Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster, more powerful computing devices.
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral. Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster, more powerful computing devices.
Scientists using SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors now in use. The results were published July 28 in Nature Materials.
“This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the ‘speed limit’ for electrical switching in this material,” said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University who is a lead author of the study.
The LCLS experiment also showed researchers how the electronic structure of the sample rearranged into non-conducting “islands” surrounded by electrically conducting regions, which began to form just hundreds of quadrillionths of a second after a laser pulse struck the sample. The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can coexist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors.
Scientists first hit each sample with a visible-light laser, which fragmented the material’s electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultrabright, ultrashort X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.
Scientists had worked for decades to resolve this electrical structure at the atomic level, and just last year another research team had identified its building blocks as “trimerons” – formed by three iron atoms that lock in the charges. That finding provided key insights in interpreting results from the LCLS experiment.
The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. Future experiments will aim to identify exotic compounds and test new techniques to induce the switching and tap into other properties that are superior to modern-day silicon transistors. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature, which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.
Hermann Dürr, the principal investigator of the LCLS experiment and senior staff scientist for the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences (SIMES), said there is a major global effort underway to go beyond modern semiconductor transistors using new materials to satisfy demands for smaller and faster computers, and LCLS has the unique ability to home in on processes that occur at the scale of atoms in trillionths and quadrillionths of a second.
The Latest Bing News on:
Electrical switching
- Event allows people to kick the tires on electric vehicleson April 28, 2024 at 9:26 am
To celebrate Earth Week and Drive Electric Earth Month, local EV enthusiasts invited the community out to learn more about making the switch.
- Kirkland Offers $100 Voucher for Electric Leaf Blower Swap in Sustainability Pushon April 28, 2024 at 9:00 am
Kirkland offers residents a $100 voucher to swap gas leaf blowers for electric ones at a first-come, first-served event at North Kirkland Community Center.
- Norwalk landscapers facing impending gas-powered leaf blower ban say they won't switch to electricon April 28, 2024 at 2:00 am
Landscapers in Norwalk voice concerns over new leaf blower ordinance, claiming it will impact their livelihoods.
- Podcast: Tesla earnings, Model 3 Performance, Mercedes-Benz electric G-Class, and moreon April 26, 2024 at 9:20 pm
On the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this ...
- Illinois EPA giving money for schools to switch to electric buseson April 26, 2024 at 3:24 pm
Several school districts in the Metro East are getting a chance to replace some of their diesel school buses with new electric ones.
- EV owner and car enthusiast says all electric push was 'foolish,' predicts hybrids will be better transitionon April 26, 2024 at 2:00 am
David Tracy, a former auto engineer and car enthusiast, says, "The marketplace has spoken," and "not everyone's ready to go fully electric." ...
- The Electric Porsche Macan Is More Than a Tall Taycanon April 25, 2024 at 8:39 am
It is an argument that the all-new, all-electric Porsche Macan quickly refutes, as the contrast between it and Porsche’s other EV, the Taycan, is so marked. These are two electrically powered cars ...
- Electric cars switch out of fast laneon April 22, 2024 at 10:15 am
Also in this newsletter: sharp increase in military spending, Exxon speaks out to defend plastics, flying taxis ...
- Switch to electric vehicles happening fast in UK with one million on the roadon April 19, 2024 at 4:59 pm
The United Kingdom is at the forefront of a monumental shift in the automotive landscape, with electric vehicle (EV) sales overtaking traditional ones at an unprecedented pace. This transformation ...
- Electrical control of magnetism by electric field and current-induced torqueson April 15, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The story of the electrical switching of magnetization, which is discussed in this review, is that of a dance between fundamental research (in spintronics, condensed matter physics, and materials ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Electrical switching
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Electrical switching” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Fastest Electrical Switch
- Electric Vehicles With the Best Resale Value After Five Years on the Marketon April 27, 2024 at 1:18 pm
Electric vehicles have depreciated more than their ICE counterparts in the past year, but what are the EV models with the best resale value after five years?
- Tired and Blah? Here Are 6 Easy Study-Proven Tricks to Boost Energy Faston April 27, 2024 at 6:50 am
Keep reading for the easy ways to boost energy fast. Even after a full night's sleep ... and when those nerves are stimulated, they send out electrical signals that relax and open arteries, boosting ...
- Podcast: Tesla earnings, Model 3 Performance, Mercedes-Benz electric G-Class, and moreon April 26, 2024 at 9:20 pm
On the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this ...
- Best pressure cookers 2024 to make dinner faston April 25, 2024 at 8:10 am
Best pressure cookers 2024 to make dinner fast - Streamline your dinner time and save both time and money with these life-changing pressure cookers ...
- 8 important facts you should know about taking a road trip in an electric caron April 24, 2024 at 2:03 am
With eclipse traffic filling the highways, every charger was full, and a line of 24 electric cars sat waiting for one of those six fast chargers to open. If each one took an hour to fill, the vehicle ...
- 2024 Porsche Macan Electric First Drive: Same, Same but Differenton April 23, 2024 at 8:13 am
Porsche’s new electric SUV has almost nothing in common with the gas Macan and yet it’s a near-perfect facsimile of the driving experience we love.
- 2024 Porsche Macan Electric First Drive Review: The revolution beginson April 23, 2024 at 5:00 am
Porsche Macan 4 and Macan Turbo are all-electric, built on a dedicated EV platform. It produces as much as 630 horsepower.
- The best folding electric bikes in 2024 go farther than you thinkon April 22, 2024 at 4:46 pm
The best folding electric bikes of 2024 are powerful, easy to store and great for both weekday commutes and weekend adventures ...
- Electric cars switch out of fast laneon April 22, 2024 at 10:15 am
Also in this newsletter: sharp increase in military spending, Exxon speaks out to defend plastics, flying taxis ...
- Switch to electric vehicles happening fast in UK with one million on the roadon April 19, 2024 at 4:59 pm
The United Kingdom is at the forefront of a monumental shift in the automotive landscape, with electric vehicle (EV) sales overtaking traditional ones at an unprecedented pace. This transformation ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Fastest Electrical Switch
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Fastest Electrical Switch” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]