Superconducting Nanowires Detect Single Protein Ions

Detection efficiency 1,000 times higher than conventional ion detectors due to high sensitivity

08-Dec-2023 - An international research team led by quantum physicist Markus Arndt (University of Vienna) has achieved a breakthrough in the detection of protein ions: Due to their high energy sensitivity, superconducting nanowire detectors achieve almost 100% quantum efficiency and exceed the detection ...

New authentication method developed for the identification of β-sitosterol in edible oils

What makes this methodology particularly commendable is its ability to effectively bypass some of the traditionally cumbersome stages of analysis

13-Nov-2023 - In a study published in the journal Food Quality and Safety, researchers from Zhejiang University introduced a pioneering methodology designed to scrutinize the levels of β-sitosterol present in edible oils. With a primary focus on Virgin Camellia Oil (VCO) and Virgin Olive Oil (VOO), this novel ...

A single instrument determines a total of ten greenhouse gases and air pollutants simultaneously and with high precision

"Innosuisse Certificate" for Empa Spin-off: Ready for sustainable growth

12-Dec-2022 - Founded in February 2018 as an Empa spin-off, the start-up company "MIRO Analytical" received one of the coveted "Innosuisse Certificates" in October. The certificate reflects the remarkable progress the young company made during the funding agency's coaching program and confirms that the ...

Miniaturized infrared detectors

Integration on a chip: Tremendous effects on spectrometers of different kinds – and in various fields

31-Oct-2022 - Extreme miniaturization of infrared (IR) detectors is critical for their integration into next-generation consumer electronics, wearables and ultra-small satellites. Thus far, however, IR detectors have relied on bulky (and expensive) materials and technologies. A team of scientists lead by Empa ...

Organic thin-film sensors for light-source analysis and anti-counterfeiting applications

As integrated components, the thin-film sensors could eliminate the need for external spectrometers in the future

07-Sep-2022 - In a recent publication in the scientific journal “Advanced Materials”, a team of physicists and chemists from TU Dresden presents an organic thin-film sensor that describes a completely new way of identifying the wavelength of light and achieves a spectral resolution below one nanometer. As ...

Using ions to find molecules

Physicists use a single trapped ion to detect ultracold molecules

15-Mar-2022 - When we think of ions, we usually think of single atoms that have lost or gained some electrons, but entire molecules can also become ions. In a new publication that was highlighted as an Editor’s Suggestion in Physical Review Letters, physicists from the University of Amsterdam, QuSoft and Stony ...

An electronic rainbow – perovskite spectrometer by inkjet printing

04-Jan-2022 - Researchers from Innovation Lab HySPRINT at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (HU) have used an advanced inkjet printing technique to produce a large range of photodetector devices based on a hybrid perovskite semiconductor. By mixing of only three inks, the ...

World record broken for thinnest X-ray detector ever created

Highly sensitive and with a rapid response time, the new X-ray detector is less than 10 nanometres thick and could one day lead to real-time imaging of cellular biology

10-Nov-2021 - Scientists in Australia have used tin mono-sulfide (SnS) nanosheets to create the thinnest X-ray detector ever made, potentially enabling real-time imaging of cellular biology. X-ray detectors are tools that allow energy transported by radiation to be recognised visually or electronically, like ...

Seeing the world through different eyes

An entire IR camera on a chip

28-Oct-2021 - Short-wave infrared light (SWIR) is useful for many things: It helps sort out damaged fruit and inspecting silicon chips, and it enables night vision devices with sharp images. But SWIR cameras have so far been based on expensive electronics. Researchers at Empa, EPFL, ETH Zurich and the ...

Infrared Detector for Smartphones and Autonomous Vehicles

Switching between different wavelengths

19-Aug-2021 - Jülich researchers, together with Italian and German colleagues, have developed a particularly cost-effective infrared detector that can be easily integrated into existing camera chips and smartphones. The new sensor can make two technically important ranges of infrared radiation visible, which ...