Marco Moller de Freitas, Xiaofeng Zhu, Md Saheed Ullah, Shouyuan Shi, Peng Yao, Garrett Schneider, Dennis W Prather
{"title":"Monolithically integrated ultra-wideband photonic receiver on thin film lithium niobate.","authors":"Marco Moller de Freitas, Xiaofeng Zhu, Md Saheed Ullah, Shouyuan Shi, Peng Yao, Garrett Schneider, Dennis W Prather","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00393-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00393-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As the demand for data capacity in wireless networks and mobile communications continues to grow, they are moving toward higher carrier frequencies and wider modulation bandwidths. Unfortunately, electronic device performance degrades in association with increased frequency and modulation bandwidths, which inhibits the application of conventional microwave architectures, particularly in the millimeter wave and terahertz regimes. Alternatively, microwave photonic systems address these challenges by offering device and system performance with exceptionally higher operational bandwidths. The challenge, however, is the ability to monolithically integrate both electronic and photonic devices into functional components that provide ultra-wideband performance up into the millimeter wave and terahertz regions. In particular, such integration remains a major technical challenge due to the high dielectric permittivity of commonly used material platforms for photonic integrated circuits, such as silicon, indium phosphide, and lithium niobate. In this paper, we present a photonic receiver consisting of a broadband antenna and a low-drive-voltage modulator monolithically integrated on thin-film lithium niobate with a quartz handle. A free-space data link is demonstrated, achieving data rates up to 2.7 Gbps using quadrature amplitude modulation, with error vector magnitude as low as 3%. This work demonstrates the potential of thin-film lithium niobate for high-frequency, monolithically integrated radiofrequency and photonic devices to enable ultra-wideband millimeter wave-to-terahertz communication systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"55"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11928564/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143677449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yuhe Zhang, Zisheng Yao, Robert Klöfkorn, Tobias Ritschel, Pablo Villanueva-Perez
{"title":"4D-ONIX for reconstructing 3D movies from sparse X-ray projections via deep learning.","authors":"Yuhe Zhang, Zisheng Yao, Robert Klöfkorn, Tobias Ritschel, Pablo Villanueva-Perez","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00390-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00390-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The X-ray flux from X-ray free-electron lasers and storage rings enables new spatiotemporal opportunities for studying in-situ and operando dynamics, even with single pulses. X-ray multi-projection imaging is a technique that provides volumetric information using single pulses while avoiding the centrifugal forces induced by conventional time-resolved 3D methods like time-resolved tomography, and can acquire 3D movies (4D) at least three orders of magnitude faster than existing techniques. However, reconstructing 4D information from highly sparse projections remains a challenge for current algorithms. Here we present 4D-ONIX, a deep-learning-based approach that reconstructs 3D movies from an extremely limited number of projections. It combines the computational physical model of X-ray interaction with matter and state-of-the-art deep learning methods. We demonstrate its ability to reconstruct high-quality 4D by generalizing over multiple experiments with only two to three projections per timestamp on simulations of water droplet collisions and experimental data of additive manufacturing. Our results demonstrate 4D-ONIX as an enabling tool for 4D analysis, offering high-quality image reconstruction for fast dynamics three orders of magnitude faster than tomography.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"54"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11928503/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143677448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ningzhi Xie, Zhihao Zhou, Johannes E Fröch, Matthew D Carson, Arka Majumdar, Eric J Seibel, Karl F Böhringer
{"title":"Inverse-designed large field-of-view polychromatic metalens for tri-color scanning fiber endoscopy.","authors":"Ningzhi Xie, Zhihao Zhou, Johannes E Fröch, Matthew D Carson, Arka Majumdar, Eric J Seibel, Karl F Böhringer","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00377-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00377-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Metalenses, with their ultrathin thicknesses and their ease for achieving ultra small diameters, offer a promising alternative to refractive lenses in miniaturized imaging systems, such as endoscopes, potentially enabling applications in tightly confined spaces. However, traditional metalenses suffer from strong chromatic aberrations, limiting their utility in multi-color imaging. To address this limitation, here we present an inverse-designed polychromatic metalens with a diameter of 680 μm, focal length of 400 μm, and low dispersion across 3 distinct wavelengths at 643 nm, 532 nm, and 444 nm. The metalens collimates and steers light emitted from a scanning fiber tip, generating scanning beams across a 70° field-of-view to provide illumination for a scan-based imaging. The metalens provides a close-to-diffraction-limited 0.5° angular resolution, only restricted by the effective aperture of the system. The average relative efficiency among three design wavelengths is around 32% for on-axis angle and 13% averaged across the entire field-of-view. This work holds promise for the application of metalenses in endoscopes and other miniaturized imaging systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"53"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11923133/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143665456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Simon Schlehuber, Moritz Gutsch, Niklas Kronemeyer, Florian Frieden, Stephan von Delft
{"title":"Assessment of environmental impacts and costs for hydrogen-powered cargo shipping in Europe.","authors":"Simon Schlehuber, Moritz Gutsch, Niklas Kronemeyer, Florian Frieden, Stephan von Delft","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00388-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00388-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The transportation of goods contributes considerably to global greenhouse gas emissions, underscoring the urgency of sustainable transport solutions. A promising yet underexplored solution is the introduction of small autonomous-driving hydrogen-powered boats (AHB) that can substitute long-haul trucking. Here we address this gap by modelling an AHB and then performing a life cycle assessment, coupled with a total cost of ownership analysis, across various scenarios. AHBs powered by green hydrogen are expected to emit 0.46 kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq km<sup>-1</sup> and cost 0.82 € km<sup>-1</sup> on average. In contrast, AHBs powered by gray hydrogen are characterized by average emissions of 1.12 kg CO<sub>2</sub> eq km<sup>-1</sup> and costs of 0.42 € km<sup>-1</sup>. Furthermore, costs of the modelled AHB are compared to those of semi-trucks powered by different fuels to gauge the AHB's real world applicability. The results show that an AHB could be the cost-optimal solution for non-time sensitive transportation of goods exceeding distances of 624 km.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"50"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11914104/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143652270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xingguo Huang, Wenqing Shang, Li Han, Stewart Greenhalgh, Jun Lin
{"title":"Emitting and controlling ultra-low frequency underwater acoustic waves using a marine vibration system with time interfacing.","authors":"Xingguo Huang, Wenqing Shang, Li Han, Stewart Greenhalgh, Jun Lin","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00389-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00389-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The control and manipulation of waves in optical and/or acoustic science and engineering are widespread. Recently, despite reported studies on high frequency acoustic waves via time modulated media, none of these approaches has demonstrated success with broadband frequency exceeding that of the mechanical system, and all of them were not able to emit ultralow frequency waves. There are both fundamental and practical issues. Achieving ultra-low frequency underwater acoustic wave control via time interfaces remains a major challenge for integrated underwater acoustic devices. Here, we explore the design of a marine vibrator source system based on hydraulic-acoustic energy conversion. The system consists of a hydraulic servo system kept aboard a boat on one side while the other side comprises an underwater vibrator transducer. The transfer of wave energy is a fundamental mechanism for emitting acoustic waves, yet the rules of conventional reaction-mass force intrinsically limit the vibrator force based on the displacement and the acceleration of the reaction mass. We show that this intrinsic limit can be broken for acoustic waves, where the acoustics become controllable by the arrangement of the vibrator system. The marine vibrator acoustic waves open new frontiers in acoustic control and enables diverse focusing and imaging.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"51"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11914618/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143652277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sabrina C Shen, Branden Spitzer, Damian Stefaniuk, Shengfei Zhou, Admir Masic, Markus J Buehler
{"title":"Sewage sludge hydrochar characterization and valorization via hydrothermal processing for 3D printing.","authors":"Sabrina C Shen, Branden Spitzer, Damian Stefaniuk, Shengfei Zhou, Admir Masic, Markus J Buehler","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00387-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00387-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sewage sludge, a biosolid product of wastewater processing, is an often-overlooked source of rich organic waste. Hydrothermal processing has shown promise in converting sewage sludge into valorized materials with potential application in biofuels, asphalt binders, and bioplastics. Here we characterize the physicochemical properties of hydrochar, the carbonaceous solid phase product of hydrothermal processing, and investigate its use as bio-based filler in additive manufacturing. We find that the presence of metallic and metalloid dopants in sewage sludge, which are not typically found in biomass wastes, yields unusual results in organic material processing such as decreased graphitic ordering after thermal activation. We further find that addition of hydrochar generally decreases mechanical performance of additive manufacturing composites, however, some properties such as toughness can be recovered with nature-inspired architecting into gyroid microstructures. These findings demonstrate that more investigation is required to optimally valorize sewage sludge and similarly disordered waste streams.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"52"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11914255/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143652286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohammad Samizadeh Nikoo, Chenhao Chu, Boce Lin, Yuqi Liu, Youngin Kim, Hua Wang
{"title":"Active and integrated electronic metadevices for future telecommunication circuits.","authors":"Mohammad Samizadeh Nikoo, Chenhao Chu, Boce Lin, Yuqi Liu, Youngin Kim, Hua Wang","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00374-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00374-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The rise of data-driven demands calls for terahertz-capable circuits, however, semiconductor devices still face performance limitations above 100 GHz, posing a challenge for wireless networks. Electronic metadevice is a concept inspired by optical metamaterials, which was first demonstrated in the form of switches that could challenge the limitations of traditional semiconductor devices. Here we unveil critical aspects of this technology and demonstrate three-terminal active metadevices, which show promise for the next generation of telecommunication circuits. We show near-ideal linear and nonlinear operation of electronic metadevices, approaching the material limits, and by monolithic integration of electronic metadevices, we demonstrate picosecond terahertz switches with low insertion loss and high isolation. We finally present three-terminal metadevices offering parametric amplification and active mixing, which show ultrawideband operation, supporting data-rates exceeding 40 Gbps. Our work provides a solution for future ultrafast electronics with applications in 6 G telecommunications, enabling the development of new functional devices based on the electronic metadevice concept.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"49"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11914249/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143652264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yashwant S Yogi, Harsharaj B Parmar, Hamid Fattahi Juybari, Sina Nejati, Akshay K Rao, Rishav Roy, Mojtaba Zarei, Longnan Li, Soumyadip Sett, Abhimanyu Das, Nenad Miljkovic, Justin A Weibel, David M Warsinger
{"title":"Slippery liquid infused porous surface (SLIPS) condensers for high efficiency air gap membrane distillation.","authors":"Yashwant S Yogi, Harsharaj B Parmar, Hamid Fattahi Juybari, Sina Nejati, Akshay K Rao, Rishav Roy, Mojtaba Zarei, Longnan Li, Soumyadip Sett, Abhimanyu Das, Nenad Miljkovic, Justin A Weibel, David M Warsinger","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00348-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00348-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To address growing water scarcity, we must improve the energy efficiency of thermal desalination technologies such as air gap membrane distillation. However, promising functional materials such as slippery liquid infused porous surfaces have not yet implemented for any desalination technology. Here, we fabricate and test slippery liquid infused porous surfaces (using Krytox 16,256 lubricant and CuO nanostructures) in an air gap membrane distillation apparatus. System-level transport models, validated by experimental data, establish a framework for improving performance through enhanced condensation surfaces. Results are obtained across a range of temperatures (50-80 °C), salinities (5-105 g/kg), and module lengths. We find that small air gap thickness and efficient droplet shedding significantly improves performance. The CuO Krytox process achieves these with a conductive-self-limiting coating, high nanostructure rugosity, strong covalent and metallic bonding, high hydrophobicity, minimal droplet pinning sites, and ultra-low contact angle hysteresis. The greatest efficiency enhancement from SLIPS is derived from the improved droplet shedding, which allows for reduced gap sizes without flooding, and is further augmented by the increased permeate flux.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"48"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11910583/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143635007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muhammad Tayyab, Neeru Gandotra, Jianye Sui, Curt Scharfe, Mehdi Javanmard
{"title":"Allele-specific electrical genotyping for diagnosis of transthyretin amyloidosis.","authors":"Muhammad Tayyab, Neeru Gandotra, Jianye Sui, Curt Scharfe, Mehdi Javanmard","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00385-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00385-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Clinical genetic testing often takes days to weeks, but rapid, affordable tests during outpatient visits could significantly benefit patients. This is crucial for detecting common, actionable point mutations, such as those linked to hereditary transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis, which is often underdiagnosed in individuals of West African ancestry with congestive heart failure. Here we developed a method for detecting known DNA variants using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (ASPCR) and electrical impedance. Oligonucleotide primers were designed to selectively amplify the ancestral and variant allele of TTR c.424G>A (p.Val142Ile). PCR products were detected in solution using passive-flow microfluidic impedance cytometry across multiple excitation frequencies. Impedance responses correlated with DNA concentration, allowing for the calculation of a robust DNA quantification score. TTR V142I genotypes from six patients (four heterozygous, two wildtype) matched results from gel electrophoresis and sequencing. Future improvements will focus on reducing DNA input requirements and enabling multiplex variant detection.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"47"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11906782/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143627056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ellen Bold, Sebastian Zimmermann, Clarissa Schönecker, Egbert Oesterschulze
{"title":"Partially substrateless microchannels for direct monitoring of interfacial dynamics in hydrophobic surfaces.","authors":"Ellen Bold, Sebastian Zimmermann, Clarissa Schönecker, Egbert Oesterschulze","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00386-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44172-025-00386-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Superhydrophobic and liquid-infused surfaces are the most prominent techniques to achieve drag reduction in microchannels. However, they have specific drawbacks such as costly fabrication of complex and mechanically sensitive surfaces, surfaces susceptible to lubricant abrasion or involve hazardous chemicals. We present a partially substrateless microchannel whose upper wall features a large no-shear air/water meniscus at atmospheric pressure. On this wall, a self-assembled monolayer of hydrophobic alkyl silane was bonded covalently. Flow experiments reveal a drag reduction of up to 25% although only 4% of the wall fulfils the no-shear condition. These experiments demonstrated long-term stability and self-healing properties. Furthermore, White Light Interferometry (WLI) was used for direct monitoring of interfacial dynamics. By optical investigation of the full meniscus topography the contact-free evaluation of the spatially resolved static pressure distribution was possible. Conducted numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental findings and illustrate the drag reduction mechanism.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"46"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11906875/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143627060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}