Scientific Achievement
An international team of scientists working at the Molecular Foundry and ALS observed, for the first time, a quantum property known as “chirality” in cadmium arsenide.
Significance and Impact
The experiment provided a first step toward the goal of using chirality for transporting charge and energy through a material without loss, which offers a new approach to reducing waste energy in microchips.
Research Details
- To measure the surface states of electrons in the material, the team used the Molecular Foundry’s focused ion beam to create slices of a cadmium arsenic crystal just 150 nanometers thick, without damaging the surface. The samples 3-D structure was detailed using X-rays at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source.
- The team studied how electric current travels in the crystal slices and found that electrons race through the surface and bulk in a way predicted by theoretical models.
