Communications of the ACM
Ames Laboratory Physicists Discover New Type of Material That May Speed Computing
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory say they have discovered a topological metal whose unique electronic properties could make computers faster and more energy efficient.
Credit: The Ames Laboratory
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory say they have discovered a topological metal, platinum and tin (PtSn4), which has unique electronic properties that could be used in futuristic energy-efficient computers with higher processor speeds and data storage.
The electrons in topological quantum materials can travel close to the speed of light thanks to a property called Dirac dispersion, but only isolated points, called Dirac points, with relatively small numbers of conduction electrons, were known to exist in such materials. However, in PtSN4, the researchers found a high density of conduction electrons, as well as a large number of closely positioned Dirac points forming extended lines or Dirac node arcs.
"Our research has been able to associate the extreme magnetoresistance with novel features in their electronic structure, which may lead to future improvements in computer speed, efficiency, and data storage," says Ames Laboratory researcher and Iowa State University professor Adam Kaminski.
The researchers made the discovery using a laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) instrument, which provides high-resolution details of the electronic properties of materials.
"Combining [laser ARPES] with Ames Laboratory's computational modeling abilities and our 80-year reputation in designing and growing new materials has led to our success in this discovery," says Ames Laboratory researcher Paul Canfield.
From The Ames Laboratory
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