Monday, March 31, 2025

Science News: Ancient ecosystem uncovered beneath Antarctic glacier collapse

 

Ancient ecosystem uncovered beneath Antarctic glacier collapse

Scientists uncover a thriving ecosystem beneath an Antarctic glacier, 

revealing corals, octopuses, and giant sea spiders untouched for centuries.


By Walla, March 30, 2025

An octopus rests on the seafloor at a depth of 1,150 meters in the Bellingshausen Sea off Antarctica, in an area where the edge of the shelf and the slope are carved by several underwater channels. (photo credit: Screenshot, ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute)



Scientists have recently uncovered a wondrous and vibrant underwater world, previously hidden beneath a massive glacier in Antarctica.

The glacier, covering an area of about 510 sq.km. — roughly three and a half times the size of Tel Aviv-Yafo —detached from the George VI Ice Shelf in January 2025, revealing a thriving seafloor never before seen by humans.

Among the fascinating creatures discovered were icefish, giant sea spiders, and octopuses — evidence of the astonishing biodiversity that endures even under the most extreme conditions.


The enormous glacier, now named A-84, broke away from the ice shelf in the Bellingshausen Sea—a marginal sea of the Southern Ocean along the western edge of the Antarctic Peninsula — while scientists were aboard the research vessel R/V Falkor, operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute.


When the dramatic event occurred, the research team swiftly altered their plans to seize the rare opportunity to explore the newly exposed depths.


Patricia Esquete examines a suspected new species of isopod collected from the Bellingshausen Sea seafloor. It will take researchers years to classify all the new species discovered during this expedition. (credit: Screenshot, Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute)


“We seized the moment and changed the expedition plan to explore what lies beneath,” said Dr. Patricia Esquete, a senior scientist with the research mission from the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies at the University of Aveiro in Portugal.

Over the course of eight days, the team explored the seafloor at depths reaching 1,300m. using an advanced underwater robot named ROV SuBastian. They discovered large coral reefs and sponge fields teeming with marine life — a thriving ecosystem that had managed to flourish despite the extreme cold and darkness.

Antarctica’s floating ice shelves hang over the sea like massive platforms, making access to the seafloor beneath them a major challenge for scientists. Typically, deep-sea creatures depend on organic matter sinking from the sunlit upper layers of the ocean.


A beautiful and lively ecosystem

However, this ecosystem — sealed beneath 150m. of ice for hundreds of years — developed in a unique way. “We did not expect to find such a beautiful and lively ecosystem,” said Dr. Esquete. “Given the size of the animals, it appears these communities have existed here for decades, maybe even centuries.”

Researchers believe that ocean currents may bring nutrients beneath the ice shelf, allowing these creatures to survive.


The exact process remains unclear, but the team hopes further studies will provide answers. “We originally came to this area to study the interface between the ice and the sea,” explained Dr. Jyotika Virmani, executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute.

“Being there right as the glacier calved was a rare scientific opportunity that gave us a first glimpse into the untouched beauty of nature.”

This discovery highlights the hidden wonders of our world and reminds us how much there is still to learn about nature — even in the coldest and most remote corners of the Earth, like Antarctica.




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Saturday, March 29, 2025

Space News: James Webb telescope reveals oxygen in galaxy from 13.4 billion years ago

 

James Webb telescope reveals oxygen in galaxy from 13.4 billion years ago


Light from JADES-GS-z14-0 has taken 13.4 billion years to reach Earth, revealing a chemically mature galaxy when the universe was less than 300 million years old.


By Jerusalem Post Staff, March 28, 2025

James Webb telescope reveals oxygen in galaxy from 13.4 billion years ago.
(photo credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Brant Robertson (UC Santa Cruz), Ben Johnson (CfA), Sandro Tacchella (Cambrid)

Recent studies have detected oxygen in the most distant galaxy ever recorded, JADES-GS-z14-0, challenging existing theories about early cosmic development. The findings were published by two teams separately: the first study, led by Italian researchers, appeared in Astronomy & Astrophysics, while the second, led by Dutch researchers, is online on the arXiv platform and pending publication in The Astrophysical Journal.

Astronomers using data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) identified oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0, a galaxy so distant that light from it has taken about 13.4 billion years to reach Earth. This means researchers observed the galaxy as it existed when the universe was less than 300 million years old, approximately 2% of its current age.

The detection of oxygen is causing the astronomical community to rethink how quickly galaxies formed in the early universe. "It's like finding a teenager where you would only expect to find babies," said Sander Schouws, a PhD student at Leiden Observatory and first author of one of the studies, referring to JADES-GS-z14-0's unexpected maturity.

Previously, scientists believed that the universe at that time was too young to form galaxies rich in heavy elements. However, JADES-GS-z14-0 was found to be chemically more mature than expected, indicating rapid chemical evolution. This suggests that stars in the early universe were born, died, and dispersed heavy elements into their surroundings much faster than previously thought.

"They opened a new view on the first phases of galaxy evolution," said Stefano Carniani from the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, referring to the rapid maturation of JADES-GS-z14-0.

The presence of oxygen allows astronomers to measure the distance to the early galaxy more accurately, confirming its extreme distance with an uncertainty of just 0.005%, as reported by Digital Trends. "Thanks to ALMA, we obtained an extremely precise measurement with an uncertainty of just 0.005%, equivalent to 5 centimeters over a distance of 1 kilometer," said Eleonora Parlanti, a PhD student at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa and author of one of the studies.


"I was really surprised by this clear detection of oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0," said Gergö Popping, an astronomer at the European Southern Observatory, according to The Independent.

The findings suggest that galaxies formed much faster than expected in the early universe, raising new questions about the development of the early cosmos. "The evidence of a mature galaxy in the infant universe raises questions about when and how galaxies formed," said Carniani.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) played a crucial role in this discovery, revealing that galaxies appeared earlier and were more luminous than anticipated. "While the galaxy was originally discovered with the James Webb Space Telescope, it took ALMA to confirm and precisely determine its enormous distance," said Rychard Bouwens of Leiden Observatory.

Astronomers are eager to understand how galaxies like JADES-GS-z14-0 could have matured so quickly. "It seems we are about to witness a paradigm shift in the models of the universe's evolution, and this is very exciting," said Andreu Font-Ribera from the Institute of High Energy Physics (IFAE) in Barcelona.

The unexpected discovery reveals the synergy between the JWST and ALMA in studying the formation and evolution of the first galaxies. "Together, we can study the formation and evolution of the first galaxies," said Bouwens.

The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.




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Friday, March 28, 2025

Nanostructured copper alloy rivals superalloys in strength and stability

MARCH 27, 2025, by Lehigh U.


Colorized scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) image showing a Cu3Li precipitate in the Cu-Ta-Li alloy. The orange-colored features are primarily Cu atoms in the alloy matrix, while the blue and yellow features correspond to the Cu3Li precipitate. The yellow represents Ta atoms in the atomic bilayer complexion, and the blue features represent Li atoms in the core of the Cu3Li precipitate.
 Credit: Lehigh University


Researchers from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and Lehigh University have developed a nanostructured copper alloy that could redefine high-temperature materials for aerospace, defense, and industrial applications.

Their findings, published in the journal Science, introduce a Cu-Ta-Li (copper-tantalum-lithium) alloy with exceptional thermal stability and mechanical strength, making it one of the most resilient copper-based materials ever created.

"This is cutting-edge science, developing a new material that uniquely combines copper's excellent conductivity with strength and durability on the scale of nickel-based superalloys," said Martin Harmer, the Alcoa Foundation Professor Emeritus of Materials Science and Engineering at Lehigh University and a co-author of the study. "It provides industry and the military with the foundation to create new materials for hypersonics and high-performance turbine engines."

The ARL and Lehigh researchers collaborated with scientists from Arizona State University and Louisiana State University to develop the alloy, which can withstand extreme heat without significant degradation.

Combining copper with a complexion-stabilized nanostructure

The breakthrough comes from the formation of Cu3Li precipitates, stabilized by a Ta-rich atomic bilayer complexion, a concept pioneered by the Lehigh researchers. Unlike typical grain boundaries that migrate over time at high temperatures, this complexion acts as a structural stabilizer, maintaining the nanocrystalline structure, preventing grain growth, and dramatically improving high-temperature performance.

The alloy holds its shape under extreme, long-term thermal exposure and mechanical stress, resisting deformation even near its melting point, noted Patrick Cantwell, a research scientist at Lehigh University and co-author of the study.

By merging the high-temperature resilience of nickel-based superalloys with copper—which is known for exceptional conductivity—the material paves the way for next-generation applications, including heat exchangers, advanced propulsion systems, and thermal management solutions for cutting-edge missile and hypersonic technologies.

A new class of high-performance materials

This new Cu-Ta-Li alloy offers a balance of properties not found in existing materials:Nickel-based superalloys (used in jet engines) are extremely strong but lack the high thermal conductivity of copper alloys.

Tungsten-based alloys are highly heat-resistant but dense and difficult to manufacture.

This Cu-Ta-Li alloy combines copper's exceptional heat and electrical conductivity while remaining strong and stable at extreme temperatures.

While not a direct replacement for traditional superalloys in ultra-high temperature applications, it has the potential to complement them in next-generation engineering solutions.

How the researchers made and tested it

The team synthesized the alloy using powder metallurgy and high-energy cryogenic milling, ensuring a fine-scale nanostructure. They then subjected it to:10,000 hours (over a year) of annealing at 800°C, testing its long-term stability.

Advanced microscopy techniques, revealing the Cu3Li precipitate structure.

Creep resistance experiments, confirming its durability under extreme conditions.

Computational modeling using density functional theory (DFT), which validated the stabilizing role of the Ta bilayer complexion.

The U.S. Army Research Laboratory was awarded a U.S. patent (US 11,975,385 B2) for the alloy, highlighting its strategic significance, particularly in defense applications like military heat exchangers, propulsion systems, and hypersonic vehicles.

The scientists say further research will include direct measurements of the alloy's thermal conductivity compared to nickel-based alternatives, work to ready it for potential applications, and the development of other high-temperature alloys following a similar design strategy.

"This project is a great example of how federal investment in fundamental science drives American leadership in materials technology," Harmer said. "Scientific discoveries such as this are key to strengthening national security and fueling industrial innovation."



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Saturday, March 22, 2025

Defense News: Boeing wins contract for NGAD fighter jet, dubbed F-47

 

Boeing wins contract for NGAD fighter jet, dubbed F-47


By Stephen Losey, Defense News.com, Mar.21/2025



The Air Force said Boeing's F-47 will fly by the end of President Trump's administration. Shown here is early Boeing concept art for its version of NGAD. (Boeing)

Editor’s note: This is a developing story.


The Pentagon has awarded the long-awaited contract for the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance future fighter jet, known as NGAD, to Boeing, President Donald Trump announced Friday.


The sixth-generation fighter, which will replace the F-22 Raptor, will be designated the F-47, Trump said. It will have “state-of-the-art stealth technologies [making it] virtually unseeable,” and will fly alongside multiple autonomous drone wingmen known as collaborative combat aircraft.


“It’s something the likes of which nobody has ever seen before,” Trump said in an Oval Office announcement with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin and Lt. Gen. Dale White, the Air Force’s military deputy for acquisition, technology and logistics. “In terms of all the attributes of a fighter jet, there’s never been anything even close to it, from speed to maneuverability to what it can have [as] payload. And this has been in the works for a long period of time.”


“America’s enemies will never see it coming,” he continued.


              An updated illustration of the Boeing F-47 NGAD concept (Boeing)

The competition for NGAD was between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, after Northrop Grumman announced in 2023 that it would not compete for the program as a prime contractor.


A statement from Boeing was not immediately available.


Allvin said in a statement Friday that experimental versions of the NGAD have been flying for the last five years, “flying hundreds of hours, testing cutting-edge concepts and proving that we can push the envelope of technology with confidence.”


Allvin said the significant advance experimentation and work on the F-47 will allow the service to fly the jet by the end of Trump’s administration.



Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin presents a display of the F-47, the Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance fighter. (Screenshot via Defense Department)


“The F-47 has unprecedented maturity,” Allvin said. “While the F-22 is currently the finest air superiority fighter in the world, and its modernization will make it even better, the F-47 is a generational leap forward. The maturity of the aircraft at this phase in the program confirms its readiness to dominate the future fight.”


Allvin said the F-47 would cost less than the F-22 and “be more adaptable to future threats,” and that the Air Force will have more NGAD fighters in its fleet than Raptors. The Air Force now has about 180 F-22s which cost $143 million apiece.


Trump declined to reveal the price of NGAD, saying that would reveal some of the jet’s highly classified technology and size.



The price of NGAD has presented a major vulnerability to the program, one which placed it in jeopardy last year. Former Air Force Sec. Frank Kendall paused the program in July 2024 after cost estimates came in around triple that of the F-35, or as much as $300 million per tail.


Trump also left the door open to selling versions of NGAD to allies — though he said those might be “toned-down” versions.


“Because someday, maybe they’re not our allies, right?” Trump said.




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Thursday, March 20, 2025

Defense News: RAFAEL and Elbit Secure Contract to Equip NATO Frigates with Advanced Naval Decoy Systems

 

RAFAEL and Elbit Secure Contract to Equip NATO Frigates with Advanced Naval Decoy Systems


The four-year contract will provide five vessels with the DESEAVER MK-4 system and RAFAEL's cutting-edge decoy countermeasures, enhancing maritime electronic warfare capabilities

By Israel Defense, 17/03/25

                           Decoy Launcher. Photo: Elbit Systems website

Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd. and Elbit Systems Ltd. have been awarded a contract to supply a cutting-edge Naval Decoy Control & Launching System (DCLS) to protect the new Frigates of NATO European countries. The contract, set to be executed over a period of four years, includes the delivery of systems for 5 vessels. The agreement is part of a joint program between RAFAEL and Elbit, and will provide an integrated solution from both companies, featuring Elbit's state-of-the-art operational DESEAVER MK-4 Stabilized and Trainable DCLS, along with a range of RAFAEL's high-end decoy countermeasures. 

RAFAEL's passive and active decoy countermeasures were designed to effectively neutralize threats such as advanced Anti-Ship Missile (ASM) seekers. RAFAEL's family of passive RF and IR decoy countermeasures, such as BEAM TRAP, SMOKE TRAP and WIZARD has undergone a significant recent upgrade with the addition of the C-GEM active decoy, developed specifically to counter the most threatening adversary ASMs.

Elbit's DESEAVER MK-4 Countermeasure Dispensing System (CMDS) is an advanced maritime Electronic Warfare (EW) solution designed to effectively counter complex missile attack scenarios. The system is part of Elbit's advanced integrated EW suite, which enables high situational awareness in the maritime arena and the ability to counter various threats. The combination of the suite's ECM capabilities with the launcher's decoy system enhances the ship's defense capabilities against different threats.

The integrated system fires various types of decoy rounds from multiple launchers to counter simultaneous threats, positioning it as the fourth generation of naval EW dispensing systems that enhance soft-kill anti-missile defense capabilities. The system consists of trainable and stabilized launchers, capable of rapidly and accurately deploying decoys selected by anti-missile algorithms. It supports the launch of both passive and active decoys and is fully integrated with other ship combat systems. The solution enables the transition from legacy fixed Decoy Launching Systems to the DESEAVER MK-4 an operational trainable and stabilized DLS, combining both passive and active decoy countermeasures. This will significantly enhance the vessel's survivability in modern combat scenarios.

Israel's Rafael has developed C-GEM, a shipborne active off-board decoy for countering anti-ship missiles. (Rafael Advanced Defense Systems)

Tzvi Marmor, EVP and General Manager of RAFAEL's Land and Naval Systems Division: "We are proud to lead this partnership and are honored by the trust that has been placed in us by awarding us this significant contract. We are committed to delivering cutting-edge, combat-proven electronic warfare solutions that enhance naval operational capabilities. With decades of operational experience and a deep understanding of the evolving threats in the maritime domain, RAFAEL is dedicated to providing reliable and innovative EW systems that ensure mission success and safeguard our allies at sea."

Oren Sabag, General Manager of Elbit Systems ISTAR & EW: "This award adds to the many contracts we have secured in recent years for EW self-protection solutions across the naval and air domains, highlighting our advanced and proven technologies. The modern battlefield demands innovative and effective EW self-protection solutions, and we are proud to deliver these advanced systems that enhance the effectiveness and self-protection of forces."



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Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Cosmic rays' vast energy traced to magnetic turbulence

DEC. 10, 2024, by C. D. Shea, Columbia U.


Volume rendering of (a) ∣∇ × B∣ and (b) ∣∇ × ΓV∣ (normalized to their respective rms values) taken at t = 2.5lc/c from the reference turbulence simulation (σ = 16, lc/di = 133). 
(c) One-dimensional spectra of the turbulent magnetic field (red) and fluid four-velocity (blue) at t = 2.5lc/c. Each spectrum is normalized so that ∑k⊥P(k⊥)=1. A power-law slope of k⊥−5/3 (dashed black line) is shown for reference. 
Credit: The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2024). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad955f

Ultra-high energy cosmic rays, which emerge in extreme astrophysical environments—like the roiling environments near black holes and neutron stars—have far more energy than the energetic particles that emerge from our sun. In fact, the particles that make up these streams of energy have around 10 million times the energy of particles accelerated in the most extreme particle environment on earth, the human-made Large Hadron Collider.

Where does all that energy come from? For many years, scientists believed it came from shocks that occur in extreme astrophysical environments—when, for example, a star explodes before forming a black hole, causing a huge explosion that kicks up particles.

That theory was plausible, but, according to new research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the observations are better explained by a different mechanism. The source of the cosmic rays' energy, the researchers found, is more likely magnetic turbulence. The paper's authors found that magnetic fields in these environments tangle and turn, rapidly accelerating particles and sharply increasing their energy up to an abrupt cutoff.

"These findings help solve enduring questions that are of great interest to both astrophysicists and particle physicists about how these cosmic rays get their energy," said Luca Comisso, associate research scientist in the Columbia Astrophysics Lab, and one of the paper's authors.

The paper complements research published by Comisso and collaborators on the sun's energetic particles, which they also found emerge from magnetic fields in the sun's corona. In that paper, Comisso and his colleagues discovered ways to better predict where those energetic particles would emerge.

Ultra-high energy cosmic rays are orders of magnitude more powerful than the sun's energetic particles: They can reach up to 1020 electron volts, whereas particles from the sun can reach up to 1010 electron volts, a 10-order-of-magnitude difference. (To give an idea of this vast difference in scale, consider the difference in weight between a grain of rice with a mass of about 0.05 grams and a 500-ton Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft.)

"It's interesting that these two extremely different environments share something in common: their magnetic fields are highly tangled and this tangled nature is crucial for energizing particles," Comisso said.

"Remarkably, the data on ultra-high energy cosmic rays clearly prefers the predictions of magnetic turbulence over those of shock acceleration. This is a real breakthrough for the field," said Glennys R. Farrar, an author on the paper and professor of physics at New York University.



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by Chuck

Sunday, December 8, 2024

 Carbon Nanotubes Store Triple the Energy of Lithium Batteries

BY U. OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY DEC. 7, 2024

Scanning electron microscope images show some carbon nanotube “ropes” subjected to different twist strains. 
Credit: In-situ micrographs observed by Preety Ahuja

New research shows that twisted carbon nanotubes can store high densities of energy to power sensors or other technology.

Researchers have discovered that twisted carbon nanotubes can store triple the energy of lithium-ion batteries per unit mass, making them ideal for lightweight and safe energy storage applications like medical implants.

Groundbreaking Energy Storage Research

A global team of scientists, including two researchers from the Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST) at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), has demonstrated that twisted carbon nanotubes can store three times more energy per unit mass than advanced lithium-ion batteries. This breakthrough positions carbon nanotubes as a promising solution for energy storage in lightweight, compact, and safe devices like medical implants and sensors. The findings were recently published in Nature Nanotechnology.

The study was a collaborative effort among four institutions, led by Shigenori Utsumi from Suwa University of Science in Chino, Japan, Katsumi Kaneko from Shinshu University in Nagano, Japan, and Sanjeev Kumar Ujjain from CAST. Kumar Ujjain began the project at Shinshu University and continued his work after joining UMBC in 2022. Preety Ahuja, also from CAST, played a key role in the material characterization phase of the research.

Innovative Properties of Carbon Nanotubes

The researchers studied single-walled carbon nanotubes, which are like straws made from pure carbon sheets only 1 atom thick. Carbon nanotubes are lightweight, relatively easy to manufacture, and about 100 times stronger than steel. Their amazing properties have led scientists to explore their potential use in a wide range of futuristic-sounding technology, including space elevators.

To investigate carbon nanotubes’ potential for storing energy, the UMBC researchers and their colleagues manufactured carbon nanotube “ropes” from bundles of commercially available nanotubes. After pulling and twisting the tubes into a single thread, the researchers then coated them with different substances intended to increase the ropes’ strength and flexibility.

Impressive Energy Storage Capabilities

The team tested how much energy the ropes could store by twisting them up and measuring the energy that was released as the ropes unwound. They found that the best-performing ropes could store 15,000 times more energy per unit mass than steel springs, and about three times more energy than lithium-ion batteries. The stored energy remains consistent and accessible at temperatures ranging from -76 to +212 °F (-60 to +100 °C). The materials in the carbon nanotube ropes are also safer for the human body than those used in batteries.

“Humans have long stored energy in mechanical coil springs to power devices such as watches and toys,” Kumar Ujjain says. “This research shows twisted carbon nanotubes have great potential for mechanical energy storage, and we are excited to share the news with the world.” He says the CAST team is already working to incorporate twisted carbon nanotubes as an energy source for a prototype sensor they are developing.


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Friday, December 6, 2024

Breakthrough Material Perfectly Absorbs All Electromagnetic Waves

BY NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, NOV. 26, 2024

Researchers have created an ultra-thin film that can absorb almost all electromagnetic waves across several frequency bands, significantly boosting the performance of wireless communication devices. (Artist’s concept.) 
Credit: SciTechDaily.com

A new composite material developed by KIMS researchers absorbs over 99% of electromagnetic waves from different frequencies, improving the performance of devices like smartphones and wearables.

A team of scientists from the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) has developed the world’s first ultra-thin film composite material capable of absorbing over 99% of electromagnetic waves from various frequency bands, including 5G/6G, WiFi, and autonomous driving radar, using a single material.

This novel electromagnetic wave absorption and shielding material is less than 0.5mm thick and is characterized by its low reflectance of less than 1% and high absorbance of over 99% across three different frequency bands.

A conceptual diagram of the electromagnetic wave absorption and shielding material developed by the research team, along with the designed conductive pattern. 
Credit: Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS)

Challenges in Electromagnetic Wave Absorption

Electromagnetic waves emitted by electronic components can cause interference, leading to performance degradation in nearby electronic devices. Electromagnetic shielding materials are used to prevent this, and absorbing electromagnetic waves is more effective at reducing interference than merely reflecting them. However, conventional electromagnetic shielding materials reflect over 90% of the waves, with an actual absorbance often as low as 10%. Moreover, materials with higher absorbance are typically limited to absorbing electromagnetic waves within a single frequency band.

Advancements in Multi-Frequency Absorption

To overcome these limitations, the research team developed a composite material that can absorb electromagnetic waves across multiple frequency bands simultaneously. This technology absorbs and eliminates electromagnetic waves, resolving secondary interference issues. The material is also thin, flexible, and durable enough to maintain its shape even after being folded and unfolded thousands of times, making it suitable for rollable phones and wearable devices.

The electromagnetic wave absorption and shielding material developed by the research team, showing its thin and flexible form & its shape remaining intact even after 5,000 bending tests. 
Credit: Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS)

Enhancements in Material Technology and Applications

The team, led by Dr. Byeongjin Park and Dr. Sang Bok Lee from the Composites & Convergence Materials Research Division at KIMS, synthesized a magnetic material by altering the crystal structure of ferrite, enabling it to selectively absorb desired frequencies. They produced an ultra-thin polymer composite film and incorporated conductive patterns on the film’s back side to control the propagation of electromagnetic waves. By adjusting the shape of the conductive pattern, electromagnetic wave reflection at specific frequencies can be dramatically reduced. A carbon nanotube thin film with high shielding properties was also applied to the back to further enhance the material’s electromagnetic wave shielding capabilities.

Senior Researcher Byeongjin Park of KIMS, who led the project, commented, “As the applications of 5G/6G communications continue to expand, the importance of electromagnetic wave absorption and shielding materials is growing.” He added, “This material has the potential to significantly improve the reliability of wireless communication devices such as smartphones and autonomous vehicle radars.”

Reference: “Absorption-Dominant Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Shielding across Multiple mmWave Bands Using Conductive Patterned Magnetic Composite and Double-Walled Carbon Nanotube Film” by Byeongjin Park, Sosan Hwang, Horim Lee, Yeonsu Jung, Taehoon Kim, Suk Jin Kwon, Dawoon Jung and Sang-bok Lee, 28 May 2024, Advanced Functional Materials.
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202406197

This research was funded by KIMS’ fundamental research projects and the Electromagnetic Solution Integrated Research Group (SEIF) under the National Research Council of Science & Technology. The findings were published as the cover article in the October 1st edition of the internationally renowned journal Advanced Functional Materials (first author: Dr. Byeongjin Park). The research team has completed domestic patent registration and has also applied for patents in the U.S., China, and other countries. Additionally, the technology has been transferred to several domestic material companies, and it is currently being applied to actual communication devices and automobiles.


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