Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Creating unconventional metals
Slashdot It! Slashdot Creating unconventional metals
Submit to Reddit Submit Creating unconventional metals to Reddit
Reading: Creating unconventional metalsTwitter This Reading: Creating unconventional metalsTwitter Creating unconventional metals
Add to Facebook Add Creating unconventional metals to Facebook

Creating unconventional metals

August 21, 2008

The semiconductor silicon and the ferromagnet iron are the basis for much of mankind's technology, used in everything from computers to electric motors. In this week's issue of the journal Nature (August 21st) an international group of scientists, including academic and industrial researchers from the UK, USA and Lesotho, report that they have combined these elements with a small amount of another common metal, manganese, to create a new material which is neither a magnet nor an ordinary semiconductor. The paper goes on to show how a small magnetic field can be used to switch ordinary semiconducting behaviour (such as that seen in the electronic-grade silicon which is used to make transistors) back on.

The new material exists in a quantum halfway house between magnet and semiconductor - in the same way that much more complex materials such as ceramics which exhibit high temperature superconductivity exist in quantum halfway houses between metals and magnetic insulators. The research is of fundamental importance because it demonstrates, for the first time, a simple recipe for reaching this halfway house, whilst also suggesting new mechanisms for controlling electrical currents and magnetism in semiconductor devices.




Professor J.F. DiTusa of Louisiana State University and a co-author of the paper said: "It's amazing that something which was thought to exist theoretically in mathematical physics could actually be found in an alloy which was simply formed by melting together a few common elements."

Professor Gabriel Aeppli of UCL (University College London), another member of the research team and Director of the London Centre for Nanotechnology, added: "It might be possible to see similar effects in devices made using materials and methods found in laser pointers. This would put what we've seen firmly in the realm of that which can easily be achieved using current technologies."

The first author of the paper, Dr. N. Manyala of the National University of Lesotho, said: "We are looking forward to investigating whether we can see these effects using thin layers of the same materials deposited directly on the silicon wafers. These wafers are the same as those used by mass market electronics manufacturers as the basis for integrated circuits." Dr. Ramirez, who is now with LGS-Bell Labs Innovations echoed this thought, noting that, "with the end of Moore's law in sight, mechanisms for controlling and understanding possible new information bits such as spins in solids are actively being sought after."

University College London





Science News and Science Current Events Tag Cloud
This tag cloud is a visual representation of term frequencies of random science news topics with common terms grouped together and emphasized by their display size.
Beetle   Bowel Cancer   Occupational Therapy   Mad Cow Disease   Ozone   Pathogen   Diet   Epigenetics   Cerebral Palsy   Sinusitis   Infant Mortality   Population Growth   Inflammatory Disease   Hot Flashes   Adiponectin   Black Hole   Hydrogen Fuel   Testosterone   Pesticides   Thyroid Cancer   Genetic Variation   Chlamydia   Biotechnology   Photosynthesis   Angioplasty  
Related Semiconductor Current Events and Semiconductor News Articles Semiconductor Current Events and Semiconductor News RSS Semiconductor Current Events and Semiconductor News RSS
Light sensor breakthrough could enhance digital cameras
New research by a team of University of Toronto scientists could lead to substantial advancements in the performance of a variety of electronic devices including digital cameras.

A sonic boom in the world of lasers
It was an idea born out of curiosity in the physics lab, but now a new type of 'laser' for generating ultra-high frequency sound waves instead of light has taken a major step towards becoming a unique and highly useful 21st century technology.

Major Breakthrough in Early Detection and Prevention of AMD
A team of researchers led by Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati at the University of Kentucky has discovered a biological marker for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in older adults.

New Exotic Material Could Revolutionize Electronics
Move over, silicon-it may be time to give the Valley a new name. Physicists at the Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have confirmed the existence of a type of material that could one day provide dramatically faster, more efficient computer chips.

Tunable semiconductors possible with hot new material called graphene
Today's transistors and light emitting diodes (LED) are based on silicon and gallium arsenide semiconductors, which have fixed electronic and optical properties.

Toward cheaper imaging systems for identifying concealed weapons on the human body
Electrical engineers from UC San Diego have created high-performance W-Band silicon-germanium (SiGe) radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for passive millimeter-wave imaging.

Aluminum-oxide nanopore beats other materials for DNA analysis
Fast and affordable genome sequencing has moved a step closer with a new solid-state nanopore sensor being developed by researchers at the University of Illinois.

Lasers are making solar cells competitive
Solar electricity has a future: It is renewable and available in unlimited quantities, and it does not produce any gases detrimental to the climate.

Multiferroics -- making a switch the electric way
Multiferroics are materials in which unique combinations of electric and magnetic properties can simultaneously coexist.

Enabling graphene-based technology via chemical functionalization
Graphene is an atomically thin sheet of carbon that has attracted significant attention due to its potential use in high-performance electronics, sensors and alternative energy devices such as solar cells.
More Semiconductor Current Events and Semiconductor News Articles
The Essential Guide to Semiconductors (Essential Guide Series)

The Essential Guide to Semiconductors (Essential Guide Series)
by Jim Turley (Author)

Semiconductors are the building blocks of computing. They are the electronic chips that are in every computer and device on the market. Cellphones, cars, computers (of all kinds), gaming systems, machines - anything with hardware has an electronic (or semiconductor) component. This is the professional's guide to the business and technology of semiconductor design and manufacturing. The semiconductor industry lends itself very well to a book of this kind. Just as the telecommunications area, the semiconductor industry is broad and complicated. There's a definite need for a book that explains the in's and out's of the technology and how it works - without bogging down readers with too much technical content.

Semiconductor Device Fundamentals

Semiconductor Device Fundamentals
by Robert F. Pierret (Author)

Introduces and explains the basic terminology, models, properties, and concepts associated with semiconductors and semiconductor devices. Systematically develops the analytical tools needed to solve practical device problems. DLC: Semiconductors.

Physics of Semiconductor Devices

Physics of Semiconductor Devices
by Simon M. Sze (Author), Kwok K. Ng (Author)

The Third Edition of the standard textbook and reference in the field of semiconductor devices

This classic book has set the standard for advanced study and reference in the semiconductor device field. Now completely updated and reorganized to reflect the tremendous advances in device concepts and performance, this Third Edition remains the most detailed and exhaustive single source of information on the most important semiconductor devices. It gives readers immediate access to detailed descriptions of the underlying physics and performance characteristics of all major bipolar, field-effect, microwave, photonic, and sensor devices.

Designed for graduate textbook adoptions and reference needs, this new edition includes: A complete update of the latest...

Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization

Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization
by Wiley-IEEE Press

Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization is the only book on the market devoted to the characterization techniques used by the modern semiconductor industry to measure diverse semiconductor materials and devices. It covers the full range of electrical and optical characterization methods while thoroughly treating the more specialized chemical and physical techniques.

This newly revamped and expanded Second Edition incorporates the many innovations that have come to dominate the field during the past decade. From scanning probe techniques to the detection of metallic impurities in silicon wafers to the use of microwave reflection to measure contactless resistivity, each chapter presents state-of-the-art tools and techniques, most of which were in their infancy or...

Worlds in Flux

Worlds in Flux
Starring: Semiconductor



Bussmann FWH-016A6F 16 Amp 500 VAC Semiconductor Fuse 1/4

Bussmann FWH-016A6F 16 Amp 500 VAC Semiconductor Fuse 1/4" x 1-1/4"
by Bussmann

Bussmann FWH-016A6F 16 Amp 500 VAC Semiconductor Fuse 1/4" x 1-1/4"

Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization

Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization
by Dieter K. Schroder (Author)

This Third Edition updates a landmark text with the latest findings

The Third Edition of the internationally lauded Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization brings the text fully up-to-date with the latest developments in the field and includes new pedagogical tools to assist readers. Not only does the Third Edition set forth all the latest measurement techniques, but it also examines new interpretations and new applications of existing techniques.

Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization remains the sole text dedicated to characterization techniques for measuring semiconductor materials and devices. Coverage includes the full range of electrical and optical characterization methods, including the more specialized chemical and physical techniques....

Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology

Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology
by Michael Quirk (Author), Julian Serda (Author)

For the introductory course in Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. This text introduces the terminology, concepts, processes, products, and equipment commonly used in the manufacture of ultra-large-scale integrated (ULSI) semiconductors. The book provides helpful, up-to-date technical information about semiconductor manufacturing and strikes an effective balance between the process and equipment technology found in wafer fabrications.

Euroasia Semiconductor

Euroasia Semiconductor
by Angel Business Communications

Specialist publication aimed specifically at the European user of semiconductor manufacturing and test equipment.

Shoebox Holography : A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Holograms Using Inexpensive Semiconductor Diode Lasers

Shoebox Holography : A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Holograms Using Inexpensive Semiconductor Diode Lasers
by Frank DeFreitas (Author), Steve Michael (Author), Alan Rhody (Editor)

In-depth manual for students, teachers and hobbyists on how to create holograms easily and inexpensively.

Basic Concepts in Holography
The History of Holography
What Lasers Are and How They Work
Complete List of What's Needed
Where to Find the Materials
10 Steps to Creating Your Hologram
Advanced Experiments with Fiber Optics
Careers In Lasers and Photonics

© 2009 BrightSurf.com