MORE POWERFUL COMPUTERS AND ADVANCED ELECTRONICS ON THE VERGE OF BEING DEVELOPED USING TOPOLOGICAL INSULATORS.

New research by university of Texas shows that physicists may accelerate the creation of more advanced electronics and powerful computers. This was shown by investigating materials called topological insulators (materials which behaves as an insulators in its interior but as conductors on the exterior)

"These materials are made of the same thing throughout, from the interior to the exterior, but, the interior does not conduct electrons — it’s an insulator — while the electrons on the surface are free to move around. The surface is therefore a conductor, like a metal, but it is in fact more robust than a metal."

Dr. Fan Zhang, Assistant Professor of Physics, UT Dallas

   This material is of two types the strong and the weak one. The difference between them is subtle and involves complex physics, but is critically important.

         "If you had a cube of material that is a strong topological insulator, all six faces can
          conduct electrons," Zhang said. "For the weak one, only the four sides are conducting,
          while the top and bottom surfaces remain insulating."
The strong topological insulator were made shortly after they were proposed. but the weak one have been elusive. Zhang a theoretical physicist devised a relatively simple mix of two chemical elements: a crystal composed of bismuth combined with either iodine or bromine.

"This class of materials we are proposing is a unique platform for exploring exotic physics with fairly simple chemistry," he said. "With further research and experimentation, our findings could lead to significant advances in technology, especially in electronics and quantum computing." siad Dr Zhang