As a candidate for the qubits — the basic units of quantum information — in quantum computers, photons have one major advantage over the electrons used in all current devices. Unlike electrons, photons, the smallest possible quantity of light, do not easily interact with their surroundings. So, unlike its electron-based counterpart, a photonic quantum device would not need to be cooled to nearly absolute zero to limit unwanted interactions. But such a device does not exist — yet.

A promising semiconductor material could be improved if flaws previously thought irrelevant to performance are reduced, according to research published today in Nature Communications.

A team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has developed a new microfluidics-assisted technique for developing high-performance macroscopic graphene fibers. Graphene fiber, a recently discovered member of the carbon fiber family, has potential applications in diverse technological areas, from energy storage, electronics and optics, electro-magnetics, thermal conductor and thermal management, to structural applications.

In a discovery that could pave the way for new materials and applications, materials scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that oscillating loads at certain frequencies can lead to several-fold increases in the strength of composites with an interface that is modified by a molecular layer of “nanoglue.”

Four researchers affiliated with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have been named in the 2018 Highly Cited Researchers list, which recognizes influential scientific researchers and their institutions across the globe.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ranks sixth nationally in its overall engineering program, according to rankings published by College Factual, a source of data analytics and insights on college outcomes.

The use of pressure to alter semiconductor properties is showing increasing promise in applications such as high-performance infrared sensors and energy conversion devices.

Experimental results from the XENON1T dark matter detector limit the effective size of dark matter particles to 4.1X10-47 square centimeters—one-trillionth of one-trillionth of a centimeter squared—the most stringent limit yet determined for dark matter as established by the world’s most sensitive detector.

A major byproduct in the papermaking industry is lignosulfonate, a sulfonated carbon waste material, which is typically combusted on site, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere after sulfur has been captured for reuse. Now researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a method to use this cheap and abundant paper biomass to build a rechargeable lithium-sulfur battery. Such a battery could be used to power big data centers as well as provide a cheaper energy-storage option for microgrids and the traditional electric grid.