Tag Archives: University of Twente

A formal theory for neuromorphic (brainlike) computing hardware needed

This is one my older pieces as the information dates back to October 2023 but neuromorphic computing is one of my key interests and I’m particularly interested to see the upsurge in the discussion of hardware, here goes. From an October 17, 2023 news item on Nanowerk,

There is an intense, worldwide search for novel materials to build computer microchips with that are not based on classic transistors but on much more energy-saving, brain-like components. However, whereas the theoretical basis for classic transistor-based digital computers is solid, there are no real theoretical guidelines for the creation of brain-like computers.

Such a theory would be absolutely necessary to put the efforts that go into engineering new kinds of microchips on solid ground, argues Herbert Jaeger, Professor of Computing in Cognitive Materials at the University of Groningen [Netherlands].

Key Takeaways
Scientists worldwide are searching for new materials to build energy-saving, brain-like computer microchips as classic transistor miniaturization reaches its physical limit.

Theoretical guidelines for brain-like computers are lacking, making it crucial for advancements in the field.

The brain’s versatility and robustness serve as an inspiration, despite limited knowledge about its exact workings.

A recent paper suggests that a theory for non-digital computers should focus on continuous, analogue signals and consider the characteristics of new materials.

Bridging gaps between diverse scientific fields is vital for developing a foundational theory for neuromorphic computing..

An October 17, 2023 University of Groningen press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, provides more context for this proposal,

Computers have, so far, relied on stable switches that can be off or on, usually transistors. These digital computers are logical machines and their programming is also based on logical reasoning. For decades, computers have become more powerful by further miniaturization of the transistors, but this process is now approaching a physical limit. That is why scientists are working to find new materials to make more versatile switches, which could use more values than just the digitals 0 or 1.

Dangerous pitfall

Jaeger is part of the Groningen Cognitive Systems and Materials Center (CogniGron), which aims to develop neuromorphic (i.e. brain-like) computers. CogniGron is bringing together scientists who have very different approaches: experimental materials scientists and theoretical modelers from fields as diverse as mathematics, computer science, and AI. Working closely with materials scientists has given Jaeger a good idea of the challenges that they face when trying to come up with new computational materials, while it has also made him aware of a dangerous pitfall: there is no established theory for the use of non-digital physical effects in computing systems.

Our brain is not a logical system. We can reason logically, but that is only a small part of what our brain does. Most of the time, it must work out how to bring a hand to a teacup or wave to a colleague on passing them in a corridor. ‘A lot of the information-processing that our brain does is this non-logical stuff, which is continuous and dynamic. It is difficult to formalize this in a digital computer,’ explains Jaeger. Furthermore, our brains keep working despite fluctuations in blood pressure, external temperature, or hormone balance, and so on. How is it possible to create a computer that is as versatile and robust? Jaeger is optimistic: ‘The simple answer is: the brain is proof of principle that it can be done.’

Neurons

The brain is, therefore, an inspiration for materials scientists. Jaeger: ‘They might produce something that is made from a few hundred atoms and that will oscillate, or something that will show bursts of activity. And they will say: “That looks like how neurons work, so let’s build a neural network”.’ But they are missing a vital bit of knowledge here. ‘Even neuroscientists don’t know exactly how the brain works. This is where the lack of a theory for neuromorphic computers is problematic. Yet, the field doesn’t appear to see this.’

In a paper published in Nature Communications on 16 August, Jaeger and his colleagues Beatriz Noheda (scientific director of CogniGron) and Wilfred G. van der Wiel (University of Twente) present a sketch of what a theory for non-digital computers might look like. They propose that instead of stable 0/1 switches, the theory should work with continuous, analogue signals. It should also accommodate the wealth of non-standard nanoscale physical effects that the materials scientists are investigating.

Sub-theories

Something else that Jaeger has learned from listening to materials scientists is that devices from these new materials are difficult to construct. Jaeger: ‘If you make a hundred of them, they will not all be identical.’ This is actually very brain-like, as our neurons are not all exactly identical either. Another possible issue is that the devices are often brittle and temperature-sensitive, continues Jaeger. ‘Any theory for neuromorphic computing should take such characteristics into account.’

Importantly, a theory underpinning neuromorphic computing will not be a single theory but will be constructed from many sub-theories (see image below). Jaeger: ‘This is in fact how digital computer theory works as well, it is a layered system of connected sub-theories.’ Creating such a theoretical description of neuromorphic computers will require close collaboration of experimental materials scientists and formal theoretical modellers. Jaeger: ‘Computer scientists must be aware of the physics of all these new materials [emphasis mine] and materials scientists should be aware of the fundamental concepts in computing.’

Blind spots

Bridging this divide between materials science, neuroscience, computing science, and engineering is exactly why CogniGron was founded at the University of Groningen: it brings these different groups together. ‘We all have our blind spots,’ concludes Jaeger. ‘And the biggest gap in our knowledge is a foundational theory for neuromorphic computing. Our paper is a first attempt at pointing out how such a theory could be constructed and how we can create a common language.’

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Toward a formal theory for computing machines made out of whatever physics offers by Herbert Jaeger, Beatriz Noheda & Wilfred G. van der Wiel. Nature Communications volume 14, Article number: 4911 (2023) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40533-1 Published: 16 August 2023

This paper is open access and there’s a 76 pp. version, “Toward a formal theory for computing machines made out of whatever physics offers: extended version” (emphasis mine) available on arXchiv.

Caption: A general theory of physical computing systems would comprise existing theories as special cases. Figure taken from an extended version of the Nature Comm paper on arXiv. Credit: Jaeger et al. / University of Groningen

With regard to new materials for neuromorphic computing, my January 4, 2024 posting highlights a proposed quantum material for this purpose.

Dynamic molecular switches for brainlike computing at the University of Limerick

Aren’t memristors proof that brainlike computing at the molecular and atomic levels is possible? It seems I have misunderstood memristors according to this November 21, 2022 news item on ScienceDaily,

A breakthrough discovery at University of Limerick in Ireland has revealed for the first time that unconventional brain-like computing at the tiniest scale of atoms and molecules is possible.

Researchers at University of Limerick’s Bernal Institute worked with an international team of scientists to create a new type of organic material that learns from its past behaviour.

The discovery of the ‘dynamic molecular switch’ that emulate[s] synaptic behaviour is revealed in a new study in the international journal Nature Materials.

The study was led by Damien Thompson, Professor of Molecular Modelling in UL’s Department of Physics and Director of SSPC, the UL-hosted Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals, together with Christian Nijhuis at the Centre for Molecules and Brain-Inspired Nano Systems in University of Twente [Netherlands] and Enrique del Barco from University of Central Florida.

A November 21, 2022 University of Limerick press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, provides more technical details about the research,

Working during lockdowns, the team developed a two-nanometre thick layer of molecules, which is 50,000 times thinner than a strand of hair and remembers its history as electrons pass through it.

Professor Thompson explained that the “switching probability and the values of the on/off states continually change in the molecular material, which provides a disruptive new alternative to conventional silicon-based digital switches that can only ever be either on or off”.

The newly discovered dynamic organic switch displays all the mathematical logic functions necessary for deep learning, successfully emulating Pavlovian ‘call and response’ synaptic brain-like behaviour.

The researchers demonstrated the new materials properties using extensive experimental characterisation and electrical measurements supported by multi-scale modelling spanning from predictive modelling of the molecular structures at the quantum level to analytical mathematical modelling of the electrical data.

To emulate the dynamical behaviour of synapses at the molecular level, the researchers combined fast electron transfer (akin to action potentials and fast depolarization processes in biology) with slow proton coupling limited by diffusion (akin to the role of biological calcium ions or neurotransmitters).

Since the electron transfer and proton coupling steps inside the material occur at very different time scales, the transformation can emulate the plastic behaviour of synapse neuronal junctions, Pavlovian learning, and all logic gates for digital circuits, simply by changing the applied voltage and the duration of voltage pulses during the synthesis, they explained.

“This was a great lockdown project, with Chris, Enrique and I pushing each other through zoom meetings and gargantuan email threads to bring our teams combined skills in materials modelling, synthesis and characterisation to the point where we could demonstrate these new brain-like computing properties,” explained Professor Thompson.

“The community has long known that silicon technology works completely differently to how our brains work and so we used new types of electronic materials based on soft molecules to emulate brain-like computing networks.”

The researchers explained that the method can in the future be applied to dynamic molecular systems driven by other stimuli such as light and coupled to different types of dynamic covalent bond formation.

This breakthrough opens up a whole new range of adaptive and reconfigurable systems, creating new opportunities in sustainable and green chemistry, from more efficient flow chemistry production of drug products and other value-added chemicals to development of new organic materials for high density computing and memory storage in big data centres.

“This is just the start. We are already busy expanding this next generation of intelligent molecular materials, which is enabling development of sustainable alternative technologies to tackle grand challenges in energy, environment, and health,” explained Professor Thompson.

Professor Norelee Kennedy, Vice President Research at UL, said: “Our researchers are continuously finding new ways of making more effective, more sustainable materials. This latest finding is very exciting, demonstrating the reach and ambition of our international collaborations and showcasing our world-leading ability at UL to encode useful properties into organic materials.”

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Dynamic molecular switches with hysteretic negative differential conductance emulating synaptic behaviour by Yulong Wang, Qian Zhang, Hippolyte P. A. G. Astier, Cameron Nickle, Saurabh Soni, Fuad A. Alami, Alessandro Borrini, Ziyu Zhang, Christian Honnigfort, Björn Braunschweig, Andrea Leoncini, Dong-Cheng Qi, Yingmei Han, Enrique del Barco, Damien Thompson & Christian A. Nijhuis. Nature Materials volume 21, pages 1403–1411 (2022) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-022-01402-2 Published: 21 November 2022 Issue Date: December 2022

This paper is behind a paywall.

Needle-free tattoos, smart and otherwise

Before getting to the research news from the University of Twente (Netherlands), there’s this related event which took place on April 18, 2019 (from the Future Under Our Skin webpage (on the University of Twente website) Note: I have made some formatting changes,

Why this event?

Our skin can give information about our health, mood and surroundings. Medical and recreational tattoos have decorated humans for centuries. But we can inject other materials besides ink, such as sensing devices, nano- or bio-responsive materials. With the increased percentage of tattooed population in recent years new health challenges have emerged; but is also a unique possibility to “read from our own skin”, beyond an artistic design. 
 
We have invited scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs, dermatologists, cosmetic permanent make-up technicians, tattoo artists, philosophers, and other experts. They will share with us their vision of the current and future role our skin has for improving the quality of life.

Open Event

This event is open to students, citizens in general as well as societal and governmental organisations around the different uses of our skin. The presence of scientists, medical doctors, tattoo artists and industry representatives is guaranteed. Then, we will all explore together the potential for co-creation with healthy citizens, patients, entreprises and other stakeholders.


If you want to hear from experts and share your own ideas, feel free to come to this Open Event!
 
It is possible to take the dish of the day (‘goed gevulde noedels met kippendij en satésaus en kroepoek’) in restaurant The Gallery (same building as DesignLab) at own costs (€7,85). Of course it is also possible to eat à la carte in Grand Café 

Wanneer: : 18 april 2019
Tijd: :17:30 – 20:00
Organisator: University of Twente
Locatie: Design Lab University of Twente
Hengelosestraat 500
7521 AN Enschede

Just days before, the University of Twente announced this research in an April 16, 2019 news item on Naowerk (Note: A link has been removed),

A tattoo that is warning you for too many hours of sunlight exposure, or is alerting you for taking your medication? Next to their cosmetic role, tattoos could get new functionality using intelligent ink. That would require more precise and less invasive injection technique.

Researchers of the University of Twente now develop a micro-jet injection technology that doesn’t use needles at all. Instead, an ultrafast liquid jet with the thickness of a human hair penetrates the skin. It isn’t painful and there is less waste.

In their new publication in the American Journal of Physics (“High speed imaging of solid needle and liquid micro-jet injections”), the scientists compare both the needle and the fluid jet approach.

Here’s an image provided by the researchers which illustrates the technique they have developed,

Working principle of needle-free injection: laser heating the fluid.The growing bubble pushes out the fluid (medicine or ink) at very high speed. Courtesy: University of Twente

An April 15, 2019 University of Twente press release, which originated the news item, provides more detail about tattoos and the research leading to ‘need-free’ tattoos,

Ötzi the Iceman already had, over 5000 years ago, dozens of simple tattoos on his body, apparently for pain relief. Since the classic ‘anchor’ tattoo that sailors had on their arms, tattoos have become more and more common. About 44 million Europeans wear one or more of them. Despite its wider acceptance in society, the underlying technique didn’t change and still has health risks. One or more moving needles put ink underneath the skin surface. This is painful and can damage the skin. Apart from that, needles have to be disposed of in a responsible way, and quite some ink is wasted. The alternative that David Fernández Rivas and his colleagues are developing, doesn’t use any needles. In their new paper, they compare this new approach with classic needle technology, on an artificial skin material and using high speed images. Remarkably, according to Fernández Rivas, the classic needle technology has never been subject of research in such a thorough way, using high speed images.

Fast fluid jet

The new technique employs a laser for rapidly heating a fluid that is inside a microchannel on a glass chip. Heated above the boiling point, a vapour bubble forms and grows, pushing the liquid out at speeds up to 100 meter per second (360 km/h). The jet, about the diameter of a human hair, is capable of going through human skin. “You don’t feel much of it, no more than a mosquito bite”, say Fernandez Rivas.

The researchers did their experiments with a number of commercially available inks. Compared to a tattoo machine, the micro-jet consumes a small amount of energy. What’s more important, it minimizes skin damage and the injection efficiency is much higher, there is no loss of fluids. And there is no risk of contaminated needles. The current microjet is a single one, while tattooing is often done using multiple needles with different types or colours of ink. Also, the volume that can be ‘delivered’ by the microjet has to be increased. These are next steps in developing the needle-free technology.

Skin treatment

In today’s medical world, tattoo-resembling techniques are used for treatment of skin, masking scars, or treating hair diseases. These are other areas in which the new technique can be used, as well as in vaccination. A challenging idea is using tattoos for cosmetic purposes and as health sensors at the same time. What if ink is light-sensitive or responds to certain substances that are present in the skin or in sweat?

On this new approach, scientists, students, entrepreneurs and tattoo artists join a special event ‘The future under our skin’, organized by David Fernandez Rivas.

Research has been done in the Mesoscale Chemical Systems group, part of UT’s MESA+ Institute.

Here’s a link to an d a citation for the paper,

High speed imaging of solid needle and liquid micro-jet injections by Loreto Oyarte Gálveza, Maria Brió Pérez, and David Fernández Rivas. Journal of Applied Physics 125, 144504 (2019); Volume 125, Issue 14 DOI: 10.1063/1.5074176 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5074176 Free Published Online: 09 April 2019

This paper appears to be open access.

Barnacle footprints could be useful

An Aug. 18, 2016 news item on Nanowerk describes efforts by scientists at the University of Twente (The Netherlands) and A*STAR (Singapore) to trace a barnacle’s footprints (Note: A link has been removed),

Barnacle’s larvae leave behind tiny protein traces on a ship hull: but what is the type of protein and what is the protein-surface interaction? Conventional techniques can only identify dissolved proteins, and in large quantities. Using a modified type of an Atomic Force Microscope, scientists of the University of Twente in The Netherlands and A*STAR in Singapore, can now measure protein characteristics of even very small traces on a surface. They present the new technique in Nature Nanotechnology (“Measuring protein isoelectric points by AFM-based force spectroscopy using trace amounts of sample”).

An Aug. 16, 2016 University of Twente press release, which originated the news item, explains how the ‘footprints’ could lead to new applications for ships and boats and briefly describes the technical aspects of the research,

In infection diseases, membrane fouling, interaction with bacteria, as well as in rapid healing of wounds for example, the way proteins interact with a surface plays an important role. On a surface, they function in a different way than in solution. On a ship hull, the larvae of the barnacle will leave tiny traces of protein to test if the surface is attractive for long-term attachment. If we get to know more about this interaction, it will be possible to develop surface conditions that are less attractive for the barnacle. Large amounts of barnacles on a ship will have a destructive effect on flow resistance and will lead to more fuel consumption. The new measuring method makes use of a modified Atomic Force Microscope: a tiny ball glued to the cantilever of the microscope will attract protein molecules.

Modified AFM tip with a tiny ball that can attract protein molecules

FORCE MEASUREMENTS

An amount of just hundreds of protein molecules will be sufficient to determine a crucial value, called the iso-electric point (pI): this is the pH-value at which the protein has net zero electric charge. The pI value says a lot about the surroundings a protein will ‘feel comfortable’ in, and to which it preferably moves. Using the AFM microscope, of which the modified tip has collected protein molecules, it is possible to perform force measurements for different pH values. The tip will be attracted or repelled, or show no movement when the pI point is reached. For these measurement, the researchers made a special reference material consisting of several layers. Using this, the effect of a number of pH-values can be tested until the pI value is found.

The traces the larve leaves behind (left) and force measurements (right)

PAINT CHANGE

The tests have been successfully performed for a number of known proteins like fibrinogen, myoglobine and bovine albumin. And returning to the barnacle: the tiny protein footprint will contain enough molecules to determine the pI value. This quantifies the ideal surface conditions, and using this knowledge, new choices can be made for e.g. the paint that is used on a ship hull.

The research has been done within the group Materials Science and Technology of Polymers of Professor Julius Vancso, in close collaboration with colleagues of A*STAR in Singapore – Prof Vancso is a Visiting Professor there as well. His group is part of UT’s MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Measuring protein isoelectric points by AFM-based force spectroscopy using trace amounts of sample by Shifeng Gu, Xiaoying Zhu, Dominik Jańczewski, Serina Siew Chen Lee, Tao He, Serena Lay Ming Teo, & G. Julius Vancso.  Nature Nanotechnology (2016) doi:10.1038/nnano.2016.118 Published online 25 July 2016

This paper is behind a paywall.

3D brain-on-a-chip from the University of Twente

Dutch researchers have developed a 3D brain-on-a-chip according to a June 23, 2016 news item on Nanowerk,

To study brain cell’s operation and test the effect of medication on individual cells, the conventional Petri dish with flat electrodes is not sufficient. For truly realistic studies, cells have to flourish within three-dimensional surroundings.

Bart Schurink, researcher at University of Twente’s MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, has developed a sieve with 900 openings, each of which has the shape of an inverted pyramid. On top of this array of pyramids, a micro-reactor takes care of cell growth. Schurink defends his PhD thesis June 23 [2016].

A June 23, 2016 University of Twente press release, which originated the news item, provides more detail,

A brain-on-a-chip demands more than a series of electrodes in 2D, on which brain cells can be cultured. To mimic the brain in a realistic way, you need facilities for fluid flow, and the cells need some freedom for themselves even when they are kept at predefined spaces. Schurink therefore developed a micro sieve structure with hundreds of openings on a 2 by 2 mm surface. Each of these holes has the shape of  an inverted pyramid. Each pyramid, in turn, is equipped with an electrode, for measuring electrical signals or sending stimuli to the network. At the same time, liquids can flow through tiny holes, needed to capture the cells and for sending nutrients or medication to a single cell.

NEURONAL NETWORK

After neurons have been placed inside all the pyramids, they will start to form a network. This is not just a 2D network between the holes: by placing a micro reactor on top of the sieve, a neuron network can develop in the vertical direction as well. Growth and electrical activity can be monitored subsequently: each individual cell can be identified by the pyramid it is in. Manufacturing this system, demands a lot of both the production facilities at UT’s NanoLab and of creative solutions the designers come up with. For example, finding the proper way of guaranteeing  the same dimensions for every hole, is quite challenging.

Schurink’s new µSEA (micro sieve electrode array) has been tested with living cells, from the brains of laboratory rats. Both the positioning of the cells and neuronal network growth have been tested. The result of this PhD research is a fully new research platform for performing research on the brain, diseases and effects of medication.

Schurink (1982) has conducted his research within the group Meso Scale Chemical Systems, of Prof Han Gardeniers. The group is part of the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology of the University of Twente. Schurink’s thesis is titled ‘Microfabrication and microfluidics for 3D brain-on-chip’ …

I have written about one other piece about a ‘3D’ organ-on-a-chip project in China (my Jan. 29, 2016 posting).

Computer chips derived in a Darwinian environment

Courtesy: University of Twente

Courtesy: University of Twente

If that ‘computer chip’ looks a brain to you, good, since that’s what the image is intended to illustrate assuming I’ve correctly understood the Sept. 21, 2015 news item on Nanowerk (Note: A link has been removed),

Researchers of the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology and the CTIT Institute for ICT Research at the University of Twente in The Netherlands have demonstrated working electronic circuits that have been produced in a radically new way, using methods that resemble Darwinian evolution. The size of these circuits is comparable to the size of their conventional counterparts, but they are much closer to natural networks like the human brain. The findings promise a new generation of powerful, energy-efficient electronics, and have been published in the leading British journal Nature Nanotechnology (“Evolution of a Designless Nanoparticle Network into Reconfigurable Boolean Logic”).

A Sept. 21, 2015 University of Twente press release, which originated the news item, explains why and how they have decided to mimic nature to produce computer chips,

One of the greatest successes of the 20th century has been the development of digital computers. During the last decades these computers have become more and more powerful by integrating ever smaller components on silicon chips. However, it is becoming increasingly hard and extremely expensive to continue this miniaturisation. Current transistors consist of only a handful of atoms. It is a major challenge to produce chips in which the millions of transistors have the same characteristics, and thus to make the chips operate properly. Another drawback is that their energy consumption is reaching unacceptable levels. It is obvious that one has to look for alternative directions, and it is interesting to see what we can learn from nature. Natural evolution has led to powerful ‘computers’ like the human brain, which can solve complex problems in an energy-efficient way. Nature exploits complex networks that can execute many tasks in parallel.

Moving away from designed circuits

The approach of the researchers at the University of Twente is based on methods that resemble those found in Nature. They have used networks of gold nanoparticles for the execution of essential computational tasks. Contrary to conventional electronics, they have moved away from designed circuits. By using ‘designless’ systems, costly design mistakes are avoided. The computational power of their networks is enabled by applying artificial evolution. This evolution takes less than an hour, rather than millions of years. By applying electrical signals, one and the same network can be configured into 16 different logical gates. The evolutionary approach works around – or can even take advantage of – possible material defects that can be fatal in conventional electronics.

Powerful and energy-efficient

It is the first time that scientists have succeeded in this way in realizing robust electronics with dimensions that can compete with commercial technology. According to prof. Wilfred van der Wiel, the realized circuits currently still have limited computing power. “But with this research we have delivered proof of principle: demonstrated that our approach works in practice. By scaling up the system, real added value will be produced in the future. Take for example the efforts to recognize patterns, such as with face recognition. This is very difficult for a regular computer, while humans and possibly also our circuits can do this much better.”  Another important advantage may be that this type of circuitry uses much less energy, both in the production, and during use. The researchers anticipate a wide range of applications, for example in portable electronics and in the medical world.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Evolution of a designless nanoparticle network into reconfigurable Boolean logic by S. K. Bose, C. P. Lawrence, Z. Liu, K. S. Makarenko, R. M. J. van Damme, H. J. Broersma, & W. G. van der Wiel. Nature Nanotechnology (2015) doi:10.1038/nnano.2015.207 Published online 21 September 2015

This paper is behind a paywall.

Final comment, this research, especially with the reference to facial recognition, reminds me of memristors and neuromorphic engineering. I have written many times on this topic and you should be able to find most of the material by using ‘memristor’ as your search term in the blog search engine. For the mildly curious, here are links to two recent memristor articles, Knowm (sounds like gnome?) A memristor company with a commercially available product in a Sept. 10, 2015 posting and Memristor, memristor, you are popular in a May 15, 2015 posting.

Opals, Diana Ross, and nanophotonic hybridization

It was a bit of a stretch to include Diana Ross in a Jan. 12, 2015 news item on Nanowerk about nanophotonic research at the University of Twente’s MESA+ Institute for Nano­technology  but I’m glad they did,

Ever since the early 1900s work of Niels Bohr and Hendrik Lorentz, it is known that atoms display characteristic resonant behavior to light. The hallmark of a resonance is its characteristic peak-trough behavior of the refractive index with optical frequency. Scientists from the Dutch MESA+ Institute for Nano­technology at the University of Twente have recently infiltrated cesium atoms in a self-assembled opal to create a hybrid nanophotonic system. By tuning the opal’s forbidden gap relative to the atomic resonance, dra­matic changes are observed in reflectivity. In the most extreme case, the atomic reflection spectrum is turned upside down[1] compared to the traditional case. Since dispersion is crucial in the control of optical signal pulses, the new results offer opportunities for optical information manipulation. As atoms are exquisite storage de­vices for light quanta, the results open vistas on quantum information processing, as well as on new nanoplasmonics.

A Jan. 12, 2015 MESA+ Institute for Nano­technology at the University of Twente press release, which originated the news item, provides an illustrative diagram and a wealth of technical detail about the research,

Courtesy of the University of Twente

Courtesy of the University of Twente

While the speed of light c is proverbial, it can readily be modified by sending light through a medium with a certain refractive index n. In the medium, the speed will be decreased by the index to c/n. In any material, the refractive index depends on the frequency of the light. Usually the refractive index increases with frequency, called normal dispersion as it prevails at most frequencies in most materials such as a glass of water, a telecom fiber, or an atomic vapor. Close to the resonance frequency of the material, the index strongly decreases, called anomalous dispersion.

Dispersion is essential to control how optical bits of information – encoded as short pulses – is manipulated optical circuits. In modern optics at the nanoscale, called nanophotonics, dispersion is controlled with classes of complex nanostruc­tures that cause novel behavior to emerge. An example is a photonic crystal fiber, which does not consist of only glass like a traditional fiber, but of an intricate arrange­ment of holes and glass nanostructures.

The Twente team led by Harding devised a hybrid system consisting of an atomic vapor infiltrated in an opal photonic crystal. Photonic crystals have attracted considerable attention for their ability to radically control propagation and emission of light. These nanostructures are well-known for their ability to control the emission and propagation of light. The opals have a periodic variation of the refractive index (see Figure 1) that ensures that a certain color of light is forbidden to exist inside the opal. The light cannot enter the opal as it is reflected, which is called a gap (see Figure 1). In an analogy to semiconductors, such an effect is called a “photonic band gap”. Photonic gaps are at the basis of tiny on-chip light sources and lasers, efficient solar cells, invisibility cloaks, and devices to process optical information.

The Twente team changed the index of refraction of the voids in a photonic crystal by substituting the air by a vapor of atoms with a strong resonance, as shown in Figure 1. The contrast of the refractive index between the vapor and the opal’s silica nano­spheres was effectively used as a probe. The density of the cesium vapor was greatly varied by changing the temperature in the cell up to 420 K. At the same time, the photonic gap of the opal shifted relative to the atomic resonance due to a slow chemical reaction between the opal’s backbone material (silica) and the cesium.

On resonance, light excites an atom to a higher state and subsequently the atom reemits the light. Hence, an atom behaves like a little cavity that stores light. Simultaneously the index of refraction changes strongly for colors near resonance. For slightly longer wavelengths the index of refraction is high, on resonance it is close to one, and slightly shorter wavelengths it can even decrease below one. This effect of the cesium atoms is clearly visible in the reflectivity spectra, shown in Figure 2 [not included here], as a sharp increase and decrease of the reflectivity near the atomic resonance. Intriguingly, the characteristic peak-and-trough behavior of atoms (seen at 370 K) was turned upside down at the highest temperature (420 K), where the ce­sium reso­nance was on the red side of the opal’s stopgap.

In nanophotonics, many efforts are currently being devoted to create arrays of nanoresonators in photonic crystals, for exquisite optical signal control on a chip. Unfortunately, however, there is a major challenge in engineering high-quality pho­tonic resonators: they are all different due to inevitable fabrication variations. Hence, it is difficult to tune every resonator in sync. “Our atoms in the opal may be consid­ered as the equivalent of an carefully engineered array of nano-resonators” explains Willem Vos, “Nature takes care that all resonators are all exactly the same. Our hy­brid system solves the variability problem and could perhaps be used to make pho­tonic memories, sensors or switches that are naturally tuned.” And leading Spanish theorist Javier Garcia de Abajo (ICFO) enthuses: “This is a fine and exciting piece of work, initiating the study of atomic resonances with photonic modes in a genuinely new fashion, and suggesting many exciting possibilities, for example through the extension of this study towards combinations with metal nanoplasmonics.”

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper published in Physical Review B,

Nanophotonic hybridization of narrow atomic cesium resonances and photonic stop gaps of opaline nanostructures by Philip J. Harding, Pepijn W. H. Pinkse, Allard P. Mosk, and Willem L. Vos. Phys. Rev. B 91, 045123 – Published 20 January 2015 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.045123

This paper is behind a paywall but there is an earlier iteration of the paper available on the open access arXiv.org website operated by Cornell University,

Nanophotonic hybridization of narrow atomic cesium resonances and photonic stop gaps of opaline nanostructures by Philip J. Harding, Pepijn W.H. Pinkse, Allard P. Mosk, Willem L. Vos. (Submitted on 11 Sep 2014) arXiv:1409.3417

As I understand it, the arXiv.org website is intended to open up access to research and to offer an informal peer review process.

Finally, for anyone who’s nostalgic or perhaps has never heard Diana Ross sing ‘Upside Down’,

Cleaning water with palladium nanoparticle catalysts

A Jan. 16, 2015 news item on Nanowerk describes research into using palladium as a catalyst for water remediation efforts,

One way of removing harmful nitrate from drinking water is to catalyse its conversion to nitrogen. This process suffers from the drawback that it often produces ammonia. By using palladium nanoparticles as a catalyst, and by carefully controlling their size, this drawback can be partially eliminated. It was research conducted by Yingnan Zhao of the University of Twente’s MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology that led to this discovery.

A Jan. 14, 2015 University of Twente press release, which originated the news item, describes the problem and suggested solution; this was research for a PhD thesis,

Due to the excessive use of fertilizers, our groundwater is contaminated with nitrates, which pose a problem if they enter the mains water supply. Levels have fallen significantly in recent years, as a result of various European directives. In addition, the Integrated Approach to Nitrogen programme was launched in various Dutch nature reserves at the start of January. Tackling the problem at source is one thing, but it will still be necessary to treat the mains water supply. While this can be achieved through biological conversion – bacteria convert the nitrate to nitrogen gas-, this is a slow process. Using palladium to catalyse the conversion of nitrate to nitrogen speeds up the process enormously. However, this reaction suffers from the drawback that it produces a harmful by-product – ammonia.

Exposed surface

The amount of ammonia produced appears to depend on the method used to prepare the palladium and on the catalyst’s physical structure. Yingnan Zhao decided to use nanometre-sized colloidal palladium particles, as their dimensions can be easily controlled. These particles are fixed to a surface, so they do not end up in the mains water supply. However, it is important to stop them clumping together, so stabilizers such as polyvinyl alcohol are added. Unfortunately, these stabilizers tend to shield the surface of the palladium particles, which reduces their effectiveness as a catalyst. By introducing additional treatments, Yingnan Zhao has managed to fully expose the catalytic surface once again or to manipulate it in a controlled manner. This has resulted in palladium nanoparticles that can catalyse the conversion to nitrogen, while producing very little ammonia. This has brought the further development of catalytic water treatment (in compact devices for home use, for example) one step closer.

Yingnan Zhao, who is from Heze, Shandong, China, conducted his research in Prof. Leon Lefferts’ Catalytic Processes and Materials group. He defended his thesis, which is entitled “Colloidal Nanoparticles as Catalysts and Catalyst Precursors for Nitrite Hydrogenation” on Thursday 15 January [2015].

I trust Zhao successfully defended this thesis and perhaps more importantly helped to develop a new and better method for water remediation made necessary by the effects of fertilizers.