Quantum Transistors

December 10th, 2014 by

Researchers from the University of Michigan, University of California Irvine, Tsinghua University in China, and the University of Science and Technology of China have discovered of samarium hexaboride (SmB6), which may make it useful as a “silicon” for the quantum era. The researchers believe they have the first direct evidence that SmB6 is a topological insulator, which is a class of solids that are believed to conduct electricity like a metal, but block the flow of current through their interior. Using torque magnetometry, the researchers observed oscillations in the material’s response to a magnetic field to reveal how electric current moves through it. SmB6 is not a typical topological insulator because the electrons in the outer shells of the samarium atoms interact with one another strongly, such that a coordinated motion emerges. This could make the material useful for creating some exotic quantum effects including magnetic monopoles, or Majorana fermions. The finding about samarium hexaboride raises the possibility of using it to route the flow of electric current in quantum computers similar to silicon in conventional electronics.

 

Source: University of Michigan

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