Imec demonstrates 18nm pitch line/space patterning with a high-chi directed self-assembly process

This week, at the 2021 SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference, imec demonstrates for the first time the capability of directed self-assembly (DSA) to pattern line/spaces with a pitch as small as 18 nm, using a high-chi block copolymer (high-χ BCP) based process under high volume manufacturing (HVM) conditions. An optimized dry-etch chemistry was used to successfully transfer the pattern into an underlying thick SiN layer—which will enable further defectivity inspection. These results confirm the potential of DSA to complement traditional top-down patterning for the industrial fabrication of sub-2 nm technology nodes.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-imec-18nm-pitch-linespace-patterning.html

We can't trust big tech or the government to weed out fake news, but a public-led approach just might work

The federal government's News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, which passed the Senate today, makes strong points about the need to regulate misinformation.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-big-tech-weed-fake-news.html

The Texas deep freeze left the state in crisis: 3 lessons for Australia

The US state of Texas has this month experienced some of its coldest weather on record. Houston recorded a temperature of -10.6℃, which is around 20℃ below average. And Dallas-Fort Worth recorded its lowest-ever temperature of -18.9℃.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-texas-deep-left-state-crisis.html

How 'tiger farms' have turned a wild animal into a species worth more dead than alive

Tigers could once be found across much of Asia, from eastern Turkey to Siberia and Indonesia. Today, they are reduced to living in just 6% of their former range. In many of these areas tigers are no longer even valued as free-ranging wild animals, but merely as products for financial profit, worth more dead than alive.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-tiger-farms-wild-animal-species.html

What do our climate refugees look like?

When the bushfires hit the town of Drake in NSW, Rod Simpson says he became one of Australia's first climate refugees. He's traveled across States, and the Tasman waters in search of a place to settle. More than a year on, he's still searching.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-climate-refugees.html

Consumers demanding more sustainability information from food industry

Shoppers don't trust the sustainability credentials being provided by the food industry, a new European survey shows.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-consumers-demanding-sustainability-food-industry.html

Fear of the light may help tiny ocean creatures survive a brighter future

An aversion to light has long been a survival tactic used by the smallest creatures in our ocean, but research co-led by the University of Strathclyde has discovered this photophobia may already be protecting them against impacts of environmental changes in the Arctic.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-tiny-ocean-creatures-survive-brighter.html

New model describes wave behavior in straits, predicts killer waves

A Skoltech researcher has developed a theoretical model of wave formation in straits and channels that accounts for nonlinear effects in the presence of a coastline. This research can improve wave prediction, making maritime travel safer and protecting coastline infrastructure. The paper was published in the journal Ocean Dynamics.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-behavior-straits-killer.html

10-year battle of sea urchins vs. invasive seaweed

The first hatchery-raised sea urchins outplanted in Kāneʻohe Bay are 10-years-old, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit (PCSU) and the State of Hawaiʻi Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) are celebrating the milestone anniversary. The sea urchin hatchery, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and DAR, successfully transplanted the first cohort in January 2011 and has since released 600,000 sea urchins across the state.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-year-sea-urchins-invasive-seaweed.html

Researchers discover mechanism behind influence of irradiation defects on tritium permeation barrier

Recently, researchers led by Prof. Zhou Haishan from the Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) reported their new findings about the influence of irradiation effects on hydrogen permeation through alpha-alumina (α-Al2O3) tritium permeation barrier (TPB).

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-mechanism-irradiation-defects-tritium-permeation.html

When natural disasters and pandemics strike together, expect a slow recovery

When a pandemic and a natural disaster hit a community simultaneously, disease exposure and social distancing can limit the availability of critical personnel, leaving a community positioned for a lengthy recovery. With both types of events expected to occur with increasing frequency, a team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has been running simulations to better understand how communities can weather concurrent crises.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-natural-disasters-pandemics-recovery.html

Researchers send entangled qubit states through a communication channel for the first time

In a breakthrough for quantum computing, University of Chicago researchers have sent entangled qubit states through a communication cable linking one quantum network node to a second node.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-entangled-qubit-states-channel.html

Benefits of team building exercises jeopardized if not truly voluntary

Zoom dress up parties and 'trust falls' - team building has become the go-to tool for managers trying to increase rapport and productivity, but many employees resent compulsory bonding, often regarding it as the bane of their workplace existence.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-benefits-team-jeopardized-voluntary.html

Image: Greener way to get satellites moving

A sustained test firing of a 'green' satellite thruster at Poland's Institute of Aviation, intended as a future alternative to today's hydrazine-based apogee engines, typically used by telecommunication satellites to maneuver into their final geostationary orbits.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-image-greener-satellites.html

Allergy season starts earlier each year due to climate change and pollen transport

Allergy sufferers are no strangers to problems with pollen. But now, due to climate change, the pollen season is lasting longer and starting earlier than ever before, meaning more days of itchy eyes and runny noses. Warmer temperatures cause flowers to bloom earlier, while higher CO2 levels cause more pollen to be produced.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-allergy-season-earlier-year-due.html

Never too late: Pandemic propels older shoppers online

In November, Paula Mont did something new: The 86-year-old, who hasn't left her New Jersey senior living community in nearly a year, went shopping—online.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-late-pandemic-propels-older-shoppers.html

Australia passes law to make Google, Facebook pay for news

Australia's law forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news is ready to take effect, though the laws' architect said it will take time for the digital giants to strike media deals.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-australia-law-google-facebook-news.html

Facebook says it will pay $1B over 3 years to news industry

Facebook, following in Google's footsteps, says it plans to invest $1 billion to "support the news industry" over the next three years.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2021-02-facebook-1b-years-news-industry.html

Study finds human-caused North Atlantic right whale deaths are being undercounted

A study co-authored by scientists at the New England Aquarium has found that known deaths of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales represent a fraction of the true death toll. This comes as the death of a calf and recent sightings of entangled right whales off the southeastern United States raise alarm.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-human-caused-north-atlantic-whale-deaths.html

A 4.4 million-year-old skeleton could reveal how early humans began to walk upright

Evolutionary expert Charles Darwin and others recognized a close evolutionary relationship between humans, chimps and gorillas based on their shared anatomies, raising some big questions: how are humans related to other primates, and exactly how did early humans move around? Research by a Texas A&M University professor may provide some answers.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-million-year-old-skeleton-reveal-early-humans.html

Scientists achieve breakthrough in culturing corals and sea anemones cells

Researchers have perfected the recipe for keeping sea anemone and coral cells alive in a petri dish for up to 12 days. The new study, led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, has important applications to study everything from evolutionary biology to human health.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-scientists-breakthrough-culturing-corals-sea.html

On the line: Watching nanoparticles get in shape

Liquid structures—liquid droplets that maintain a specific shape—are useful for a variety of applications, from food processing to cosmetics, medicine, and even petroleum extraction, but researchers have yet to tap into these exciting new materials' full potential because not much is known about how they form.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-line-nanoparticles.html

A-maze-ing pheasants have two ways of navigating

Pheasants fall into two groups in terms of how they find their way around—and the different types prefer slightly different habitats, new research shows.

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-a-maze-ing-pheasants-ways.html

Nanobodies could help CRISPR turn genes on and off

The genetic tool CRISPR has been likened to molecular scissors for its ability to snip out and replace genetic code within DNA. But CRISPR has a capability that could make it useful beyond genetic repairs. "CRISPR can precisely locate specific genes," says Lacramioara Bintu, an assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford. "What we did was attach CRISPR to nanobodies to help it perform specific actions when it reached the right spot on DNA."

source https://phys.org/news/2021-02-nanobodies-crispr-genes.html