Bee-friendly protection for plants

New types of sensors could help to develop plant protection products that are safe for bees

17-Oct-2024 - The increasing global demand for plant-based foods makes the use of pesticides necessary in order to protect crops from pests and ensure crop yields. However, there is one major disadvantage: among others, the widespread use of pesticides has led to a considerable reduction in insect populations ...

Quantum sensor for the atomic world

Groundbreaking potential

26-Jul-2024 - In a scientific breakthrough, an international research team from Germany's Forschungszentrum Jülich and Korea's IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS) developed a quantum sensor capable of detecting minute magnetic fields at the atomic length scale. This pioneering work realizes a long-held ...

Paving the way to extremely fast, compact computer memory

24-Jul-2024 - For decades, scientists have been studying a group of unusual materials called multiferroics that could be useful for a range of applications including computer memory, chemical sensors and quantum computers. In a study published in Nature, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and ...

Better cameras with perovskite

30-May-2024 - Capturing three times more light: Empa and ETH researchers are developing an image sensor made of perovskite that could deliver true-color photos even in poor lighting conditions. Unlike conventional image sensors, where the pixels for red, green and blue lie next to each other in a grid, ...

Optical sensor enables 100 percent quality control of ultra-thin barrier layers

30-May-2024 - A new type of sensor makes it possible for the first time to test functional barrier layers on plastic products at production speed. The Film-Inspect testing system was developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM in cooperation with plasma system specialist ...

A Fraunhofer spin-off revolutionizes hydrogen leak detection

Next-generation hydrogen leak detection systems

16-May-2024 - Integrative Nanotech, a dynamic spin-off from the renowned Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, has joined forces with its parent institution to revolutionize hydrogen leak detection. This strategic partnership will significantly accelerate the development of ...

Laser printing on fallen tree leaves produces sensors for medical and laboratory use

Major advancement for the fabrication of next-generation electrochemical sensors

16-May-2024 - Fabrication of sensors by 3D printing combines speed, freedom of design, and the possibility of using waste as a substrate. Various results have been obtained in a circular economy mode, whereby residues usually thrown away are instead used as low-cost resources. A highly creative solution ...

Electron vortices in graphene detected

“Thanks to our extremely sensitive sensor and high spatial resolution, we didn’t even need to cool down the graphene...”

14-May-2024 - Researchers at ETH Zurich have, for the first time, made visible how electrons form vortices in a material at room temperature. Their experiment used a quantum sensing microscope with an extremely high resolution. When an ordinary electrical conductor – such as a metal wire – is connected to a ...

Barcodes expand range of high-resolution sensor

Optical barcodes for multimode sensing have potential applications in biomedical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, chemical sensing and more

01-May-2024 - The same geometric quirk that lets visitors murmur messages around the circular dome of the whispering gallery at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London or across St. Louis Union Station’s whispering arch also enables the construction of high-resolution optical sensors. Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) ...

Fraunhofer IPMS develops new multi-sensor system for water analysis

New standards in the assessment of water quality

22-Mar-2024 - With groundbreaking developments in the field of chemical sensor technology, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS is setting new standards in the assessment of water quality for humans and the environment. In addition to key parameters such as conductivity and pH, nutrients ...