Light switch for electrons

Researchers create conductive interface in nickelate materials

UV light can be used to switch an extremely conductive state on and off at the interface between two oxide materials - in a matter of seconds. This newly discovered "light switch for electrons" marks a milestone on the way to light-controlled electronics and could also be used in superconductivity in the future. The journal Nature Materials reports. Part of the international team are Materials Chain... read more

Quantum noise tamed in the tunnel effect

When disruptions become useful

What is usually considered a disturbance can be surprisingly useful under certain conditions: noise. Researchers at the University of Duisburg-Essen have shown how the random noise caused by the quantum mechanical tunnel effect - a phenomenon that is also the focus of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics - can be specifically influenced. The results, which have now been published in Communications Physics,... read more

Novel metal alloy resists extreme conditions

A research team co-led by Prof. Dr. Alexander Kauffmann of Ruhr University Bochum, formerly at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), has developed a new refractory metal alloy combining chromium, molybdenum, and silicon. The material is both malleable at room temperature and highly resistant to oxidation and extreme heat, with a melting point near 2,000°C. Compared to conventional nickel-based... read more