Listening to the Nanopores : Smart Nanomaterials Use Humidity to "Tune" Hypersound Like a Guitar String

What if humidity could act as a control knob for hypersound ? Researchers have shown that nanometer-scale pores in thin films can “sense” moisture in the air and dynamically change how they trap sound, turning ordinary water vapor into a tool for controlling vibrations at the nanoscale. Nanophononic devices — structures that control sound at the nanoscale — are emerging as key components for ultrafast signal processing, telecommunications, …

Delphine Marris-Morini, Professor at Université Paris-Saclay and C2N, awarded the CNRS 2026 Silver Medal.

Delphine Marris-Morini is a Professor at Paris Saclay University since 2015. Her research interests at the Center for Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies covered first high speed and efficient silicon photonics devices for telecom applications. Since 2009 she developed a new route towards efficient on-chip optical links based on Ge/SiGe quantum wells structures. She then shifted her research activity towards mid-IR range based on SiGe photonics circuits that she developed during …