Researchers demonstrate the first time-bin encoded quantum key distribution using a deterministic telecom quantum dot source (Figure 1). The system distributes quantum keys over 120 km of fiber and runs stably for 6 hours. It delivers the highest key rate reported for time-bin QKD with single-photon sources, validating a robust route toward scalable quantum-secure networks based on solid-state emitters.

3D printing could change how we build parts for jet engines and power plants, but the process leaves microscopic holes that cause the materials to shatter. Publishing in International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, Prof. Fangyong Niu's team in Dalian University of Technology have fixed the problem by doing something unconventional: they added a microwave.

Publishing in International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, Prof. Yanquan Geng's team in Harbin Institute of Technology have devised a way to carve variable-depth, three-dimensional trenches into gallium antimonide, a notably brittle semiconductor, using a microscopic tip vibrating thousands of times per second.

Materials with nearly identical atomic structures can exhibit strikingly different properties, a puzzle in glass physics. According to the researchers, from China and Denmark, the key lies not in geometry but in chemical-bonding heterogeneity. Deep-learning simulations and bond-order analysis reveal how electronic interaction variations regulate atomic mobility and β relaxation in Pd-based metallic glasses, establishing bonding heterogeneity as a fundamental driver of structure–relaxation coupling.

This study cross-applies d-band center theory from catalysis to stabilize zinc anodes in aqueous electrolytes. By adding oxalic acid, the d-band center of Zn is downshifted, fundamentally weakening hydrogen adsorption and suppressing hydrogen evolution. Concurrently, it optimizes the Zn²⁺ solvation sheath, minimizing byproduct formation. The Zn||I₂ battery enables a high Coulombic efficiency of and retaining 92.8% capacity after 10,000 cycles. This work pioneers a new paradigm for stabilizing metal anodes via surface electronic structure modulation.

A collaborative study published in National Science Review utilized an h-BN-encapsulated scanning tunneling microscopy technique to investigate twisted bilayer MoTe₂. Researchers directly observed electric-field-tuned topological moiré flat bands transitioning from a honeycomb to a triangular lattice and visualized Wigner molecular crystals, providing atomic-scale evidence for topological phase transitions and charge-ordered states in this material. The full study can be found in National Science Review.

HfO₂-based ferroelectrics are promising for embedded non-volatile memory, but typically require high crystallization temperatures. Researchers developed an in-situ ALD lanthanum-doping approach that enables robust ferroelectricity under low thermal budgets, delivering low-voltage operation, high breakdown voltage, and endurance over 10¹¹ cycles.

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have succeeded in detecting laser-assisted electron scattering (LAES) using circularly polarized light for the first time. The use of circularly polarized light promises valuable insights into how atomic scale “helicity” impacts how electrons interact with matter and light. Using synchronized femtosecond laser pulses and electron pulses directed at argon atoms, they succeeded in detecting a LAES signal showing excellent agreement with theory.

Scientists in Sweden and the U.S. today reported the first-ever direct observation a type of short‑lived molecule that has shaped decades of thinking in atmospheric chemistry, combustion research and biomedical science.

Publishing in Science Advances, researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, in Stockholm, and Kinetic Chemistry Research in Mountain View, California, say their discovery of long-theorized, oxygen-rich tetroxides has implications in a number of sciences, including atmospheric chemistry, biochemistry and medicine and combustion chemistry.