NEWSROOM

To visualize a quantum well, imagine a marble rolling in a groove between two raised edges. The marble can only move back and forth. A quantum well controls electrical current in a similar way, confining it in an ultrathin layer of material. This confinement improves how quickly you can encode information in light. The new paper shows how to make these wells work even better, whether for quicker downloads and smoother online experiences or for better qubits and more efficient

In a new study, published in Materials Today, a team led by Warwick’s Dr Maksym Myronov achieved a major step towards the next generation of electronics — creating a material using a nanometre-thin, compressively strained germanium epilayer on silicon, that allows electrical charge to move faster than ever before in a material compatible with modern chipmaking. The breakthrough was achieved by carefully engineering a thin germanium layer on top of a silicon wafer. By applying

A novel magnetic material with an extraordinary electronic structure might allow for the production of smaller and more efficient computer chips in the future: the p-wave magnet. Researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) were involved in its development. The magnetic behavior in the interior of this material results from the way the electron spins arrange themselves – in the shape of a helix. Therefore, the electric current flowing through is deflected laterall

Graphene’s enduring appeal lies in its remarkable combination of lightness, flexibility, and strength. Now, researchers have shown that under pressure, it can briefly take on the traits of one of its more glamorous carbon cousins. By introducing nitrogen atoms and applying pressure, a team of scientists has coaxed bilayer graphene grown through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) into a diamond-like phase — without the need for extreme heat. The finding, reported in Advanced Mate

The formation of metal hydrides is important to a wide range of energy technologies, from hydrogen storage to fusion materials. Researchers used palladium (Pd) nanoparticles, which have a high hydrogen affinity and can be precisely synthesized, as a model system for studying the insertion of hydrogen into a metal. They synthesized Pd nanoparticles, interconnected into assemblies with a high density of Σ3(111) grain boundaries (GBs), to probe the role of GBs in hydridation. Th

In magnetic materials with antisymmetric exchange interactions, novel particle-like spin textures called magnetic skyrmions can appear and be manipulated by electrons. First observed in 2009, they have been created and controlled at room temperature in many materials. Skyrmions, as nonvolatile information carriers, are key in electronic and spintronic devices. Their size can be just a few nanometers, enabling high storage densities. They require low current to move, are topol