Scientists from ITMO University have developed and applied a new method for analyzing the electromagnetic field inside ion traps. For the first time, they explained the field deviations inside nonlinear radio-frequency traps. This allows to reconsider the prospects nonlinear traps applications, including ion cooling and studies of quantum phenomena. The results are published in the…
Special Nanocontainers Control Bacterial Metabolism
Researchers from ITMO University developed special nanocontainers that can translate the light signal into metabolic changes in bacteria. The containers consist of titanium dioxide nanoparticles coated with silver and polymers. Once the particles are heated with laser irradiation, the polymer conformation changes and the container opens, releasing the contents. Scientists tested the new system’s performance…
Scientists Developed Enzymes With Remote Control
Scientists developed a method to enhance the activity of enzymes by using radio frequency radiation. The method requires making a special complex consisting of enzymes and magnetic nanoparticles. The particles can adsorb radio emission and convert it to heat, resulting in enzymatic processes acceleration by more than four times. Such method can be used to…
Inkjet Printers Can Produce Cheap Micro-Waveguides For Optical Computers
Scientists from ITMO University have proposed a new technology for creating optical micro-waveguides using inkjet printing. Using this method it is possible to quickly create waveguides with the necessary parameters without expensive equipment and complex procedures. The new technology is optimized for the production of optical elements on an industrial scale. The results are published…
High-precision Laser Measures Earth-to-Moon Distance
Scientists from ITMO University developed a laser for precise measurement of the distance between the moon and Earth. The short pulse duration and high power of this laser help to reduce errors in determining the distance to the moon to just a few millimeters. This data can be used to specify the coordinates of artificial…
Researchers Use Silicon Nanoparticles for Enhancing Solar Cells Efficiency
An international research group improved perovskite solar cells efficiency by using materials with better light absorption properties. For the first time, researchers used silicon nanoparticles. Such nanoparticles can trap light of a broad range of wavelengths near the cell active layer. The particles themselves don’t absorb light and don’t interact with other elements of the…
Study of Great Pyramid Could Lead to Better Sensors
An international research group applied methods of theoretical physics to study the electromagnetic response of the Great Pyramid to radio waves. Scientists found out that under resonance conditions the pyramid can concentrate electromagnetic energy both in its internal chambers and the area located under its base. The research group plans to apply these findings to…
Nanodiamond Turns into Controllable Light Source
A research group from ITMO University first time in the world developed a controlled light source based on nanodiamond. Experiments have shown that diamond shell doubles the emission speed light sources and helps to control them without any additional nano- and microstructures. This was achieved due to artificially created defects in a diamond crystal lattice.…
Want to Catch Bacteria? Get the Hook
An international team of physicists has discovered a new type of curved light beams, dubbed a “photonic hook.” Photonic hooks are unique, as their radius of curvature is two times smaller than their wavelength. This is the first time that such a small curvature radius of electromagnetic waves has been recorded. A photonic hook can…
Mining Hardware Offers a Peek into Silicon Nanoparticles
Researchers from ITMO University and their international colleagues have developed the first three-dimensional dynamic model of an interaction between light and silicon nanoparticles. They used a supercomputer with graphic accelerators for the calculations. Results showed that when exposed to short, intense laser pulses, silicon particles temporarily lose their symmetry and their optical properties become strongly…
Mining Hardware Helps Scientists Gain Insight into Silicon Nanoparticles
Nanoparticle Technology Stops Internal Bleeding 15 Times Faster
Scientists from ITMO University have developed magnetically-driven nanoparticles containing thrombin. A drug based on these nanoparticles can be injected intravenously and delivered straight to the site of a vascular injury to stop internal bleeding. It can accelerate local clot formation and reduce overall blood loss by up to 15 times. The nanoparticles are not toxic…
Researchers Invent Light-Emitting Nanoantennas
Nanoscale light sources and nanoantennas already found a wide range of applications in several areas, such as ultra compact pixels, optical detection or telecommunications. However, the fabrication of nanostructure-based devices is rather complicated since the materials typically used have a limited luminescence efficiency. What is more, single quantum dots or molecules usually emit light non-directionally…
Glass Microparticles Create Better Solar Cell Efficiency
Scientists from ITMO University have developed a new solar cell coating based on amorphous silicon that combines the features of an electrode and those of a light-trapping structure. The coating enabled researchers to cut down on reflected light and avoid the overheating of solar cells, thus increasing their overall efficiency by 20 percent. Moreover, the…
Metagenomic Analysis Software Reveals New Causes of Superbug Emergence
Biocompatible Photonic Crystal Expand Their Use From Optics to Medicine
Researchers at ITMO University developed a new approach for obtaining non-toxic magnetic photonic crystals, expanding their applications from mainly photonics to biomedicine. Nanospheres made with the new method may be used for designing drugs to fight thrombosis and cancer. The results of the research were published in Scientific Reports. A magnetic photonic crystal (MPC) is…
Nanoparticle Ink Produces Glowing Holograms With Simple Inkjet Printer
Nanoparticle Ink Produces Glowing Holograms with Simple Inkjet Printer
New Femto-Camera With Quadrillion Fractions of a Second Resolution
Researchers from ITMO University have built a setup for recording holograms of tiny objects like living cells with a femtosecond speed. The new method allows one to reconstruct phase topography of a studied sample according to deformations that emerge in a laser pulse when it passes through the specimen. In comparison to electron microscopes, the device can…
Nanosized Silicon Heater and Thermometer Combined to Fight Cancer
Russian physicists from ITMO University have found out that spherical silicon nanoparticles can be effectively heated up, and simultaneously emit light depending on their temperature. According to the scientists, these properties coupled with a good biocompatibility will allow usage of the semiconductor nanoparticles in photothermal therapy and nanosurgery. The researchers plan to control the heating…
New Material Helps Record Data with Light
Russian physicists with their colleagues from Europe through changing the light parameters, learned to generate quasiparticles – excitons, which were fully controllable and also helped to record information at room temperature. These particles act as a transitional form between photons and electrons so the researchers believe that with excitons, they will be able to create…
Lasers Tally Microscopic Particles Without Microscope
Scientists from Russia and Australia have put forward a simple new way of counting microscopic particles in optical materials by means of a laser. A light beam passing through such a material splits and forms a characteristic pattern consisting of numerous bright spots on a projection screen. The researchers found that the number of these…
Personalized Medicine Will Employ Computer Algorithms
Scientists from ITMO University, the Federal Research and Clinical Centre of Physical-Chemical Medicine and MIPT have developed a software program enabling them to quickly compare sets of DNA of microorganisms living in different environments. The researchers have already suggested exactly how the new program could be applied in practice. Using the algorithm to compare the…
New Free Web Service for Deep Study of Cell Functions
A group of scientists from Russia, US, Canada and Germany has developed a simple and effective web service called GAM(Genes And Metabolites) to help researchers study complex biological processes in cells. The program identifies links between changes in metabolism and genes, enabling a better understanding of how, for example, cancer or immune system cells work. Metabolic…