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Device Physics

Topological transistor

Nature Physics volume 8, pages 705–706 (2012)Cite this article

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Devices based on surface electrons in topological insulators are keenly anticipated, but singling these electrons out amid abundant bulk electrons poses a formidable challenge. Inspiration from the common transistor now enables manipulation of these exotic states.

Topological insulators (TIs) are materials that behave much like normal semiconductors, but manifest exotic surface-state electrons that are currently a subject of intense research and speculation for device applications. TI surface electrons follow an unusual set of physical rules1,2. They are massless (light-like), as are electrons in graphene, and when pushed with an electric field, TI surface electrons spontaneously give rise to a magnetic dipole moment through the so-called magnetoelectric effect. New transistor-like devices reported by Joseph Checkelsky and colleagues in Nature Physics3 demonstrate a way to drive magnetic transitions using the unique physical rules governing TI surface electrons, through the combination of TIs with common electronics.

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Figure 1: Topological insulator transistors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. L. Andrew Wray is at the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94305, USA,

    L. Andrew Wray

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  1. L. Andrew Wray
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Correspondence to L. Andrew Wray.

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Wray, L. Topological transistor. Nature Phys 8, 705–706 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys2410

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