Current Events

Internet 1: An Optical Switch Based On a Single Nano-Diamond

A recent study led by researchers of the ICFO (Institute of Photonic Sciences) demonstrates that a single nano-diamond can be operated as an ultrafast single-emitter optical switch operating at room temperature.

Internet 2: Improving the Performance of Titanium Implants

Researchers in Japan and China tested a novel urease fabrication process for coating titanium implants with bioactive CaP/gelatin composites. Published in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, the research suggests that titanium implants coated with CaP and gelatin have great potential in clinical joint replacement or dental implants.

Magazine: The Diamond Makers Diamonds forms deep in Earth when carbon experiences searing heat and crushing pressure.

Newspaper: Earth may have had two moons

Earth may once have two moons. The smaller moon is believed to have only survived for a few million years before it collide with the one we see today, leaving just one.

Internet 1

An Optical Switch Based On a Single Nano-Diamond

The scientific results of this study have been published in Nature Physics. Electronic transistors have become a key component to modern electronics, drastically improving the speed of information processing of current technologies. An electronic transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals. The much sought after optical transistor (the photonic counterpart of the electronic transistor) is poised to become a central ingredient in the development of optical signal processing. The motivation for using photons rather than electrons not only comes from their faster dynamics but also from their weaker interaction with the environment, which enable a high degree of integration and the realization of quantum operations. Prior studies have demonstrated that single dye molecules can be operated as optical transistors with the disadvantage that they worked exclusively at extremely low temperatures. Such restrictions on the temperature made these optical transistors cumbersome for application to quantum computing. However in this recent ICFO study, scientists have shown that a nano-size diamond at room temperature can act as an efficient optical switch controllable with light. A Nanodiamond containing a nitrogen impurity behaves like an artificial atom although much more stable at room temperature than a real atom due to its encapsulation. The ICFO scientists discovered a novel physical mechanism that enables the control of the way the nano-diamond interacts with light. While excited to its ON state by a green laser, a suitable near infrared illumination was found to act as an efficient and fast way to switch it OFF. Based on this simple concept, they were able to modulate the optical nanodiamond ON and OFF at extremely high speeds, demonstrating its robustness and viability for very fast information processing and quantum computer operations. Quidant remarks that "what is really attractive about our discovery is that our nanoswitch combines very small dimensions (compatible with integrating a large number of them in a small area) with very fast response time (meaning lots of operations in a short time) and operation at room temperature." This new technique will contribute to the development of future integrated optical circuits as well as quantum information processing for quantum computing. This work is a collaborative effort between the research groups at ICFO led by ICREA Professors at ICFO Javier Garca de Abajo and Romain Quidant.

Internet 2

Improving the Performance of Titanium Implants

Titanium (Ti) and its alloys are the most popular materials used in orthopedic implants because of their good mechanical and chemical properties, biocompatibility, corrosion resistance and low allergenicity. One drawback, however, is that they cannot bond directly to living bone, but need to be coated with bioactive materials to improve their integration. Calcium phosphate (CaP) and collagen are the main constituents of natural bone, and therefore gelatin a denatured form of collagen has excellent biodegradability and biocompatibility properties. Many organic-inorganic composites combine the advantages of each component, hence a composite of CaP and gelatin may be an effective coating for Ti implants. In a study published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, researchers in Japan and China tested a novel urease fabrication process for coating titanium implants with bioactive CaP/gelatin composites. In the study, Wei-Qi Yan and colleagues implanted tiny 2 mm by 10 mm CaP/gel/Ti and CaP/Ti rods into the thigh bone of rabbits, while pure Ti rods served as controls. Four and eight weeks following the operation, the authors observed much more new bone on the surface of the composite CaP/gel/Ti rods than in the other two groups. What's more, the CaP/gel/Ti rods bonded to the surrounding bone directly, with no intervening soft tissue layer. The authors concluded that the CaP/gel/Ti implants fabricated using their urease process not only enhanced the proliferation of stem cells and differentiation of bone cells, but also the bone bonding ability of the implants. This research suggests that titanium implants coated with CaP and gelatin have great potential in clinical joint replacement or dental implants