- cross-posted to:
- technology@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- technology@beehaw.org
- Columbia University chemists have developed Re6Se8Cl2, a superatomic semiconductor exhibiting ballistic flow, potentially surpassing conventional semiconductors in speed and efficiency.
- This material forms acoustic exciton-polarons that move scatter-free across the material, promising faster and more efficient energy and information transfer.
- Unlike silicon, exciton-polarons in Re6Se8Cl2 pair with phonons, enabling steady, rapid movement without scattering, which could lead to faster processing speeds at room temperature.
- Re6Se8Cl2 is unlikely for commercial use due to the rarity and cost of Rhenium, but the discovery opens possibilities for other materials with similar properties for future technological applications.
Yes but they’re talking about acoustic exciton polarons. Which I’m not sure makes great sense, it’s kind of stretching the terminology a little excessively, although maybe it only sounds that way because it’s new. The acoustic part is from the phonon, which is what makes it a polaron, and it is an exciton polaron because it’s an electron-hole pair rather than just an electron. But it also implies the prior existence of an “optical exciton polaron”, a term which hasn’t yet been coined. However, they’re the one discovering the new quasi-particle, so they get to name it. In any case, searching for “acoustic exciton polarons” brings up many articles about this specific paper and little else.