Applied physics reviews最新文献

{"title":"Spin orbit torque magnetic tunneling junction for noise-tolerant and resource-saving probabilistic binary neural network","authors":"Puyang Huang,Yu Gu,Chenyi Fu,Tianhao Chen,Yining Zhao,Shan Yao,Jiaqi Lu,Hongchao Zhang,Shiyang Lu,Yumeng Yang,Tianxiao Nie,Shouzhong Peng,Weisheng Zhao,Kang L. Wang,Xufeng Kou","doi":"10.1063/5.0326491","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0326491","url":null,"abstract":"The deployment of large-scale 32-bit neural networks is hindered by the escalating parameter sizes and inherent susceptibility to noise. Here, we present a nonvolatile memory (NVM)-based probabilistic computing architecture, which harnesses both the stochastic nature and in-memory computing capabilities of NVM to enhance computation efficiency and robustness. Utilizing in-plane magnetized spin–orbit torque magneto-resistive random-access memory (i-SOT) cells, we demonstrate ultra-fast (400 ps) all-electrical switching, 1011 data endurance, and voltage-controllable probabilistic states with a low variation of 3.8%. These features enable the implementation of an on-chip SOT probabilistic binary neural network (SOT-PBNN) hardware, achieving near-baseline accuracy (88.2%) on CIFAR-10 classification tasks. Moreover, the stochastic training process endows the SOT-PBNN to attain a sevenfold improvement in classification accuracy over its 32-bit convolutional neural network counterpart under 25% write/read noise, while reducing the parameter size and inference energy by 1–2 orders. Our work establishes a lightweight framework suitable for realizing artificial intelligence platforms on resource-constrained edge devices.","PeriodicalId":8200,"journal":{"name":"Applied physics reviews","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148894419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Quantifying the free energy landscapes of biomolecular condensation reveals the underlying physical mechanisms of phase separation","authors":"Wen-Ting Chu,Jin Wang","doi":"10.1063/5.0322746","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0322746","url":null,"abstract":"Protein condensation, driven by phase separation in living cells, gives rise to the emergence of membraneless assemblies. This physiological behavior is sensitive to the temperature, pressure, concentration, and protein composition, governed by physical laws behind phase transition. Aberrant phase transitions can lead to irreversible pathological aggregates linked to aging and plenty of human diseases. Despite its significance, the intricate degrees of freedom, especially near critical transition temperature, have long hindered efforts to elucidate the underlying physical mechanisms. We reveal the underlying global and physical process of biomolecular condensation by establishing coarse-grained models and performing extensive thermodynamic calculations. Our results demonstrate that condensation proceeds via the formation of condensed droplets below the critical temperature, followed by droplet maturation accompanied by the emergence of multiple droplets. We quantify the free energy landscapes at multiple temperatures and show that biomolecular condensation is a weak first-order phase transition, consistent with classical theoretical models. Additional thermodynamic quantities, including heat capacity, titration curves, and affinities, are determined to assess the thermodynamic stability. Critically, we identify “nucleation seeds” or “hot spots” by analyzing the transition state ensemble, providing direct mechanistic insight for the rational design of biomolecules with tailored phase-separation characteristics.","PeriodicalId":8200,"journal":{"name":"Applied physics reviews","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148922998","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Droplet impact beyond Newtonian fluids: Rheology, energy, and interfacial modifiers","authors":"Abbasali Abouei Mehrizi,Zhizhao Che","doi":"10.1063/5.0344244","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0344244","url":null,"abstract":"Droplet impact dynamics is a complex, multiscale, multiphase fundamental problem in fluid mechanics with widespread applications ranging from food processing and biomedical delivery to inkjet printing and agricultural spraying. While the impact dynamics of Newtonian droplets are largely understood through inertial–capillary–viscous scaling, many practical and industrial fluids exhibit non-Newtonian rheology characterized by shear-dependent viscosity, elasticity, yield stress, and microstructural evolution, introducing additional pathways for energy storage and dissipation. This review synthesizes experimental, numerical, and theoretical studies of viscoelastic, shear-thinning, shear-thickening, yield-stress, and surfactant- and particle-laden fluids to identify the common physical mechanisms governing non-Newtonian droplet impact. Recent studies show that early-time spreading remains remarkably universal. The spreading dynamics of non-Newtonian droplets before the maximum spreading diameter can often be characterized by a universal scaling with data from different rheologies collapsing onto a single master curve when the droplet diameter D and spreading time t are normalized by the maximum spreading diameter Dmax and Dmax/V0, respectively, independent of specific fluid properties, where V0 is the initial impact velocity. This apparent universality is observed when inertial effects dominate the spreading dynamics and rheological stresses do not significantly alter the deformation process. However, it may break down after maximum spreading, during retraction, due to increasing rheological influence through elastic stress buildup, filament pinning, yielding localization, and particle jamming. Energy dissipation hierarchies are revealed to be largely dependent on microstructural evolution, specifically polymer stretching and thixotropic aging. Rebound suppression and splash arrest are common phenomena in non-Newtonian droplets compared to Newtonian ones. We discuss the interplay of thermal effects, complex substrates, and interfacial modifiers in controlling impact outcomes. Finally, we outline emerging strategies for predictive modeling, including AI-assisted simulations, and identify open challenges in connecting microscale rheology to macroscopic impact dynamics. The current review offers an integrated perspective on the physics of non-Newtonian drop impacts based on the coupled evolution of energy redistribution and fluid microstructures, providing a common framework for interpreting the diverse impact behaviors observed across different rheological classes.","PeriodicalId":8200,"journal":{"name":"Applied physics reviews","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148922994","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reducing TLS loss in tantalum CPW resonators using titanium sacrificial layers","authors":"Zachary Degnan,Chun-Ching Chiu,Yi-Hsun Chen,David Sommers,Leonid Abdurakhimov,Lihuang Zhu,Arkady Fedorov,Peter Jacobson","doi":"10.1063/5.0324744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0324744","url":null,"abstract":"We demonstrate a substantial reduction in two-level system loss in tantalum coplanar waveguide resonators fabricated on high-resistivity silicon substrates through the use of an ultrathin titanium sacrificial layer. A 2 Å titanium film, deposited atop pre-sputtered α-tantalum, acts as a solid-state oxygen getter that chemically modifies the native Ta oxide at the metal–air interface. After device fabrication, the titanium layer is removed using buffered oxide etchant, leaving behind a chemically reduced Ta oxide surface. Subsequent high-vacuum annealing further suppresses two-level system loss. Resonators treated with this process exhibit internal quality factors Qi exceeding an average of 1.5 × 106 in the single-photon regime across ten devices—over three times higher than otherwise identical devices lacking the titanium layer. These results highlight the critical role of interfacial oxide chemistry in superconducting loss and reinforce atomic-scale surface engineering as an effective approach to improving coherence in tantalum-based quantum circuits. The method is compatible with existing fabrication workflows applicable to tantalum films, offering a practical route to further extending T1 lifetimes in superconducting qubits.","PeriodicalId":8200,"journal":{"name":"Applied physics reviews","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148922995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mode-resolved phonon engineering enables phonon-controlled design of S-scheme photocatalysts","authors":"Kai Ren,Lu Yang,Ke Wang,Tariq Altalhi,Gang Zhang,Boris I. Yakobson","doi":"10.1063/5.0341707","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0341707","url":null,"abstract":"Intrinsic lattice vibrations are conventionally regarded as merely a thermal perturbation in photocatalysis, leaving their potential as an active control parameter largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that selectively activated intrinsic phonon modes can act as an internal driving force to dynamically regulate photocatalytic functionality. Using first-principles calculations on a Janus MoSSe/WSSe van der Waals heterostructure, we reveal that mode-selective lattice vibrations profoundly reshape the electronic structure and photocarrier transfer pathways. In particular, high-frequency intralayer phonon modes induce pronounced bandgap renormalization and trigger a qualitative transition in charge-transfer behavior, enabling a shift from conventional type-II separation toward an S-scheme-like catalytic regime. This phonon-driven electronic reconstruction optimizes metal d-band characteristics and metal–adsorbate interactions, thereby enhancing the catalytic activity for both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. Our results uncover a direct, symmetry- and mode-dependent coupling between lattice vibrations and catalytic activity, establishing targeted phonon excitation as a promising and physically transparent strategy for activating high-performance photocatalysis beyond static structural design.","PeriodicalId":8200,"journal":{"name":"Applied physics reviews","volume":"32 2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148923001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interfacing superconductor and semiconductor digital electronics: A review of superconducting output drivers","authors":"Y. Mustafa,S. Köse","doi":"10.1063/5.0326611","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0326611","url":null,"abstract":"Interface circuits are the key components that enable the hybrid integration of superconductor and semiconductor digital electronics. The design requirements of superconductor–semiconductor interface circuits vary depending on the application, such as high-performance classical computing, superconducting quantum computing, and digital signal processing. In this review, various interface circuits are categorized based on the working principle and structure. The superconducting output drivers are explored, which are capable of converting and amplifying, e.g., single flux quantum voltage pulses, to voltage levels that semiconductor circuits can process. Several tradeoffs between circuit- and system-level design parameters are examined. Accordingly, parameters such as the data rate, output voltage, power dissipation, layout area, thermal/heat load of cryogenic cables, and bit-error rate are considered.","PeriodicalId":8200,"journal":{"name":"Applied physics reviews","volume":"376 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148922993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrated photonic devices in thin-film barium titanate: Opportunities and challenges","authors":"Hong-Lin Lin,Minghao Shang,Yuhui Yin,Wujie Fu,Luo Qi,Aaron J. Danner","doi":"10.1063/5.0325359","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0325359","url":null,"abstract":"Thin-film barium titanate (BaTiO3, or BTO) has emerged as a promising electro-optic (EO) material for integrated photonics due to its exceptionally large Pockels coefficients, low optical loss, and compatibility with heterogeneous integration. Recent advances in epitaxial thin-film growth, crystal orientation control, ferroelectric domain engineering, and scalable integration have enabled EO performance in thin-film BTO approaching bulk-like properties on photonic platforms. This review provides a comprehensive overview of integrated photonic devices based on thin-film BTO, including fundamental material properties, thin-film growth and integration strategies, passive waveguide configurations, EO response at both the film and device levels, and relevant optical applications. We review the role of film orientation, domain structure, and device geometry in determining accessible EO coefficients and modulation mechanisms, as well as the distinctions between intrinsic and effective EO responses demonstrated at the film and device levels. Representative studies are compared in terms of film-quality-related metrics and device performance figures of merit, alongside emerging applications realized in BTO-based platforms. Finally, we discuss the remaining challenges and outline future development directions toward high-performance BTO-based integrated photonic systems.","PeriodicalId":8200,"journal":{"name":"Applied physics reviews","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148922999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Breaking Biological Barriers: Engineering Nanocarriers for Efficient Drug and Gene Delivery through Nano-Bio Interfaces and Biophysical Design.","authors":"Zicheng Deng, Andrew Dunn, Daniel Q Sun, Donglu Shi","doi":"10.1063/5.0342617","DOIUrl":"10.1063/5.0342617","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A persistent challenge in nanomedicine is achieving functional delivery of therapeutic molecules across physiological barriers. Organs impose distinct transport constraints, including the blood-brain barrier, renal filtration, hepatic sequestration, and pulmonary clearance. Although substantial effort has focused on engineering particle structure and surface chemistry, therapeutic performance also depends on dynamic interactions at the nano-bio interface. This structured critical narrative review compares how nanoparticle design variables interact with organ-specific transport mechanisms, prioritizing mechanistic primary studies and direct clinical or regulatory evidence while preserving study-specific experimental conditions. Most review papers focus on a single disease or summarize the progress of a specific nanoparticle type. In contrast, this review addresses the heterogeneity of biological filters by proposing a barrier-specific engineering framework. We evaluate diverse high-barrier environments with distinct restrictive mechanisms and describe the strategies used to overcome them in nanoparticle design. Specifically, we focus on how matching physicochemical properties to these environments can bypass physiological constraints. Using a comparative analysis methodology, we evaluate how design parameters, including size, morphology, and surface functionalization, interact with the mechanisms of major organ systems. Applying this framework across biological barriers distinguishes study-specific relationships from potentially transferable design principles. Its clinical and translational relevance is illustrated by engineered blood-brain barrier shuttles for Hunter syndrome and Alzheimer disease, lipid nanoparticle platforms for mRNA vaccination, and inhaled liposomal therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":8200,"journal":{"name":"Applied physics reviews","volume":"13 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13576057/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148975555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Selective Fermi-level pinning: A design strategy for giant rectification in molecular junctions","authors":"Junnan Guo,Wenhui Fang,Jian Huang,Weikang Wu,Hui Li,Lishu Zhang","doi":"10.1063/5.0347736","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0347736","url":null,"abstract":"Molecular rectifiers are key functional components of molecular-scale integrated circuits, yet achieving high rectification ratios remains a long-standing challenge due to the intrinsic symmetry of resonant tunneling and the complexity of interfacial energy-level alignment. Here, we propose a rectifier design strategy based on selective Fermi-level pinning that breaks transport symmetry via pinning interactions between molecular frontier orbitals and electrodes. This framework enforces tunneling transport to be predominantly governed by unoccupied molecular orbitals, while substantially suppressing contributions from occupied states, thereby establishing a simplified and highly controllable rectification mechanism. The resulting cyclo[n]carbon-based molecular junctions exhibit giant rectification ratios exceeding 1000, while retaining exceptional structural robustness against variations in both donor chain length and carbon ring size. This work reveals the critical role of selective Fermi-level pinning in molecular junctions and provides a general design principle for engineering functional single-molecule electronic devices.","PeriodicalId":8200,"journal":{"name":"Applied physics reviews","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148922996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chalcogenide glasses for acousto-optic modulators: From physical mechanisms to device implementation","authors":"Yingying Wang,Yanqi Liu,Changyou Li,Lingling Jiang,Zhongchao Wu,Changgui Lin,Shixun Dai","doi":"10.1063/5.0345724","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0345724","url":null,"abstract":"Acousto-optic (AO) devices are indispensable components in modern photonics, enabling dynamic control of light intensity, frequency, and spatial direction. Chalcogenide glasses (ChGs) have emerged as a promising alternative AO material, offering macroscopic isotropy, extraordinary linear refractive indices, and ultra-broad infrared transmission windows. However, maximizing their AO potential is fundamentally hindered by multi-dimensional physical tradeoffs among multiple key performance parameters, posing a core challenge in the design of high-performance ChG AO materials. This review provides a comprehensive framework for engineering high-performance ChG-based AO devices by systematically linking microscopic structural evolution to macroscopic AO responses. We present deterministic compositional strategies, including heavy-element substitution for extreme diffraction efficiency and tetrahedral network rigidification, for enhanced high-power endurance and thermal stability. Furthermore, we introduce the application of multi-criteria decision-making algorithms to navigate the complex design space. Finally, we demonstrate the successful implementation of ChG-based modulators, featuring high diffraction efficiency under sub-watt RF drive power, low insertion loss, and high extinction ratio, as experimentally validated in Q-switched laser systems. We further outline a future roadmap for broadband mid-infrared spectral coverage, novel multi-functional AO devices, and on-chip integrated acousto-photonics.","PeriodicalId":8200,"journal":{"name":"Applied physics reviews","volume":"77 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":15.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148922997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}