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Femtophysics

Birth of a quasiparticle

Nature volume 426, pages 23–24 (2003)Cite this article

As electronic devices shrink, the interaction between electrons and the silicon crystal lattice, described in terms of 'quasiparticles', is a central issue. Ultrashort laser pulses can track the birth of such a quasiparticle.

With few exceptions, electronic devices are based on silicon: using this semiconductor material, an extremely high density of basic switching elements (transistors) can be incorporated in complex circuits. Soon the size of transistors on commercial silicon chips might drop below 10 nanometres1. At this level of integration, the physical dimensions of each element are similar to the distance between atoms in the material, and the conventional description of charge flow in electronic devices breaks down. On page 51 of this issue, Hase et al.2 present an experiment that gives a flavour of the colourful dynamics that might be expected under such conditions.

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Figure 1: Caught in the act.

References

  1. Doyle, B. et al. Intel Tech. J. 6, 42–54 (2002); http://www.intel.com/research/silicon

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  1. Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, PO Box M 695, Konstanz, D-78457, Germany

    Alfred Leitenstorfer

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  1. Alfred Leitenstorfer
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Leitenstorfer, A. Birth of a quasiparticle. Nature 426, 23–24 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/426023b

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