Integrated valleytronics deviceResearchers from Monash University designed a valleytronics circuit that can generate, direct, and read light-based information on a single chip.
In a demonstration, the team successfully encoded and processed two different images simultaneously using the device.
“Until now, we could generate or detect these signals, but not do everything in one integrated device,” said Chi Li, a research fellow at Monash University, in a press release.
[2]Humidity-sensitive optical data storageResearchers from the University of California San Diego designed a device that can display different images depending on humidity levels.
Different humidity levels also induce color changes in the device.
Integrated valleytronics device
Researchers from Monash University designed a valleytronics circuit that can generate, direct, and read light-based information on a single chip. Potential applications include quantum computing, advanced imaging, and optical communication systems.
“We employ a straightforward stacking approach to integrate ultrathin materials with metasurfaces, overcoming the technical challenges of direct material growth on photonic structures and enabling further advances in valleytronics,” said Kaijian Xing, research fellow at Monash University, in a press release.
The device operates at room temperature and can handle multiple streams of information at once. In a demonstration, the team successfully encoded and processed two different images simultaneously using the device.
“Until now, we could generate or detect these signals, but not do everything in one integrated device,” said Chi Li, a research fellow at Monash University, in a press release. “What we’ve built is a complete on-chip system that can create, route and read this information with very high precision.” [1]
Tabletop 3D EUV for research
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin created a tabletop EUV lithography device that is more versatile for researchers than the commercial alternative. By stripping the printer down to just basic components, the team says it becomes modular and less expensive.
The team also adapted it to use a volumetric 3D patterning process that can print multiple layers of a 3D nanostructure in parallel, speeding up fabrication. Currently, the process can only pattern periodic structures, making it more useful for researching memory chips or photonics rather than logic. [2]
Humidity-sensitive optical data storage
Researchers from the University of California San Diego designed a device that can display different images depending on humidity levels. At normal or low humidity levels, one image is visible, but when humidity increases, a second image emerges and covers the first within about 300 milliseconds of the humidity changing. Different humidity levels also induce color changes in the device.
The postage stamp-sized two-layer device has a bottom layer composed of antimony trisulfide, a phase change material to which images can be written, erased and rewritten using a laser. The top layer is a hydrogel made of azido-grafted carboxymethyl cellulose, a soft material that swells in humid conditions and shrinks in drier ones, into which an image can be permanently patterned using UV light.
“You can imagine using this as a built-in security feature with the environment acting like a key that unlocks different pieces of information,” said Asad Nauman, an electrical and computer engineering postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego, in a press release. “One example would be something like a credit card security tag, where you can blow on it and reveal a hidden code. Another application would be an environmental sensor that changes color as the humidity changes.” [3]
References
[1] C. Li, K. Xing, W. Zhai, et al. An on-chip programmable valley optoelectronic nanocircuit. Nat. Photon. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-026-01916-0
[2] S. Mohanty, E. Flores, D. Hur, et al. Three-Dimensional Nanopatterning Using Extreme Ultraviolet Colloidal Talbot Lithography. Nano Letters 2026 26 (20), 6727-6734 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c01662
[3] A. Nauman, G. Gulinihali, T. Moncada, et al. Reversible optical data storage and encryption enabled by phase-change and hydrogel integration. Light Sci Appl 15, 238 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-026-02330-5
