NEWSROOM

Relaxor ferroelectrics have been used in electronics and sensors for decades, but the source of their unique properties was a mystery until now.

With a carefully-designed experiment and a handful of tin atoms, University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s physicists have found a long-sought form of superconductivity, taking one more step toward creating custom quantum materials.

By sculpting a three-dimensional polymer network inside the liquid crystal, we can write a high-fidelity phase profile and then use an applied voltage to reconfigure its optical function.

The new moiré materials also had the potential to be engineered to carry ferroelectricity and polarisation in many complex ways – both in the individual layers and chiral textures at nanoscale.

Using donor–acceptor chemistry to create ultra-thin ‘nanoribbons’ - just a few atoms wide - could help to shape new electronic materials.

2D materials are widely seen as a promising path toward better computer chips. Researchers at TU Wien now show: some of these materials are unsuitable due to an underestimated effect. But there are alternatives