Science, Space and Technology News 2024
Led by Boston College physicist Qiong Ma, an international team working with single-atom thick crystals found TaIrTe4’s transition between the two distinct topological states of insulation and conduction. The material exhibited zero electrical conductivity within its interior, while its boundaries remain conductive. The team’s investigation determined that the two topological states stem from disparate origins.
The findings introduce a novel effect that the team calls the dual topological insulator or the dual quantum spin Hall insulator, Ma said.Exceptionally thin, two-dimensional layers of a crystalline material called TaIrTe4, created from tantalum, iridium, and tellurium, were the focus of the team of scientists from BC,, Texas A&M, the University of Tennessee, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science.
Ma said the project’s primary objective was to test the theoretical prediction that suggests the thinnest TaIrTe4 layer acts as a two-dimensional topological insulator – also known as a quantum spin Hall insulator – a novel material where its interior is insulating and electricity flows along its boundaries without any energy loss. This unique combination makes these materials a focus of researchers trying to develop future generations of energy-efficient electronic devices.
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