Research Laboratory of Electronics

Researchers build a toolbox for synthetic biologyEngineers design new proteins that can help control novel genetic circuits in cells.

Single-photon transmitter could enable new quantum devicesLong-sought goal for quantum devices — the ability to transmit single photons while blocking multiple photons — is finally achieved.

Five MIT researchers win presidential early career honorsJarillo-Herrero, Lu, Pathak, Sinha and Thaler among 96 winners.

Research update: Chips with self-assembling rectanglesNew technique allows production of complex microchip structures in one self-assembling step.

Dripping faucets inspire new way of creating structured particlesResearchers find new method for making spherical particles, from nanoscale to pinhead-sized — including complex beach-ball-like shapes.

Researchers explain how dye-based nanotubes can help harvest light’s energyTiny cylinders help reveal how natural-light-harvesting antennae collect light with exceptional efficiency.

A new approach to water desalinationGraphene sheets with precisely controlled pores have potential to purify water more efficiently than existing methods.

Teaching self-assembling structures a new trickMIT researchers produce 3-D configurations that could lead to new microchips and other devices.

A physicist and an inventorNew technologies from Marin Soljacic’s lab could have a far-reaching impact on daily life.

In search of new ways of producing nano-materialsKong’s research focuses on how to make and control novel forms of thin-film carbon.

Sensing when the brain is under pressureNew monitoring strategy forgoes surgery, could help doctors treat patients with head injuries.

Fiber laser points to woven 3-D displaysA fiber that can emit light along its length in any direction may herald flexible 3-D displays and medical tools that activate therapeutic compounds with bursts of light.

Microchips’ optical futureTo keep energy consumption under control, future chips may need to move data using light instead of electricity — and the technical expertise to build them may reside in the United States.

3-D cameras for cellphonesClever math could enable a high-quality 3-D camera so simple, cheap and power-efficient that it could be incorporated into handheld devices.

Research update: Sharpening the linesNew advance could lead to even smaller features in the constant quest for more compact, faster microchips.

David Staelin, longtime professor in EECS and RLE, dies at 73Researcher led a career distinguished by abundant accomplishments, widespread impact in his 55 years at MIT.

New algorithm could substantially speed up MRI scansFaster scans could reduce the time patients spend in the machine from 45 to 15 minutes.

Charging toward better neural implantsResearchers improve the efficiency of devices that stimulate damaged nerves, reducing potential side effects.

Mimicking cells with transistorsAnalog — rather than digital — circuits could enable models of biological systems that are more efficient, more accurate and easier to build.

Building chips from collapsing nanopillarsBy turning a common problem in chip manufacture into an advantage, MIT researchers produce structures only 30 atoms wide.

Movies of electronsLasers that emit pulses lasting a quintillionth of a second could characterize the behavior of individual electrons during chemical reactions.

Fink named RLE directorSucceeds Shapiro to lead one of the Institute’s oldest interdepartmental labs

Perfect communication with imperfect chipsError-correcting codes discovered at MIT can still guarantee reliable communication, even in cellphones with failure-prone low-power chips.

The future of chip manufacturingMIT researchers show how to make e-beam lithography, commonly used to prototype computer chips, more practical as a mass-production technique.

MIT faculty selected to attend NAE's Frontiers of EngineeringTwo from CEE and one from EECS to participate in symposium for young engineering innovators.

Long live the qubit!The power of quantum computers depends on keeping them in a fragile quantum-mechanical state — which researchers have found a new way to extend.

Spinning new materials in a threadNew technique could enable creation of a variety of fiber-based electronic and photonic devices.