All articles tagged with #topological insulator
A Nature Physics paper claims that in a SnTe semiconductor, femtosecond light pulses can induce Floquet topological states by transient band inversion, effectively allowing temporary, light-controlled conductive pathways that sketch reconfigurable circuits. While rooted in fundamental research, this optical control of topological insulators highlights potential for future reconfigurable electronics and photonic approaches.
Researchers from the University of Twente have discovered that germanene, a two-dimensional material made of germanium atoms, behaves as a topological insulator, making it more energy-efficient than current electronic materials. Germanene is unique in that it's made from just a single element, and it has the ability to switch between "on" and "off" states, comparable to transistors. This paves the way for designing topological field-effect transistors that could replace traditional transistors in electronic devices, resulting in electronics that no longer heat up.
Physicists at RIKEN have demonstrated Laughlin charge pumping in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator using a disk-shaped device without edge channels connecting the two electrodes, overturning the assumption that electronic states in these edges were crucial for supporting the quantum anomalous Hall insulator. This opens the way for realizing other novel electronic behavior in quantum anomalous Hall materials.