New 2D transistor material made using precision lasers

Molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) is a crystalline compound that if pure enough can be used as a transistor. Its molecular structure is an atomic sandwich made up of one molybdenum atom for every two tellurium atoms[HY1] . It was first made in the 1960’s via several different fabrication methods, but until last year it had never been made in a pure enough...

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Forcing a molecular light switch

A chance observation led to RIKEN researchers discovering an organic compound whose fluorescence wavelength varies greatly when it is subjected to a mechanical force ("Reversible near-infrared/blue mechanofluorochromism of aminobenzopyranoxanthene"). This property makes it an attractive material for various applications in security as well as medical...

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Spins in artificial atoms resemble those in natural ones

By extending the study of coupled quantum dots to five-electron systems, RIKEN researchers have confirmed that the spin-based electron-filling rules for natural atoms apply to artificial molecules ("Vanishing current hysteresis under competing nuclear spin pumping processes in a quadruplet spin-blockaded double quantum dot"). Figure 1: The Pauli exclusion...

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