The nanoscale electronics of devices like smartphones are solid, static materials that, once designed and built, cannot be changed into anything else. But scientists at the University of California, Irvine have reported the discovery (The First Nanoscale Switching Electronic Device Discovered) of nanoscale devices that can be formed in different shapes and sizes, even though they are in a solid state.
It’s a discovery that could change the nature of electronic devices, and the way scientists do quantum research at the atomic scale. The study was recently published in Science Advances.
“What we discovered is that for one thing, you can create nanoscale electronic devices that are not integrated,” said Javier Sanchez-Yamagishi, assistant professor of physics and science. Astronomy whose laboratory made the new discovery. “Parts can be moved, allowing us to change the size and shape of the device after it is made.”
Flexible electronics are like fridge door magnets – built in but adjustable to any pattern you like.
“The significance of this discovery is that it demonstrates a new potential for use in these materials that allows for a variety of devices, including the design of parts of the circuit,” said Ian Sequeira, a Ph. D., said student in the Sanchez-Yamagishi laboratory.
If this sounds like science fiction, Sanchez-Yamagishi said, because until now, scientists did not think that such a thing was possible.
In fact, Sanchez-Yamagishi and his team, which includes the UCI doctorate. student Andrew Barabas, didn’t even want what they ended up finding.
“It wasn’t really what we wanted to do in the first place,” Sanchez-Yamagishi said. “We expected everything to be straight, but what happened is that we were trying to check it, we accidentally hit the device, and we saw that “it was moving.”
What they specifically found is that small nanoscale gold fibers can adhere to a special crystal called “van der Waals material” with low friction.
Taking advantage of these slippery possibilities, they have developed an electronic device that consists of a single sheet of atomically dense material called graphene attached to a gold wire that can be bent into a variety of configurations and Worship.
Because it conducts electricity well, gold is a common component of electrical appliances.
But it’s unclear how the findings could affect companies that use these types of devices.
“The first story is about basic science, although it’s a concept that could one day make an impact in industry,” Sanchez-Yamagishi said. “It germinates ideas.”
Meanwhile, the team hopes that their work could usher in a new era of quantum science research.
“It could change the way people do research in this area,” Sanchez-Yamagishi said. “Researchers dream of having flexibility and control in their research, but there are many obstacles when it comes to nanoscale materials,” he added. “Our results show that what is considered to be fixed and static can be transformed and dynamic.”
Source: University of California Irvine
