Quantum information has been transferred between a cold atomic gas and a solid crystal using photons. The work was done by Nicolas Maring and colleagues at the Institute of Photonic Sciences and the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology and could lead to significant advances in quantum computing and even the creation of a 'quantum internet'. An important challenge in building a quantum computer is how to transfer quantum bits (qubits...

In a recent work published in Nature Communications, a research group led by ICREA Professor at ICFO Frank Koppens demonstrates a way to detect low-energy photons using vertical heterostructures made by stacking graphene and other 2D semiconducting materials. By studying the photo response of these atomically thin sandwiches, researchers have shown that it is possible to generate a current by heating electrons in graphene with infrared light and ...

ICFO researchers Dr. Maria Bernechea, Dr. Nicky Miller, Guillem Xercavins, David So, and Dr. Alexandros Stavrinadis, led by ICREA Prof. at ICFO Gerasimos Konstantatos have fabricated a solution-processed, semi-transparent solar cell based on AgBiS2 nanocrystals, a material that consists of non-toxic, earth-abundant elements, produced in ambient conditions at low temperatures.