• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

Quantum electronics: Charge travels like light in bilayer graphene

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
April 16, 2024
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 6 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has demonstrated experimentally that electrons in naturally occurring double-layer graphene move like particles without any mass, in the same way that light travels. Furthermore, they have shown that the current can be “switched” on and off, which has potential for developing tiny, energy-efficient transistors – like the light switch in your house but at a nanoscale. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, and the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, were also involved in the research. The results were published in Nature Communications.

Artist’s representation of moving charges in naturally occurring bilayer graphene.

Credit: Lukas Kroll

An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has demonstrated experimentally that electrons in naturally occurring double-layer graphene move like particles without any mass, in the same way that light travels. Furthermore, they have shown that the current can be “switched” on and off, which has potential for developing tiny, energy-efficient transistors – like the light switch in your house but at a nanoscale. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, and the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, were also involved in the research. The results were published in Nature Communications.

 

Graphene was identified in 2004 and is a single layer of carbon atoms. Among its many unusual properties, graphene is known for its extraordinarily high electrical conductivity due to the high and constant velocity of electrons travelling through this material. This unique feature has made scientists dream of using graphene for much faster and more energy-efficient transistors. The challenge has been that to make a transistor, the material needs to be controlled to have a highly insulating state in addition to its highly conductive state. In graphene, however, such a “switch” in the speed of the carrier cannot be easily achieved. In fact, graphene usually has no insulating state, which has limited graphene’s potential a transistor.

 

The Göttingen University team have now found that two graphene layers, as found in the naturally occurring form of double-layer graphene, combine the best of both worlds: a structure that supports the amazingly fast motion of electrons moving like light as if they had no mass, in addition to an insulating state. The researchers showed that this condition can be changed by the application of an electric field applied perpendicularly to the material, making the double-layer graphene insulating. This property of fast-moving electrons had been theoretically predicted as early as 2009, but it took significantly enhanced sample quality as enabled my materials supplied by NIMS and close collaboration about theory with MIT, before it was possible to identify this experimentally. While these experiments were carried out at cryogenic temperatures – at around 273° below freezing – they show the potential of bilayer graphene to make highly efficient transistors.

 

“We were already aware of the theory. However, now we have carried out experiments which actually show the light-like dispersion of electrons in bilayer graphene. It was a very exciting moment for the entire team,” says Professor Thomas Weitz, at Göttingen University’s Faculty of Physics. Dr Anna Seiler, Postdoctoral researcher and first author also at Göttingen University, adds: “Our work is very much a first step but a crucial one. The next step for researchers will be to see if bilayer graphene really can improve transistors or to investigate the potential of this effect in other areas of technology.”

 

Original publication: Anna M. Seiler et al. “Probing the tunable multi-cone band structure in Bernal bilayer graphene”, Nature Communications 2024. Doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47342-0 and https://rdcu.be/dErrl. Text also available via preprint: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2311.10816

 

Contact:

Professor Thomas Weitz

University of Göttingen

Faculty of Physics – 1st Institute of Physics

Friedrich Hund Weg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Tel: +49 (0)551 39-27607

[email protected]

https://uni-goettingen.de/en/617481.html

 

Dr Anna Seiler

University of Göttingen

Faculty of Physics – 1st Institute of Physics

Friedrich-Hund-Weg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Tel: +49 (0)551 39-27622

[email protected]

 

An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has demonstrated experimentally that electrons in naturally occurring double-layer graphene move like particles without any mass, in the same way that light travels. Furthermore, they have shown that the current can be “switched” on and off, which has potential for developing tiny, energy-efficient transistors – like the light switch in your house but at a nanoscale. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, and the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan, were also involved in the research. The results were published in Nature Communications.

 

Graphene was identified in 2004 and is a single layer of carbon atoms. Among its many unusual properties, graphene is known for its extraordinarily high electrical conductivity due to the high and constant velocity of electrons travelling through this material. This unique feature has made scientists dream of using graphene for much faster and more energy-efficient transistors. The challenge has been that to make a transistor, the material needs to be controlled to have a highly insulating state in addition to its highly conductive state. In graphene, however, such a “switch” in the speed of the carrier cannot be easily achieved. In fact, graphene usually has no insulating state, which has limited graphene’s potential a transistor.

 

The Göttingen University team have now found that two graphene layers, as found in the naturally occurring form of double-layer graphene, combine the best of both worlds: a structure that supports the amazingly fast motion of electrons moving like light as if they had no mass, in addition to an insulating state. The researchers showed that this condition can be changed by the application of an electric field applied perpendicularly to the material, making the double-layer graphene insulating. This property of fast-moving electrons had been theoretically predicted as early as 2009, but it took significantly enhanced sample quality as enabled my materials supplied by NIMS and close collaboration about theory with MIT, before it was possible to identify this experimentally. While these experiments were carried out at cryogenic temperatures – at around 273° below freezing – they show the potential of bilayer graphene to make highly efficient transistors.

 

“We were already aware of the theory. However, now we have carried out experiments which actually show the light-like dispersion of electrons in bilayer graphene. It was a very exciting moment for the entire team,” says Professor Thomas Weitz, at Göttingen University’s Faculty of Physics. Dr Anna Seiler, Postdoctoral researcher and first author also at Göttingen University, adds: “Our work is very much a first step but a crucial one. The next step for researchers will be to see if bilayer graphene really can improve transistors or to investigate the potential of this effect in other areas of technology.”

 

Original publication: Anna M. Seiler et al. “Probing the tunable multi-cone band structure in Bernal bilayer graphene”, Nature Communications 2024. Doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47342-0 and https://rdcu.be/dErrl. Text also available via preprint: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2311.10816

 

Contact:

Professor Thomas Weitz

University of Göttingen

Faculty of Physics – 1st Institute of Physics

Friedrich Hund Weg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Tel: +49 (0)551 39-27607

[email protected]

https://uni-goettingen.de/en/617481.html

 

Dr Anna Seiler

University of Göttingen

Faculty of Physics – 1st Institute of Physics

Friedrich-Hund-Weg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Tel: +49 (0)551 39-27622

[email protected]

 

 



Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-47342-0

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Probing the tunable multi-cone band structure in Bernal bilayer graphene

Article Publication Date

11-Apr-2024

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Harnessing Nature: Exploring Bush Basil Companion Plants for Organic Pest Control

Harnessing Nature: Exploring Bush Basil Companion Plants for Organic Pest Control

August 5, 2025
Diastereodivergent Routes to Multi-Substituted Cycloalkanes

Diastereodivergent Routes to Multi-Substituted Cycloalkanes

August 5, 2025

UofL Study Reveals Amplified Liver Damage from Combined Exposure to Alcohol and “Forever Chemicals”

August 5, 2025

Zero-Dimensional Octahedral Metal Halides Synthesized via Solvent Incorporation

August 5, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    72 shares
    Share 29 Tweet 18
  • Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    61 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Predicting Colorectal Cancer Using Lifestyle Factors

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    47 shares
    Share 19 Tweet 12

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

CT Scans: Raised Arms Improve Clavicle Age Estimates

Nigella sativa Nanoparticles: Fighting Bacteria, Oxidants, and Mosquitoes

Novel Method for Creating Reference Microplastic Particles

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.