A Japanese research team has mathematically revealed why crack tips sharpen during rapid fracture in rubber. The study demonstrates that this phenomenon is caused solely by the material’s viscoelasticity, not by previously assumed nonlinear effects. They also validated the long-standing viscoelastic trumpet theory, proposed by Nobel Laureate Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, using fundamental equations of continuum mechanics. This work establishes a theoretical foundation for fracture control and durability improvement of a wide range of polymer materials from tires to medical devices.

A collaborative research team led by the Institute of Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a new “sandwiched” MoOx/Ag/MoOx (MAM) buffer layer to improve the performance and scalability of semi-transparent CsPbI₃/TOPCon tandem solar cells. The MAM buffer layer enhances light transmittance and charge carrier transport while effectively protecting underlying layers from sputtering damage. This innovation enabled semi-transparent CsPbI₃ solar cells to achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.86% (0.50 cm²) and corresponding 4-T CsPbI₃/TOPCon tandem cells to reach 26.55% PCE. Significantly, the technology was successfully scaled to larger-area minimodules, achieving 16.67% and 26.41% PCE for CsPbI₃ and 4-T tandem minimodules (6.62 cm²), respectively—marking the first reported minimodule demonstration for this architecture. This work provides a scalable and efficient buffer layer strategy, paving the way for next-generation, high-efficiency perovskite-based photovoltaic systems.

A research team from Tianjin University of Technology, Shandong Univeristy and Shantou University has developed a novel method to enhance the performance and durability of inverted perovskite solar cell (PSC). By introducing guanidinium salt into the fabrication process, the team successfully controlled crystal growth and orientation, leading to solar cells with higher efficiency (25.85%), improved charge transport and exceptional stability under humid and thermal conditions. Moreover, extensive testing demonstrated that the devices retain over 95% of their original efficiency after thousands of hours of operation and exposure to challenging environments.

This work offers a reliable approach to fabricating highly oriented, low-defect perovskite films, accelerating the development and commercialization of efficient and stable PSCs.

Micro display is one of the important components of AR glasses. Micro-QLED is emerging as promising AR display technology due to its wide luminance range, facile fabrication of high-resolution and full-color patterns. Scientist from Beijing Institute of Technology reported the fabrication of color-converted Micro-QLED which provides a simple and low-cost route to achieve full-color micro display.