presented. This concept is first demonstrated by using nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) micro-plasma for pure CO splitting and show that the pulse micro-plasma maintains a peak energy efficiency of 29% across 0.

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Introduction: This study assessed the bone cuts accuracy of a robotic-assisted system for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) that was recently upgraded.

Materials And Methods: Three orthopaedic surgeons planned and executed TKA on 24 sawbones. Bone cut accuracy was assessed using CT scans, comparing the planning and the actual bone cuts in all six degrees-of-freedom.

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Suppression of Stacking Faults for Stable Formamidinium-Rich Perovskite Absorbers.

Adv Mater

July 2025

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering (IEM), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-lab), Rue de la Maladière 71b, Neuchâtel, 2000, Switzerland.

The poor intrinsic perovskite absorber stability is arguably a central limitation challenging the prospect of commercialization for photovoltaic (PV) applications. Understanding the nanoscopic structural features that trigger instabilities in perovskite materials is essential to mitigate device degradation. Using nanostructure characterization techniques, we observe the local degradation to be initiated by material loss at stacking faults, forming inherently in the (011)-faceted perovskite domains in different formamidinium lead triiodide perovskite compositions.

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Optimizing photon capture: advancements in amorphous silicon-based microchannel plates.

Commun Eng

April 2025

Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-Lab), Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Microchannel plates are electron multipliers widely used in applications such as particle detection, imaging, or mass spectrometry and are often paired with a photocathode to enable photon detection. Conventional microchannel plates, made of glass fibers, face limitations in manufacturing flexibility and integration with electronic readouts. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon-based microchannel plates offer a compelling alternative and provide unique advantages in these areas.

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Beyond Flat: Undulated Perovskite Solar Cells on Microscale Si Pyramids by Solution Processing.

ACS Energy Lett

March 2025

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering (IEM), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV-lab), Rue de la Maladière 71b, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Microscale pyramids of silicon solar cells are often considered incompatible with solution-processed perovskite films. Thus, solution processing has mainly been used with submicron pyramids that are buried under thick perovskite films with flattened front surfaces. Yet, while this modification simplifies the fabrication process, it compromises optical performance compared to conformal perovskite films (e.

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Optical amplification, crucial for modern communication, primarily relies on erbium-doped fibre amplifiers (EDFAs). Yet, EDFAs only cover a portion of the low-loss spectrum of optical fibres. This has motivated the development of amplifiers operating beyond the erbium gain window.

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Role of the oxide in memristive quasi-1D silicon nanowires.

Nanoscale

April 2025

Bio/CMOS Interfaces Lab, Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering, Engineering Faculty, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Rue de la Maladiere 71b, Neuchatel, 2000, Switzerland.

Memristors are garnering significant attention due to their high similarity to biological neurons and synapses, alongside their unique physical mechanisms. Biosensors exhibiting memristive behaviour have demonstrated substantial efficacy in detecting therapeutic and biological compounds in the past decade. This report investigates silicon nanowire (SiNW)-based devices incorporating Schottky barriers, which exhibit potential for memristive behaviour.

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The chlorophyll content in water bodies is one of the most important indicator parameters in water quality assessment, red tide warning, carbon cycling, and ecosystem research. Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIFS) offers considerable potential for in situ online monitoring of chlorophyll in natural waters. Due to the influence of turbidity, temperature, and suspended algal particles, in situ accurate monitoring of chlorophyll in natural water bodies faces enormous challenges, especially the random movement of suspended algal particles, which often causes the fluctuation amplitude of LIFS signals to be greater than the effective signal, leading to substantial measurement errors.

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The integrated frequency comb generator based on Kerr parametric oscillation has led to chip-scale, gigahertz-spaced combs with new applications spanning hyperscale telecommunications, low-noise microwave synthesis, light detection and ranging, and astrophysical spectrometer calibration. Recent progress in lithium niobate (LiNbO) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) has resulted in chip-scale, electro-optic (EO) frequency combs, offering precise comb-line positioning and simple operation without relying on the formation of dissipative Kerr solitons. However, current integrated EO combs face limited spectral coverage due to the large microwave power required to drive the non-resonant capacitive electrodes and the strong intrinsic birefringence of LiNbO.

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Metal halide perovskites have shown exceptional potential in converting solar energy to electric power in photovoltaics, yet their application is hampered by limited operational stability. This stimulated the development of hybrid layered (two-dimensional, 2D) halide perovskites based on hydrophobic organic spacers, templating perovskite slabs, as a more stable alternative. However, conventional organic spacer cations are electronically insulating, resulting in charge confinement within the inorganic slabs, thus limiting their functionality.

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Current trends in artificial intelligence toward larger models demand a rethinking of both hardware and algorithms. Photonics-based systems offer high-speed, energy-efficient computing units, provided algorithms are designed to exploit photonics' unique strengths. The recent implementation of cellular automata in photonics demonstrates how a few local interactions can achieve high throughput and precision.

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A phase transition in diffusion models reveals the hierarchical nature of data.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

January 2025

Institute of Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015, Switzerland.

Understanding the structure of real data is paramount in advancing modern deep-learning methodologies. Natural data such as images are believed to be composed of features organized in a hierarchical and combinatorial manner, which neural networks capture during learning. Recent advancements show that diffusion models can generate high-quality images, hinting at their ability to capture this underlying compositional structure.

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Optimizing mechanical adhesion to specific human tissue types is a field of research that has gained increasing attention over the past two decades due to its utility for diagnostics, therapeutics, and surgical device design. This is especially relevent for medical devices, which could benefit from the presence of attachment mechanisms in order to better target-specific regions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract or other soft tissues for sensing, sample collection, and drug release. In this work, and inspired by the tissue anchoring adaptations found in diverse parasitic taxa, we present a design and manufacturing platform for the production of a nonintuitive bioinspired millimeter-scale articulated attachment mechanism using laminate fabrication techniques.

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Collective phenomena arise from interactions within complex systems, leading to behaviors absent in individual components. Observing quantum collective phenomena with macroscopic mechanical oscillators has been impeded by the stringent requirement that oscillators be identical. We demonstrate the quantum regime for collective motion of = 6 mechanical oscillators, a hexamer, in a superconducting circuit optomechanical platform.

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The stereoregularity of a polymer plays a key role in determining its properties. While stereocontrol can easily be achieved in coordination and ionic polymerization, it remains a challenge with radical polymerization. Considering the ubiquity and versatility of radical polymerization, significant efforts have been made over the past 50 years to address this issue.

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Halide-perovskite semiconductors have a high potential for use in single-junction and tandem solar cells. Despite their unprecedented rise in power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) for photovoltaic (PV) applications, it remains unclear whether perovskite solar modules can reach a sufficient operational lifetime. In order to make perovskite solar cells (PSCs) commercially viable, a fundamental understanding of the relationship between their nanostructure, optoelectronic properties, device efficiency, and long-term operational stability/reliability needs to be established.

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The transition from planar to three-dimensional (3D) magnetic nanostructures represents a significant advancement in both fundamental research and practical applications, offering vast potential for next-generation technologies like ultrahigh-density storage, memory, logic, and neuromorphic computing. Despite being a relatively new field, the emergence of 3D nanomagnetism presents numerous opportunities for innovation, prompting the creation of a comprehensive roadmap by leading international researchers. This roadmap aims to facilitate collaboration and interdisciplinary dialogue to address challenges in materials science, physics, engineering, and computing.

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Whether illumination influences the ion conductivity in lead-halide perovskite solar cells containing iodide halides has been an ongoing debate. Experiments to elucidate the presence of a photoconductive effect require special devices or measurement techniques and neglect possible influences of the enhanced electronic charge concentrations. Here, we assess the electronic-ionic charge transport using drift-diffusion simulations and show that the well-known increase in capacitance at low frequencies under illumination is caused by electronic currents that are amplified due to the screening of the alternating electric field by the ions.

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