Discovery Sciencepa07/08/2024Single atoms show their true color
A new technique reveals single atom misfits and could help design better semiconductors used in modern and future electronics
Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a new technique that combines atomic-scale imaging with extremely short laser pulses to clearly detect single-atom “defects” that manufacturers add to semiconductors to tune their electronic performance.
The technique could help researchers better characterize and design semiconductor materials used in modern electronics, such as computer chips, communication devices and solar cells, as well as future devices.
The MSU team demonstrated their technique in the journal Nature Photonics by revealing silicon defects in gallium arsenide that had been all but invisible previously. “Here was this defect that people have been hunting for over forty years, and we could see it ringing like a bell,” said team leader Tyler Cocker, the Jerry Cowen Endowed Chair in Experimental Physics at MSU.
