News :

Dynamic nuclear polarization, or DNP, can make solid-state NMR several times more sensitive. Researchers at Irig have been developing the technique to gain new insights into the surface chemistry of cellulose nanofibrils onto which an active molecule had been grafted. They were able to distinguish between adsorption and covalent grafting, which allowed them to quantify […] >>

Magnetoencephalography (MEG), a functional brain imaging technique, uses SQUIDs cooled to 4 K and placed at a certain distance from the patient’s cranium. Alternatively, alkaline-based sensors heated to 150 °C and also placed at a certain distance from the patient, are used. CEA-Leti has come up with a third way: sensors that use helium-4 gas excited […] >>

Magneto-ionics, or the voltage-controlled transport of atoms in and out of a magnetic material to alter the material’s properties, is a relatively new discipline. Irig researches are part of an international team* that recently made an important breakthrough. Rather than displacing oxygen atoms, which are widely used in magnetic layers, the researchers utilized nitrogen, which […] >>

Exposing degenerating neurons to near infrared light could slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. A preclinical trial of this approach in 2016 produced excellent results. The first patient in a new clinical trial was implanted with the neuron-illuminating device at Clinatec at the end of March. Parkinson’s disease affects 6.5 million people worldwide. Although treatments—like […] >>

In the future, quantum devices cooled to 10 mK will be used together with conventional electronics. Which raises the question of how well CMOS components, designed to operate at ambient temperature, hold up in temperatures close to absolute zero. To test out this scenario, researchers from Irig and CEA-Leti made hybrid circuits with the two […] >>