[Sci-Tech NOW] POSTECH leads Korea’s first selection for QuantERA international quantum technology program

■ POSTECH introduced on the twenty ninth that, as Korea joins the international quantum technology joint analysis program lsquo;QuantERArsquo; for the first time, each of the domestically chosen analysis groups are from POSTECH. Professor Junho Seo’s staff within the Department of Physics was chosen for the ‘ENTUNE’ challenge, and Professor Gil-Ho Lee’s staff was chosen for the ‘STAQuS’ challenge. They will conduct international joint analysis along with main quantum analysis institutes in Europe and Korea. QuantERA is a multilateral quantum technology analysis assist community collectively operated by nationwide analysis funding companies beneath the assist of the European Commission. It helps researchers from a number of nations in collaboratively pursuing difficult tasks which are tough for a single nation or establishment to hold out alone. ENTUNE, led by Professor Seo, will develop a hybrid quantum platform that can be utilized for quantum data storage and conversion and ultra-precise sensing by controlling the quantum states and entanglement of nano-mechanical oscillators. STAQuS, involving Professor Lee’s staff, goals to exactly management Andreev quantum states in superconducting nanoscale units to implement noise-resilient protected qubits and quantum simulators. The two tasks will run for three years, from September 2026 to August 2029. 

■ POSTECH additionally introduced on the twenty ninth that Professor Kihyun Kim’s staff within the Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed a technology that may clearly picture ‘conjunctival goblet cells’ via mild contact with the floor of the attention. Conjunctival goblet cells secrete mucus parts that stably anchor the tear movie. When goblet cells lower, the tear movie breaks extra simply, worsening dry eye illness and probably resulting in irritation or autoimmune issues. The miniature digicam technology developed by the staff captures goblet cells routinely as quickly as a clear window with a diameter of 4.5 mm and thickness of 0.5 mm touches the attention and the main focus is self-adjusted. The staff additionally automated the picture evaluation workflow utilizing synthetic intelligence (AI) evaluation technology. Observations of goblet cell adjustments earlier than and after administering eye drops utilized in precise dry eye remedy confirmed that the typical goblet cell density doubled throughout all imaged areas.

■ The Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) introduced on the twenty ninth that Professor Wooseok Bang’s staff within the Department of Physics and Photon Science has developed an evaluation technology that may restore the vitality distribution and photon variety of giga-electron-volt (GeV, 1 billion electron volts) high-energy gamma rays utilizing solely positron indicators, even in lsquo;high-flux environmentsrsquo; the place a really massive variety of gamma rays arrive on the detector in a short while and indicators overlap with each other. The analysis staff proposed a technique to reconstruct the vitality distribution of gamma rays through the use of indicators from positrons—lsquo;antimatterrsquo; particles generated as gamma rays cross via a lead plate—as an alternative of immediately measuring the gamma rays themselves. Performance verification utilizing simulated gamma-ray knowledge confirmed that the whole variety of photons making up the gamma rays was restored with an error inside 2% of the true worth, and the vitality distribution of the gamma rays was reproduced nearly identically to the precise distribution. Because it permits exact evaluation of high-energy distributions and yields even in high-flux environments, the approach is anticipated for use to enhance the accuracy of analysis on excessive bodily phenomena, equivalent to laser fusion, laser-plasma accelerators, and nuclear physics. 

■ The Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) introduced on the twenty ninth {that a} analysis staff led by Principal Researchers Daegyu Hwang and Daehwan Kim on the Energy Science and Engineering Research Division has maximized the ability technology efficiency of ‘bifacial thin-film photo voltaic cells’ that take in mild from each side, and has achieved top-level energy density by making use of a next-generation lsquo;four-terminal perovskite–CIGS tandemrsquo; construction. The staff enhanced effectivity by exactly controlling the thickness of the clear rear electrode to 200 nanometers (nm) and selectively making use of processes equivalent to silver (Ag) alloying. On prime of the developed photo voltaic cell, they stacked a perovskite photo voltaic cell that effectively absorbs short-wavelength mild, implementing a tandem photo voltaic cell construction that broadens the vary of absorbed daylight and improves utilization effectivity. As a consequence, they recorded a highest-level bifacial energy density of 28.42 mW/cm². The work is evaluated as considerably rising the technological feasibility of four-terminal perovskite–CIGS bifacial thin-film tandem photo voltaic cells.

■ The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) introduced on the twenty ninth that Professor Young-Jae Byun’s staff within the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering has developed an lsquo;adaptive mode-switching technologyrsquo; that may precisely decide the standing of an implanted receiver and ship solely the required quantity of energy even when a affected person’s actions trigger the place of the wi-fi charging coil to alter. The technology maintains the power-supply state when vitality is required and in any other case switches to a low-power mode, lowering pointless energy loss and the potential for warmth technology. Instead of counting on absolutely the magnitude of indicators throughout wi-fi charging, the system was designed to detect the moments when the receiver state adjustments and to learn the response after sending a brief affirmation sign, in order that it might probably appropriately change between power-supply and low-power modes even when coil positions shift. A lsquo;voltage race-type hysteresis controllerrsquo; that quickly adjusts voltage was additionally utilized to the implanted receiver. In experiments, the mode switched stably even when the space between the transmitting and receiving coils was various from 7 mm to twenty mm. The output voltage was maintained at 3.3 V, voltage ripple was suppressed to 18 mV, and end-to-end energy switch effectivity reached as much as 69.1%.