Quantum materials offer many benefits to the future of electronic devices — from batteries to sensors and even our smartphones. Thanks to quantum behaviors like entanglement, these materials exhibit unusual electronic, optical and magnetic properties, making them more energy efficient.
“Being superior to conventional materials for certain electronic processes, quantum materials open vast application opportunities,” says Carmine Ortix, an associate professor of physics at the University of Salerno in Italy.
Electronic Properties of Quantum Materials
Ortix is part of an international research team, led by the University of Geneva, that studied how the electronic properties of quantum materials can be controlled. Their recent research shows that we can create tighter electronic control by curving the fabric of space within these materials.
The researchers wrapped their quantum material in insulators, trapping electrons — which control energy output — within a sandwich layer and limiting their free space. Then, using specific laser pulses, the team stacked each atom of their material on top of one another.
