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Hichem Guerboukha and colleagues describe a conformal (or curved) leaky waveguide in the THz range for antenna applications in wireless communications. The authors describe rich wave behavior at THz frequencies. They also experimentally show application potential for their antennas as multi-beam high-gain transmitters of wireless links with low bit error rates.
Nguyen and colleagues report a microfluidic platform with a ladder shaped design which identifies bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics in less than 5 h. The device could assist physicians and veterinarians to make more targeted and rapid prescriptions for antibiotic infections.
Coal fly ash (CFA) is an attractive cement diluent additive but contains heavy metals which could slowly leach out. Deng, Meng and colleagues report a rapid and water-free process to remove the heavy metals from CFA using flash joule heating. This approach reduces the energy consumption for CFA purification as well as other industrial wastes decontamination.
Data-Driven Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm for Power Systems Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithms can enhance the monitoring, operation, and control of Distributed Energy Resources. Li and coworkers reduce the computational effort required for training these algorithms by efficiently obtaining algorithm parameters.
Zhang and colleagues report an orbital angular momentum detection device for vortex microwave photons. Specifically, the device is able to distinguish the intrinsic orbital angular momentum mode of the vortex microwave photons with the diffraction pattern of the coupled vortex electrons at room temperature, occupying a much smaller area compared to a particle accelerator system. The device enables application of microwave photons in practical scenarios.
Numerical tools for flood forecasting and for designing coastal protection schemes require accurate real world data on speed and volume of overtopping waves on sea walls. Margaret Yelland and colleagues here describe the validation and field deployment of arrays of capacitance sensors, termed Wirewall, as a tool for acquisition of detailed data of coastal overtopping.
Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity is an important indicator to determine drug induced liver injury. However, its measurement is limited to centralized laboratories. Muratore, Zhou, and colleagues designed an ALT assay biosensor platform using silicon nanowire field effect transistor arrays. The biosensor could monitor ALT enzyme activity electrically, with comparable precision to spectrophotometric detection. This biosensor platform will enable routine liver function monitoring in settings both inside and outside of the clinic.
Mingshan Liu and colleagues fabricate p- and n-channel vertical-type GeSn nanowire MOSFETs and their CMOS components down to 25 nm. The mobility in n-FETs increased 2.5-fold compared to a Ge reference device, a step toward extending Moore’s law beyond the silicon era.
Cement-based construction 3D printing (C3DP) has the potential to be a climate solution by promoting cement decarbonization. Here we propose five policy actions that can guide C3DP toward becoming an emission abating tool.
Li et al. achieve polarization-independent wavelength demultiplexing with a single device, measuring polarizationdependent losses of 0.5–1.8 dB, minimum insertion loss of 0.5 dB, and crosstalks under −30 dB for an etched diffraction grating.
Maximilian Feil and colleagues report an optical method to characterize interface defects for wide-bandgap transistors. The approach will help to optimize passivation techniques and push the performance of transistors to their theoretical limit.
Over-reliance on automation in transportation systems is known to cause accidents. To address this, here, Tomohiro Nakade and colleagues describe a collaborative strategy for autonomous steering, in which the driver can take over from the automation without its full deactivation.
Shimahara and colleagues report a simulator based on an iterative deep neural network for identifying optimal conditions for ultrashort pulse laser drilling in dielectrics. The approach enabled a search across vast parameter space and the discovery of 20% more energy-efficient processing parameters than any of the experimental data on which the simulator was trained.
