Transparent electronics are the future, according to researchers including José A. Flores-Livas and Miglė Graužinytė from the research group headed by Stefan Goedecker, Professor of Computational Physics at the University of Basel. However, the relevant technological development is progressing sluggishly due to a shortage of certain transparent semiconductors with a high level of conductivity. Impurities […]
Semiconductors
Toward Ultrafast Spintronics
Electronics have advanced through continuous improvements in microprocessor technology since the 1960s. However, this process of refinement is projected to stall in the near future due to constraints imposed by the laws of physics. Some of these bottlenecks have already taken effect. For instance, the clock speeds of processors are have not exceeded a few […]
So Long, Farewell to Faulty Mobile Phones and Solar Cells
Australian National University (ANU) researchers have created a tool to help manufacturers easily find defects in everyday technologies earlier in the fabrication process. An invention like this could have us, one day, waving goodbye to faulty mobile phones, batteries, and solar cells. The system works by looking at semiconductor materials in high-resolution photos, which reveal […]
Brilliant Glow of Paint-On Semiconductors Comes from Ornate Quantum Physics
LED lights and monitors, and quality solar panels were born of a revolution in semiconductors that efficiently convert energy to light or vice versa. Now, next-generation semiconducting materials are on the horizon, and in a new study, researchers have uncovered eccentric physics behind their potential to transform lighting technology and photovoltaics yet again. Comparing the quantum properties of […]
5000 Times Faster Than a Computer
The absorption of light in semiconductor crystals without inversion symmetry can generate electric currents. Researchers at the Max Born Institute have now generated directed currents at terahertz (THz) frequencies, much higher than the clock rates of current electronics. They show that electronic charge transfer between neighboring atoms in the crystal lattice represents the underlying mechanism. […]
Scientists Move Quantum Optic Networks a Step Closer to Reality
A crucial step has been achieved in understanding quantum optical behavior of semiconductor nanomaterials. Scientists have moved quantum optic networks a step closer to reality. The ability to precisely control the interactions of light and matter at the nanoscale could help such a network transmit larger amounts of data more quickly and securely than an […]
Assessing the Promise of Gallium Oxide as an Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductor
In microelectronic devices, the bandgap is a major factor determining the electrical conductivity of the underlying materials. Substances with large bandgaps are generally insulators that do not conduct electricity well, and those with smaller bandgaps are semiconductors. A more recent class of semiconductors with ultrawide bandgaps (UWB) are capable of operating at much higher temperatures […]
Toward Brain-Like Computing: New Memristor Better Mimics Synapses
A new electronic device can developed at the University of Michigan can directly model the behaviors of a synapse, which is a connection between two neurons. For the first time, the way that neurons share or compete for resources can be explored in hardware without the need for complicated circuits. “Neuroscientists have argued that competition […]
Pressure Tuned Magnetism Paves the Way for Novel Electronic Devices
Advances in the technology of material growth allow fabricating sandwiches of materials with atomic precision. The interface between the two materials can sometimes exhibit physical phenomena which do not exist in both parent materials. For example, a magnetic interface found between two non-magnetic materials. A new discovery, published today in Nature Physics, shows a new way […]
The Feature Size and Functional Range of Molecular Electronic Devices
Advances of miniaturization in electronics have created dramatic impacts on the industrial innovations and our lives. Nowadays, the semiconductor industry has been devoted to scaling down the feature size of electronic devices to the scale of sub-5 nm. Moore’s Law, however, has not been the only priority in semiconductor industry because of some inevitable quantum […]