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Microfluidics-based biochips are soon expected to revolutionize clinical diagnosis, DNA sequencing, and other laboratory procedures involving molecular biology. Most microfluidic biochips are based on the principle of continuous fluid flow…
Biological systems rely on autonomous modes of charge transport to transmit signals, whereas conventional artificial systems typically depend on external fields, such as voltage or pressure gradients, limiting their adaptability. Here we…
Preparing and observing quantum states of nanoscale particles is a challenging task with great relevance for quantum technologies and tests of fundamental physics. In contrast to atomic systems with discrete transitions, nanoparticles…
Interfacial friction in nanofluidic systems can arise from fluctuation-induced coupling between liquid charge fluctuations and the internal excitations of the confining solid. Here, we develop a microscopic theory of exciton-mediated…
Studies involving nanomechanical motion have evolved from its detection and understanding of its fundamental aspects to its promising practical utility as an integral component of hybrid systems. Nanomechanical resonators' indispensable…
Nature inspired neuromorphic architectures are being explored as an alternative to imminent limitations of conventional complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) architectures. Utilization of such architectures for practical…
The rate of water flow through hydrophobic nanocapillaries is greatly enhanced as compared to that expected from macroscopic hydrodynamics. This phenomenon is usually described in terms of a relatively large slip length, which is in turn…
Nanowires play a pivotal role across a spectrum of disciplines such as nanoelectromechanical systems, nanoelectronics, and energy applications. As nanowires continue to diminish in dimensions, their mechanical characteristics are…
The electroosmotic flow of non-Newtonian fluids in deformable microchannels is fundamentally important in the understanding of the hydrodynamics in physiological flows. The performance of these microchannels is governed by the load bearing…
Two-dimensional (2D) materials are envisaged as ultra-thin solid lubricants for nano-mechanical systems. So far, their frictional properties at the nanoscale have been studied by standard friction force microscopy. However, lateral…
Metasurfaces with tunable functionalities are greatly desired for modern optical system and various applications. To increase the operating channels of polarization-multiplexed metasurfaces, we proposed a structure of N cascaded…
Self-assembly of nanoparticles at fluid-fluid interfaces is a promising route to fabricate functional materials from the bottom-up. However, directing and controlling particles into highly tunable and predictable structures -- while…
Lipid membranes, the barrier defining living cells and many of their sub-compartments, bind to a wide variety of nano- and micro-meter sized objects. In the presence of strong adhesive forces, membranes can strongly deform and wrap the…
Understanding and controlling phase transitions is a fundamental part of physics and has been central to many technological revolutions, from steam engines to field-effect transistors. At present, there is strong interest in materials with…
Breakthroughs in nanotechnology have enabled the large-scale fabrication of nanoparticles with varied compositions and structures. Yet, evaluating their electrical conductivities remains challenging due to high volume and individual…
Soft machines display shape adaptation to external circumstances due to their intrinsic compliance. To achieve increasingly more responsive behaviors upon interactions without relying on centralized computation, embodying memory directly in…
The human brain, with its energy-efficient and massively parallel architecture seamlessly integrates memory and computation. Its topology and functionality serve as the inspiration for the field of neuromorphic computing. Realizing…
The use of electrophoretic forces to tune friction at material-nanoparticle-liquid interfaces with static or low frequency (0.6-50 mHz) electric fields is reported for the first time. External electric fields were employed to reposition…
We study the snapping instability of a spherical elastic shell induced by a viscous flow, the umbrella flipping problem when life is at low Reynolds numbers. We combine precision desktop-scale experiments, fluid-structure simulations, shell…
Tunable metasurfaces enable active and on-demand control over optical wavefronts through reconfigurable scattering of resonant nanostructures. Here, we present novel insights inspired by mechanical metamaterials to achieve giant tunability…