Northeastern discovery in quantum materials could make electronics 1,000 times faster

Researchers using controlled heating and cooling, or “thermal quenching,” were able to make a quantum material switch between a metal conductive state and an insulating state.

Researchers at Northeastern University have discovered how to change the electronic state of matter on demand, a breakthrough that could make electronics 1,000 times faster and more efficient.

By switching from insulating to conducting and vice versa, the discovery creates the potential to replace silicon components in electronics with exponentially smaller and faster quantum materials.

“Processors work in gigahertz right now,” said Alberto de la Torre, assistant professor of physics and lead author of the research. “The speed of change that this would enable would allow you to go to terahertz.”

Via controlled heating and cooling, a technique they call “thermal quenching,” researchers are able to make a quantum material switch between a metal conductive state and an insulating state. These states can be reversed instantly using the same technique.

Published in the journal Nature Physics, the research findings represent a breakthrough for materials scientists and the future of electronics: instant control over whether a material conducts or insulates electricity.

The effect is like a transistor switching electronic signals. And just as transistors allowed computers to become smaller — from the huge machines the size of rooms to the phone in your pocket — control over quantum materials has the potential to transform electronics, says Gregory Fiete, a professor of physics at Northeastern who worked with de la Torre to interpret the findings.