Offering tremendous potential for the manufacture of low cost, high efficiency silicon solar cells, researchers at MANA have developed a new method of silicon casting. Compared with conventional casting, the ‘single-seed cast method’ for producing high quality monocrystalline solar cells enabled dramatic improvements in the crystalline quality of the silicon that are expected to improve the efficiency of silicon solar cells.

Non-metallic mesoporous structures have already demonstrated potential for applications in gas storage, separation, catalysis, ion-exchange, sensing, polymerisation and drug delivery. Metal mesoporous films could have fascinating and useful optical properties as they are effectively the inverse of nanoparticle arrays.

Researchers at the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, Tsukuba have uncovered the underlying structures and the behaviour of currents on the surface of Si(111) which provide clues to its superconductivity. Superconductors have effectively zero resistance and act as perpetual carriers of electric current with no need for a connected power source, giving rise to many applications in electronics.

The mammalian brain continues to reign supreme in completing tasks based on both memory and environmental clues, even though computers have revolutionized information processing. This contrast in performance stems from the radically divergent physical structures and operating mechanisms of neuronal networks and digital circuits.  

A nanoparticle ink which can be used in room-temperature printing has been developed by MANA. Previously, nanoparticle inks could only be used in high-temperature printing because they were surrounded by non-conductive ligands and required annealing. Researchers have created a nanoparticle ink surrounded by planar aromatic molecules which, therefore, does not require annealing.