ETH News

A new electrolyte design for lithium metal batteries could significantly boost the range of electric vehicles. Researchers at ETH Zurich have radically reduced the amount of environmentally harmful fluorine required to stabilise these batteries.

Using a special wafer-thin gold membrane, ETH researchers have made it significantly easier to study surfaces. The membrane makes it possible to measure properties of surfaces that are inaccessible to conventional methods.

Experiments by ETH Zurich computer security researchers showed that smartphones can be manipulated to allow the owner to ride Swiss trains for free. The researchers also highlighted ways of curbing such misuse.

The electrification of many areas of life is leading to an increased demand for high-performance batteries. Two ETH spin-offs are making waves in this field: while BTRY develops high-performance solid-state batteries, 8inks is working on a new standard for production.

A new Master’s degree programme in Space Systems will be launched at ETH Zurich in autumn 2024. Interested parties can start applying in April.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a sensor that utilises energy from sound waves to control electronic devices. This could one day save millions of batteries.

ETH Zurich is participating in two quantum computing projects that are being financed by IARPA, the US research funding agency, with up to 40 million dollars. Both projects aim to connect two error-corrected qubits with one another and thus lay the foundation for future quantum computers.

For the first time, a team of students from ETH Zurich is taking part in the renowned World Solar Challenge. Will they be able to keep up with the world’s best?

Researchers at ETH have created an antenna for light sources on a chip using an unusual placement of a semiconductor material. In the future, efficient nanoscale LEDs and lasers could be produced in this way.

Optical data communications lasers can transmit several tens of terabits per second, despite a huge amount of disruptive air turbulence. ETH Zurich scientists and their European partners demonstrated this capacity with lasers between the mountain peak, Jungfraujoch, and the city of Bern in Switzerland. This will soon eliminate the necessity of expensive deep-sea cables.

The start-up Unbound Potential has developed a new battery technology for long-duration energy storage – and received a grant of one million euros for it.

The Morphs are here! The smart, eager-to-learn creatures are now waiting in the ETH main building for players to train them. "Morph Tales - Exploring Artificial Intelligence" is a new game from ETH Zurich that is fun to play and shows how humans and AI master tasks together.

Security of energy supply in a fossil-free Switzerland is feasible and affordable according to a new white paper from an expert group at the Energy Science Center. It will require increased production of renewables and efficient energy trading with neighbouring countries.

ETH students have developed sensors that can indicate how people use urban spaces. They anonymously measure how people use objects such as chairs in a public square. The sensors have proven useful in the test run and could be used in future to plan public spaces based on needs.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich are taking magnetic resonance imaging a step further. With their new method, they can visualise metabolic processes in the body. Their objective is to improve the future diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.

The four-seater electric aircraft “e-Sling”, which was developed by ETH students, has taken flight for the first time. The student project has taken two years and a lot of dedication.

Wera Hotz Kowner was the first woman to study electrical engineering at ETH Zurich. Successfully rising above the condescension shown by some of her professors, she focused on preparing herself for her new job as managing director of the family business.

Eight ETH students are working on battery and hydrogen versions of an electric aircraft as part of the e-Sling focus project. For the past year, their lives have revolved around Hangar 3 at the Innovation Park Zurich in Dübendorf.

Colours can be created in surprisingly different ways. And in addition to being pleasing to the eye, colour can also serve a useful purpose.

Oil and gas prices are currently on the rise, raising questions about the security of Switzerland’s energy supply. In a policy brief, researchers from the Energy Science Center at ETH Zurich have now shown what Switzerland can do to make its energy system independent of fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have succeeded for the first time in trapping excitons - quasiparticles consisting of negatively charged electrons and positively charged holes – in a semiconductor material using controllable electric fields. The new technique is important for creating single photon sources as well as for basic research.  

Researchers from ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and Empa have developed a new material for an electronic component that can be used in a wider range of applications than its predecessors. Such components will help create electronic circuits that emulate the human brain and that are more efficient at performing machine-learning tasks.

ETH News has been videoing three student teams working on focus projects. One of these is the Sowa team.

Focus projects allow mechanical and electrical engineering students to put what they have learned into practice. ETH News accompanied three student teams with a video camera – one of which was the “Raptor” team.

In the last application process for the sought-after ERC Starting Grants, the European Research Council made 11 awards to ETH researchers worth about CHF 17 million. Due to Switzerland’s non-association, however, the researchers will not receive these grants. The funds will now be provided by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

An electric car that runs on PV power sounds appealing. But is it really possible to enjoy flexibility with a vehicle charged through a home photovoltaic system? An ETH research team has reached some surprising conclusions.

ETH researchers are using artificial intelligence to improve quality management in digital production processes. The team has succeeded in halving the proportion of defective products in an experiment with the semiconductor manufacturer Hitachi Energy.

High-performance batteries are key to the comprehensive roll-out of e-mobility. ETH Pioneer Fellow Paul Baade is looking into how to manufacture them more cost-effectively.

Researchers at ETH have managed to produce nanocrystals made of two different metals using an amalgamation process whereby a liquid metal penetrates a solid one. This new and surprisingly intuitive technique makes it possible to produce a vast array of intermetallic nanocrystals with tailored properties for diverse applications. 

As part of the focus projects, mechanical and electrical engineering students have developed solutions for the challenges of the future. In teams, they spent two semesters developing new technical approaches for their respective projects. The “IGNIS” and “e-Sling” teams presented here are just two of this year’s many notable focus projects.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and University of Zurich have developed a new microscopy technique that lights up the brain with high resolution imagery. This allows neuroscientists to study brain functions and ailments more closely and non-invasively.  

The 5G wireless standard is a less polarising issue among the Swiss population than thought. According to a survey conducted by ETH researchers, the majority of people are in favour of 5G. However, a substantial portion of the population in the French-speaking region had concerns about electromagnetic radiation.

ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) establish a joint centre for the development of quantum computers. Its aim is to advance the realization of quantum computers based on both ion traps and superconducting components. ETH Zurich provides 32 million francs for this centre, which will host around 30 researchers.  

The technology developed by the ETH spin-off Mithras Technology wouldn’t be out of place in a science fiction movie: the user’s own body heat powers what is known as a thermoelectric generator to charge wearables and other electronic devices.

Quantum research has long since ceased to be an exclusive domain of physics. The purpose of the new ETH Quantum Center is to ensure ETH Zurich’s various competences and activities in this area are networked even more closely and to raise their public profile.

Magic Cube is a new teaching tool developed by ETH Zurich, ABB and mint & pepper. It uses a playful approach to teach junior high and high school students the basics of electrical engineering and awaken their interest in the field.

ETH researchers have developed a new generation of microelectrode-array chips for measuring nerve impulses, enabling studies of how thousands of nerve cells interact with each other.

Researchers at ETH Zurich – in collaboration with colleagues from EPFL in Lausanne and Harvard Medical School – have developed a system that allows them to optically stimulate individual nerve fibres in living mice. Through this process, they have demonstrated that the nervous system has a direct influence on the immune system.

Swissloop, the team of students developing hyperloop pods, took advantage of the break imposed by the coronavirus to improve the technology even further. Yesterday they unveiled their “research pod”. At its core lies a technologically refined linear motor that will propel future prototypes at even faster speeds.

ETH researchers have built an ultrafast chip that can speed up data transmission in fibre optic networks. The chip combines several innovations at the same time and, given the growing demand for streaming and online services, represents a significant development.

Researchers at ETH have provided the first theoretical explanation for how electrical current is conducted in semiconductors made of nanocrystals. In the future, this could lead to the development of new sensors, lasers or LEDs for TV screens.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a method for the production of wavy surfaces with nanometre precision. In the future this method could be used, for instance, to make optical components for data transmission on the internet even more efficient and compact.

What happens when COVID-19 means architecture students have to get by without a workshop, electrical engineers without high-voltage laboratories and environmental scientists without field trips.

Two research groups at ETH Zurich have joined forces to develop a novel light detector. It consists of two-dimensional layers of different materials that are coupled to a silicon optical waveguide. In the future, this approach can also be used to make LEDs and optical modulators.

The year 2019 has certainly been a busy one at ETH. A new president took office and the second Sci-Tech Oscar was awarded, along with other major prizes, but there were also plenty of inventions and topics for discussion.

Automation and digitisation of industry and society, new approaches to sustainable chemistry, and the influence of bacteria on health – these are the topics covered by the three new National Centres of Competence led or co-led by ETH Zurich.

Two research groups from ETH Zurich have developed a method that can simulate nanoelectronics devices and their properties realistically, quickly and efficiently. This offers a ray of hope for the industry and data centre operators alike, both of which are struggling with the (over)heating that comes with increasingly small and powerful transistors.

Switching light beams quickly is important in many technological applications. Researchers at ETH have now developed an “electro-opto-mechanical” switch for light beams that is considerably smaller and faster than current models. This is relevant for applications such as self-driving cars and optical quantum technologies.

Self-driving cars, the automatic detection of cancer cells, online translation: deep learning makes it all possible. The ETH spin-off Mirage Technologies has developed a deep learning platform that aims to help start-ups and companies more quickly develop and optimise their products.

A unique project is linking in-situ measurements with natural hazards research. For the past ten years, a network of wireless sensors on the Matterhorn’s Hörnli ridge has been constantly streaming measurement data on the condition of steep rock faces, permafrost and prevailing climate. The project leader, Jan Beutel, reviews progress to date.

An ETH student became fascinated by diving robots while writing his Matura paper. Three years on, with a group of like-minded enthusiasts, he is taking part in one of the largest competitions for underwater robots – the first team ever from Switzerland.

ETH researchers have cooled a nanoparticle to a record low temperature, thanks to a sophisticated experimental set-up that uses scattered laser light for cooling.

Raffaele Mezzenga, Sreenath Bolisetty and Qingrui Zhang have been awarded the Spark Award 2019 for their filter, which removes harmful fluoride from drinking water. Their invention gives people all over the world access to clean drinking water.

In information technology, multiplexing schemes are used to transmit more signals than the number of available transmission channels. Researchers at ETH in Zurich have invented a novel method whereby information is encoded in the correlated noise between spatially separated light waves.

ETH technology that flew to Mars, rubber duckies that travelled around Duckietown in self-driving taxis and moles that warn of tumours – for ETH, 2018 was marked by innovative flair and extraordinary research. We take a look back.

Reseachers at ETH Zurich have developed a modulator with which data transmitted via millimetre waves can be directly converted into light pulses for optical fibres. This could make covering the “last mile” up to the internet socket at home considerably faster and cheaper.

A new, smart medium-voltage transformer developed at ETH Zurich features cutting-edge semiconductor technology, making it extremely compact and energy efficient. Future applications are ranging from locomotives to fast charging stations for electric vehicles and from power supplies for data centres to use in future power grids.

Siddhartha Mishra is the winner of the 2019 ICIAM Collatz Prize which is one of the most prestigious prizes awarded in applied mathematics.

The third Hyperloop Pod Competition in LA saw Swissloop compete against teams from all over the world. Due to a short-circuit, their pod didn't make it into the top three.

The Atlas V rocket with the NASA InSight spacecraft left California on Saturday, May 5th, heading for Mars. The spacecraft is carrying a seismometer built with electronics developed at ETH Zurich, and for the first time, it will fly the Swiss flag and ETH logo to the red planet. The seismometer is designed to record seismic waves produced from marsquakes, that will allow scientists to explore the interior of Mars.

AMIV, the association for mechanical and electrical engineering students, is celebrating its 125th anniversary next week. ETH News used the occasion to speak to AMIV’s president Aurel Neff about its successes and challenges.

A research team led by microbiologist Tomas de Wouters has won the Spark Award 2018 for the development of artificial intestinal flora. With their ETH spin-off Pharmabiome, the scientists want to further develop their invention so that it can be used in the treatment of inflammatory intestinal diseases and infections.

Battery lifetime is an important issue in wearable devices. Ideally, they should always be ready to receive control signals without consuming a lot of power. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a zero-power receiver for touch communication that harvests its energy directly from the signal.

ETH engineers Vincent Martinez and Luca Hirt are on a mission: to make cables more durable and reliable. This could potentially lead to unbreakable headphone cables, shaking up an industry known for its slow pace of innovation.

Martin Fussenegger is convinced that the digital world in which we live will become interlinked with the biological world. He envisages that we will be able to cure diseases with electronic pills in the next 50 years.

The ETH spin-off GratXray is working to improve precision in mammography. With the help of an innovative new device, breast cancer detection might not only become more accurate, but also painless. This is a revolutionary step in breast screening.

This year the Ruzicka Prize goes to Maria Ibáñez and Chih-Jen Shih. The prize is awarded for the improved synthesis of materials that can generate electricity from waste heat and for the development of new LEDs with an unachieved color spectrum for the next generation of displays.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed the first opto-electronic circuit component that works without glass and is instead made of metal. The component, referred to as a modulator, converts electrical data signals into optical signals. It is smaller and faster than current modulators, and much easier and cheaper to make.

As an international team of scientists has now shown, songbirds are minimalists when it comes to learning a new song. The birds’ learning strategy resembles the methods used by computer scientists for document comparison.

A new generation of microsensors could provide the vital link between food products and the Internet of Things. ETH researchers have developed an ultra-thin temperature sensor that is both biocompatible and biodegradable.

Scientists at ETH Zurich and Roche have developed a completely new method for the analysis of molecules in liquids on a chip. The possible applications of this technology are immense. It has the potential, inter alia, to revolutionise medical diagnostics.

Granular systems such as gravel or powders can be found everywhere, but studying them is not easy. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a method by which pictures of the inside of granular systems can be taken ten thousand times faster than before.

The Werner Siemens-Foundation has donated CHF 12 million to establish the Centre for Single-Atom Electronics and Photonics. ETH Zurich and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are establishing the centre to develop new types of integrated circuits for communications networks.

Right now, everyone is talking about mobility, how it ought to be CO₂-neutral and clean. Yet how do we get there? Banning combustion engines, changing how we usually get around or gradually shifting towards electric vehicles – the ideal path is not exactly clear.

Fifty students from ETH Zurich and other Swiss universities want to revolutionise transport. For a race set up by Elon Musk, they have developed a zero emission capsule that could in future transport people and goods through a vacuum tube at almost the speed of sound.

At yesterday's Cyber Risks Summit at ETH Zurich, international experts discussed and presented the latest scientific and technological approaches for effectively protecting society from the dangers of cyberspace.

On behalf of CERN, researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a high-tech device for the production of extremely precise, high voltage pulses that could be used in the next generation of particle accelerators.

A secure and reliable internet generates trust. Just how the internet creates trust is a matter for debate between ETH computer scientists and social scientists – for example, in a public session on 9 May 2017.

A dizzying 150,000 revolutions per minute: researchers from ETH Zurich (Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering) and the ETH spin-off Celeroton have developed an ultra-fast magnetically levitated electric motor for reaction wheels. The high speed of rotation allows intensive miniaturisation of the drive system, making it attractive for use in small satellites.

She connects electricity networks and people: Gabriela Hug is Professor of Electric Power Systems – and a sought-after woman. Her research helps make existing electricity infrastructure fit for the energy transition.  

Researchers at ETH Zurich have manufactured transparent electrodes for use in touchscreens using a novel nanoprinting process. The new electrodes are some of the most transparent and conductive that have ever been developed.

Transmitting large amounts of data, such as those needed to keep the internet running, requires high-performance modulators that turn electric signals into light signals. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a modulator that is a hundred times smaller than conventional models.

Dänemark, Spanien und Portugal gelten als Pioniere der erneuerbaren Energie. Sie speisen heute weit mehr Sonnen- und Windenergie in ihre Stromnetze ein als jemals erwartet und zeigen so, dass eine Energiewende unabhängig von der geografischen Lage möglich ist. Europa hat künftig die Chance, seine Vorreiterrolle weiter auszubauen.

ETH material engineers found that the performance of ion-conducting ceramic membranes that are so important in industry depends largely on their strain and buckling profiles. For the first time, scientists can now selectively manipulate the buckling profile, and thus the physical properties, allowing new technical applications of these membranes.

At its meeting of 20/21 March 2015, the ETH Board appointed 12 professors at ETH Zurich in accordance with the application submitted by ETH President Lino Guzzella.  

Thanks to a special computer programme, researchers from ETH Zurich are able to simulate electronic nanocomponents and help materials science and industry in the development and production process.

Scientists from ETH Zurich have developed a thermometer that is at least 100 times more sensitive than previous temperature sensors. It consists of a bio-synthetic hybrid material of tobacco cells and nanotubes.

Need an optical or electron microscope for your research? Look no further than ScopeM. The Hönggerberg campus has been home to this technology platform since 2014.

Computer und Kommunikationsnetze benötigen Strom; sie sind für ein bis zwei Prozent des Weltenergieverbrauchs verantwortlich. Andererseits wird mit ihrer Hilfe Energie in anderen Bereichen eingespart, wobei die «smarte» Informationstechnik zunehmend an Bedeutung gewinnt.

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in recording the current in membrane channels of contracting cardiac cells. To do this, the scientists combined an atomic force microscope with a widely used method for measuring electrical signals in cells.

ETH researchers have developed a comprehensive model to explain how electrons flow inside new types of solar cells made of tiny crystals. The model allows for a better understanding of such cells and may help to increase their efficiency.

For almost two years, researchers at ETH Zurich have been measuring air quality along tram lines in Zurich. They have now presented maps that for the first time show precisely when and where air pollution in Zurich is at its highest.