Research Briefing

The remarkable properties of graphene nanoribbons are promising for use in quantum technologies. To create quantum devices, however, individual nanoribbons must be contacted. This crucial step has now been demonstrated using single-walled carbon nanotubes as electrodes.

The use of topological spin structures is restricted by their limited scale, thermal stability or magnetic field requirements. A high-magnetic-field-assisted growth approach overcomes these limitations, enabling the construction of millimetre-scale meron lattices. These lattices were used to demonstrate chirality transfer from topologically protected quasiparticles to electrons and then photons.

Stacking a bilayer of chromium triiodide, a layered antiferromagnet, onto another with a twist angle gives rise to a moiré magnet with rich magnetic phases, including ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic orders. The magnetic orders can be controlled through the twist angle, temperature and electrical gating, with the system also showing voltage-assisted magnetic switching.

The negative differential capacitance (NDC) of ferroelectrics could be used to reduce the energy consumption of ultra-scaled logic devices. An NDC phenomenon in ultrathin ferroelectric zirconium-doped hafnia is demonstrated. Field-effect transistors incorporating this ferroelectric in the gate stack display enhanced on-currents and reduced off-currents compared with conventional analogues, as well as tunable and enduring NDC.

Despite advances in speech processing systems, such as those used in voice-controlled devices, human hearing still outperforms technical systems in noisy and variable environments. To close this gap, a bioinspired acoustic sensor with integrated signal processing was developed — the dynamic microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based cochlea.

A spoof surface plasmonic neural network with programmable weights and activation functions was proposed, which has the potential to achieve processing speeds close to the speed of light. This neural network was used to create a wireless communications system that can detect and process electromagnetic waves.

Conventional dielectric layers used in stretchable electronics are solution-processed, thick and have poor electrical performance compared with rigid, inorganic dielectrics. A stretchable nanometre-thick gate dielectric layer has been produced using large-area vacuum deposition. This material has excellent electrical, mechanical and chemical properties and could facilitate the development of high-performance wearable devices.

A skin-like sensory system, consisting of a substrate-less nanomesh strain sensor and an unsupervised meta-learning framework, enables the rapid recognition of various hand movements with minimal training and can work for any user. The device is able to complete various tasks, including virtual keyboard typing and object recognition.

An organic artificial spiking neuron based on nonlinear ionoelectronic phenomena is reported that is sensitive to ionic and biomolecular species common in neuronal signalling. The neuron realistically emulates the function and firing properties of biological neurons and enables biohybrid interfaces made of artificial and biological components that function in real time.

A monocrystalline native oxide dielectric, β-Bi₂SeO₅, with a high dielectric constant has been synthesized by oxidizing a two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor, Bi₂O₂Se. In 2D transistors, the ultrathin β-Bi₂SeO₅ dielectric demonstrates sub-0.5-nm equivalent oxide thickness and leakage current below the low-power limit, meeting the requirements of the International Roadmap for Devices and Systems.

The interactions between antiferromagnetic moments and spin currents owing to topological surface states are observed as a combination of magnetoresistance effects and current-induced switching of the magnetic moments. These observations suggest that topological surface states could provide a tool for reading and writing antiferromagnetic memories with ultralow energy consumption.

An artificial neuron is designed to communicate chemically with biological neurons. The artificial neuron can receive and release the neurotransmitter dopamine, enabling adaptive interaction with live neurons and the sciatic nerve in a mouse leg.

Laser-assisted chemical reactions have been used to write reversible ultra-high-density doping patterns in graphene for optoelectronic applications. The approach used two laser beams with specific photon energies and geometric configurations to enable local doping with a high dopant coverage ratio on graphene, while preserving the electronic properties of the surface.

Microelectromechanical systems that can disintegrate and degrade after a targeted lifetime are demonstrated alongside bioresorbable encapsulating materials and deployment strategies that offer safe biointegration of such devices. These devices have the potential to reduce electronic waste and help create temporary biomedical implants.

Transistors based on two-dimensional semiconductors suffer from electrical instabilities because charges readily get trapped in the gate oxides. As charge trapping is sensitive to the energetic alignment of the channel Fermi level to the defect bands in the oxide, the number of electrically active traps can be reduced by tuning the channel Fermi level.

A solid-state electronic switch based on an atomic sheet of molybdenum disulfide is demonstrated in the 6G communication band with very high speed data transmission.

Measurements reveal that the antiferromagnet ruthenium dioxide (RuO₂) can generate an electric-field-induced spin current with a component of spin polarization perpendicular to the sample plane. This verifies theoretical predictions and provides a strategy for the future development of highly energy-efficient magnetic storage devices.

A silicon chip fabricated in a standard semiconductor foundry demonstrates that coupled ring oscillators can solve optimization problems targeted by quantum computers, and are quicker, cheaper and more energy-efficient than digital solvers. The 1,968 oscillator integrated circuit consumes 0.042 W and finds a solution within 50 oscillation cycles.

Quantum computing has attracted attention owing to its potential to solve problems that are intractable with traditional computing technologies; however, a scalable scheme for producing millions of qubits remains elusive. A new effort demonstrates a milestone to achieving this by fabricating qubits in the same factory where state-of-the-art semiconductor chips are manufactured.