Skip to main content

“Rethinking What Silicon Can Do” – New Way To Control Electricity at the Tiniest Scale Discovered




Electrons can travel through silicon as waves, paving the way for smaller and more advanced devices.

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have discovered a method to control how electricity moves through crystalline silicon, a key material in today’s electronic technologies. By tapping into the quantum behavior of electrons, the breakthrough could enable the development of smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient devices.

At extremely small scales, electrons act more like waves than solid particles. The researchers demonstrated that by carefully adjusting the symmetrical arrangement of atoms in silicon molecules, they could induce or prevent a process called destructive interference. This phenomenon can effectively switch electrical conductivity “on” or “off,” functioning like a nanoscale electronic switch.

Wave interference as a quantum switch

“We found that when tiny silicon structures are shaped with high symmetry, they can cancel out electron flow like noise-canceling headphones,” said Tim Su, a UCR chemistry professor who led the study. “What’s exciting is that we can control it.”

This discovery comes at a time when the tech industry is facing challenges in further miniaturizing conventional silicon chips. Existing approaches typically involve etching microscopic circuits into silicon wafers or doping them with trace amounts of other elements to alter conductivity. While these methods have been effective for many years, they are nearing their physical boundaries: there is a limit to how small circuits can be made, and added atoms cannot resolve the complications introduced by quantum phenomena.

Building from the molecule up

In contrast, Su and his team took a chemical approach, assembling silicon molecules atom by atom instead of shaping them from larger structures. This “bottom-up” method allowed for exact control over atomic arrangement and, importantly, over how electrons travel through the silicon.

Silicon, the second most common element in Earth’s crust, is central to modern electronics. However, as technology advances and devices become smaller, quantum effects such as electrons passing through insulating layers create new challenges for conventional designs. The findings suggest that instead of trying to eliminate these effects, engineers could use them to their advantage.

“Our work shows how molecular symmetry in silicon leads to interference effects that control how electrons move through it,” Su said. “And we can switch that interference on or off by controlling how electrodes align with our molecule.”

Future potential for computing and energy

While the idea of using quantum interference in electronics isn’t new, this is one of the first demonstrations of the effect in three-dimensional, diamond-like silicon  the same structure used in commercial chips.

Beyond ultra-small switches, the findings could aid in the development of thermoelectric devices that convert waste heat into electricity, or even quantum computing components built from familiar materials.

“This gives us a fundamentally new way to think about switching and charge transport,” Su said. “It’s not just a tweak. It’s a rethink of what silicon can do.”

#HighEnergyPhysics#ParticlePhysics#QuantumPhysics#AstroparticlePhysics#ColliderPhysics#HiggsBoson#LHC#QuantumFieldTheory#NeutrinoPhysics#PhysicsResearch#ComputationalScience#DataScience#ScientificComputing#NumericalMethods#HighPerformanceComputing#MachineLearningInScience#BigData#AlgorithmDevelopment#SimulationScience#ParallelComputing

Visit Our Website : hep-conferences.sciencefather.com
Nomination Link :hep-conferences.sciencefather.com/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee
Registration Link : hep-conferences.sciencefather.com/award-registration/
Member Link : hep-conferences.sciencefather.com/conference-membership/?ecategory=Membership&rcategory=Member
Awards-Winners : hep-conferences.sciencefather.com/awards-winners/
For Enquiries: physicsqueries@sciencefather.com

Get Connected Here:
==================
Social Media Link
Twitter : x.com/Psciencefather
Pinterest : in.pinterest.com/physicsresearchorganisation
Blog : physicscience23.blogspot.com
Instagram : www.instagram.com/victoriaanisa1
YouTube :www.youtube.com/channel/UCzqmZ9z40uRjiPSr9XdEwMA
Tumblr : https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hepcs

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Physicists observe a new form of magnetism for the first time

MIT physicists have demonstrated a new form of magnetism that could one day be harnessed to build faster, denser, and less power-hungry " spintronic " memory chips. The new magnetic state is a mash-up of two main forms of magnetism: the ferromagnetism of everyday fridge magnets and compass needles, and antiferromagnetism, in which materials have magnetic properties at the microscale yet are not macroscopically magnetized. Now, the MIT team has demonstrated a new form of magnetism , termed "p-wave magnetism." Physicists have long observed that electrons of atoms in regular ferromagnets share the same orientation of "spin," like so many tiny compasses pointing in the same direction. This spin alignment generates a magnetic field, which gives a ferromagnet its inherent magnetism. Electrons belonging to magnetic atoms in an antiferromagnet also have spin, although these spins alternate, with electrons orbiting neighboring atoms aligning their spins antiparalle...
Post a Comment
Read more

new research in qauntum physics

         VISIT:https: //hep-conferences.sciencefather.com/          N ew research in  qauntum physics.                                                    Alphabet Has a Second, Secretive Quantum Computing Team Recent research in quantum physics includes the development of quantum computers, which are expected to be much more powerful than conventional computers and could revolutionize many aspects of technology, such as artificial intelligence and cryptography. Other research includes the development of quantum sensors for a variety of applications, including medical diagnostics, and the study of quantum entanglement and its potential to enable quantum computing and secure communication. Additionally, research is being conducted into the applications of quantum mechanics in materials science, such as unde...
Post a Comment
Read more

Freezing light? Italian scientists froze fastest thing in universe, here’s how

In a rare occurrence, physics made it possible to control the fastest travelling element - light. Italian scientists have managed to freeze the light, as per reports. A recent study published in a British weekly journal reportedly revealed that light can exhibit ‘ supersolid behavior ’ a unique state of matter that flows without friction while retaining a solid-like structure. The research, led by Antonio Gianfate from CNR Nanotec and Davide Nigro from the University of Pavia, marks a significant step in understanding supersolidity in light. The scientists described their findings as “just the beginning” of this exploration, as per reports. In what can be termed as ‘manipulating photons under controlled quantum conditions ’, the scientists demonstrated that light, too, can exhibit this behaviour. (A photon is a bundle of electromagnetic energy which is massless, and travel at the speed of light) How did scientists freeze light? As we know, freezing involves lowering a liquid’s tempera...
Post a Comment
Read more