New article: New 2-D materials conduct electricity near the speed of light read more at here http://www.spinonews.com/index.php/science/item/3368-new-2-d-materials-conduct-electricity-near-the-speed-of-light

A new two-dimensional quantum materials with advance electrical and magnetic attributes could make the building blocks of future quantum computers and other advanced electronics. The new materials, Dirac or Majorana fermions, feature data-carrying particles without a charge and mass the particles can travel almost the speed of the light.

UCI associate professor of physics & astronomy Jing Xia, said, finally, we can take exotic, high-end theories in physics and make something useful. We’re exploring the possibility of making topological quantum computers for the next 100 years.

Xia and his colleagues built the fiber-optic Sagnac interferometer microscope, the most powerful magnetic microscope in the world. The new materials are miniscule material. The research required a powerful microscope.

Researchers said, the machine is the ideal measurement tool for these discoveries. It's the most accurate way to optically measure magnetism in a material. The microscope observes chromium germanium telluride (CGT), a super thin atomic carbon film similar to graphene. The scientists observed the material at minus 387 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

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Certain computer components need to be made of materials that have both electronic and magnetic properties. CGT has both properties.

Researchers are also examining the interface between bismuth and nickel at minus 452 degrees Fahrenheit. At their precise point of contact, the interface becomes "an exotic superconductor that breaks time-reversal symmetry."

The signal carriers in this 2-D superconductor are Majorana fermions, which could be used for a braiding operation that theorists believe is vital to quantum computing.

Xia said, the issue now is to try to achieve this at normal temperatures. The third study shows promise in overcoming that hurdle.

More information: [Nature]