Nanowire crystal fuses semiconducting and metallic materials
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A new type of 'nanowire' crystal that fuses semiconducting and metallic materials on the atomic scale could lay the foundation for future semiconducting electronics, say researchers in the Neils Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen.
"Our new material was born as a hybrid between a semiconducting nanowire and its electronic contact," said Associate Professor Thomas Sand Jespersen, pictured left. "Thus, we have invented a way to make a perfect transition between the nanowire and a superconductor. The superconductor in this case is aluminium."
Part of the challenge of working with nanowires is said to be the creation of a good transition between them nanowires and an electrical contact to the outside world. Until now, researchers have cultured nanowires and the contact separately. However, with the new approach, both the quality and the reproducibility of the contact have improved considerably.
"The atoms sit in a perfectly ordered lattice in the nanowire crystal, not only in the semiconductor and the metal, but also in the transition between the two, which is significant in itself," said Assistant Professor Peter Krogstrup, pictured right. "This opens opportunities to make new types of electronic components on the nanoscale and, in particular, this means we can study the electrical properties with much greater precision than before."
"We think this approach could ultimately form the basis for future superconducting electronics, and that is why the research into nanowires is interesting for the largest electronics companies," said Jespersen.
