Science Headlines | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Crystalline Fault Lines Provide Pathway for Solar Cell Current

A team of scientists studying solar cells made from cadmium telluride, a promising alternative to silicon, has discovered that microscopic "fault lines" within and between crystals of the material act as conductive pathways that ease the flow of electric current.

Construction of World’s Most Sensitive Dark Matter Detector Moves Forward

LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ), a next-generation dark matter detector that will be at least 100 times more sensitive than its predecessor, has cleared another approval milestone and is on schedule to begin its deep-underground hunt for theoretical particles known as WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles, in 2020.

Berkeley Lab Collaboration Enhances Optical Chip Design Process

A unique collaboration between a U.S. telecommunications equipment provider and a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory has helped dramatically improve design cycle times for future high-speed optical networking components.

GreenWood Resources Licenses ORNL Invention to Boost Biofuel Yield

GreenWood, a global timberland investment and asset management company based in Oregon, plans to commercialize the technology to select and breed better varieties of poplar with less lignin content, which simplifies the conversion process and ultimately lowers the overall costs of biofuel production.

Scientists Find Twisting 3-D Raceway for Electrons in Nanoscale Crystal Slices

The international team of scientists from Berkeley Lab, UC Berkeley, and Germany observed, for the first time, a unique behavior in which electrons rotate around one surface, then through the bulk of the material to its opposite surface and back.

SLAC’s X-ray Laser Glimpses How Electrons Dance with Atomic Nuclei in Materials

Studies at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory could help design and control materials with intriguing properties, including novel electronics, solar cells and superconductors.

Argonne Ahead of the "Curve" in Magnetic Study

A new study by Argonne researchers determined that magnetic skyrmions – small electrically uncharged circular structures with a spiraling magnetic pattern – do get deflected by an applied current, much like a curveball getting deflected by air.

Melissa Allen: The Atmosphere's the Limit

Melissa Allen’s work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is focused on urban infrastructure and atmospheric transport, creating models to determine the effects of temperature and climate changes on human activity.

Ames Laboratory Discovers Way to Make Alane a Better Hydrogen Fuel Option for Vehicles

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, in collaboration with several partners, have discovered a less-expensive, more energy-efficient way to produce alane – aluminum trihydride – a hydrogen source widely considered to be a technological dead-end for use in automotive vehicles.

A Conscious Coupling of Magnetic and Electric Materials

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and Cornell University have successfully paired ferroelectric and ferrimagnetic materials so that their alignment can be controlled with a small electric field at near room temperatures, an achievement that could open doors to ultra low-power microprocessors, storage devices and next-generation electronics.

'Schroedinger's Cat' Molecules Give Rise to Exquisitely Detailed Movies

Researchers at the Stanford PULSE Institute and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have exploited the Schroedinger’s Cat paradox - that an atom or molecule can also be in two different states at once - to create X-ray movies of atomic motion with much more detail than ever before.

Supercomputers Receive Funding to Help Predict and Modify New Materials

The Department of Energy (DOE) will invest $16 million over the next four years in supercomputer technology that will accelerate the design of new materials by combining theoretical and experimental efforts to create new validated codes.