Stony Brook University Researchers Redefine Capacitor Behavior at the Nanoscale

STONY BROOK, NY-January 23, 2026-The State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University) researchers led a new study published in Physical Review Letters that overturns long-standing assumptions about how capacitors operate when engineered at the nanoscale, offering a clearer scientific foundation for future nanoscale electronic devices.

Capacitors-core components of modern electronics-store electrical charge between metallic electrodes separated by a dielectric material. While their performance is well understood at macroscopic scales, conventional models break down at the nanoscale, where the material properties assumed in standard equations are no longer well defined. These discrepancies pose significant challenges for interpreting the dielectric response of ultrathin materials and for designing reliable nanocapacitors.

To address this problem, the Stony Brook University team developed a quantum-mechanical framework that unambiguously separates the contributions of the electrodes and the dielectric. The new protocol establishes fundamental limits on how small a capacitor can be made and provides a reliable approach for evaluating the intrinsic behavior of nanoscale insulating materials.

Demonstrating the method on ultrathin ice, the researchers found that its electronic response to electric fields is essentially indistinguishable from that of bulk ice, despite extreme confinement. The result resolves discrepancies between theoretical predictions and experimental measurements of ice films only a few molecules thick.

"This work offers a pathway to accurately characterize ultrathin dielectric materials using first-principles calculations," said Ph.D. candidate Anthony Mannino, the study's lead author. "With a clearer understanding of nanoscale dielectric behavior, we can improve device design and better interpret experimental data."

"This work is the culmination of a long-term research effort in my group to understand the fundamental electronic properties of water using quantum-mechanical methods," said Marivi Fernández-Serra, PhD, Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Core Faculty of the Institute for Advanced Computational Science (IACS)."Water and ice continue to surprise us with experimental results that challenge conventional theory. By developing new first-principles simulation tools, we can now clarify these discrepancies and provide a unified framework that connects theory and experiment at the nanoscale."

The study was led by Mannino, together with fellow Ph.D. candidate Kedarsh Kaushik, under the direction of Professor Marivi Fernández-Serra at Stony Brook University's IACS, where Mannino is a recipient of the IACS Graduate Fellowship.

This collaboration also included Ph.D. candidate Graciele M. Arvelos (currently a visiting student at IACS) and Professor Alexandre R. Rocha from Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) in Brazil; Professor Luana S. Pedroza from the University of São Paulo in Brazil; Professor Emilio Artacho from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and CIC Nanogune BRTA in Spain; and Professor Pablo Ordejón from the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) in Spain. Together, the team represents an international research effort spanning the United States, Brazil, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

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About The State University of New York at Stony Brook

The State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University) is New York's flagship university and No. 1 public university. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. With more than 27,000 students, more than 3,000 faculty members, more than 225,000 alumni, a premier academic healthcare system and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs, Stony Brook is a research-intensive distinguished center of innovation dedicated to addressing the world's biggest challenges. The university embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate and professional education of the highest quality, and is ranked as the #59 overall university and #26 among public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges listing. Fostering a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavors, Stony Brook's membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places it among the top 71 research institutions in North America. The university's distinguished faculty have earned esteemed awards such as the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize, Fields Medal and Breakthrough Prizes in Mathematics and Physics. Stony Brook has the responsibility of co-managing Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy - one of only eight universities with a role in running a national laboratory. In 2023, Stony Brook was named the anchor institution for The New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island in New York City. Providing economic growth for neighboring communities and the wider geographic region, the university totals an impressive $8.93 billion in increased economic output on Long Island. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stonybrooku/ and X@stonybrooku.