Scientific Achievement
Scientists at the Molecular Foundry, in collaboration with researchers at the ALS, have found that linear defects in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDs) create one-atom thick metallic wires that cross the otherwise intact semiconductor.
Significance and Impact
TMDs have exceptional optical characteristics. They can be developed into ultra-sensitive photo detectors, and a single TMD layer emits as much light as a 3-D TMD crystal composed of 10,000 layers.
Research Details
- Three-atom thick, clean layers of molybdenum diselenide, which is a type of TMD, were synthesized at the ALS.
- The material was studied at the Molecular Foundry with a microscope that can visualize atoms and their electronic wave functions.
- The team discovered a linear defect formed by a line of missing selenium atoms that when cooled, behaved like a superconductor while the rest of the material remained unchanged.
