FLEET Enabling technology A — Atomically-thin materials
FLEET three research themes are heavily enabled by novel atomically thin materials, including topological materials (Research Theme 1) and atomically thin semiconductors (as hosts for excitons in Research Theme 2, and for realising non-equilibrium topological phenomena in Research Theme 3).
Additionally novel substrate materials with electric and magnetic ordering are needed to provide strong control of the properties of atomically thin materials. To provide these materials, FLEET will draw on extensive expertise in materials synthesis in Australia and internationally, from bulk crystals to thin films to atomically thin layer.
Atomically-thin materials news
This month’s ARC infrastructure funding round saw FLEET researchers across five universities on teams awarded additional funding towards research facilities, including significant new imaging resources in South Australia and NSW. Pankaj Sharma, initially a FLEET Research Fellow at UNSW and now a Centre AI at Flinders University (South Australia), will help develop new, state-of-the-art atomic force microscopy (AFM) facilities for the …
Published first at Flinders University Latest research from Flinders University and UNSW Sydney, published in the American Chemical Society ACS Nano journal, explores switchable polarization in a new class of silicon compatible metal oxides and paves the way for the development of advanced devices including high-density data storage, ultra low energy electronics, and flexible energy harvesting and wearable devices. The …
A collaboration of FLEET researchers from the University of Wollongong and Monash University have reviewed the superconducting diode effect, one of the most fascinating phenomena recently discovered in quantum condensed-matter physics. A superconducting diode enables dissipationless supercurrent to flow in only one direction, and provides new functionalities for superconducting circuits. This non-dissipative circuit element is key to future ultra-low energy …
‘Trimming’ the edge-states of a topological insulator yields a new class of material featuring unconventional ‘two way’ edge transport in a new theoretical study from Monash University, Australia. The new material, a topological crystalline insulator (TCI) forms a promising addition to the family of topological materials and significantly broadens the scope of materials with topologically nontrivial properties. Its distinctive reliance …
A recent UNSW-led paper published in Nature Communications presents an exciting new way to listen to avalanches of atoms in crystals. The nanoscale movement of atoms when materials deform leads to sound emission. This so-called crackling noise is a scale-invariant phenomenon found in various material systems as a response to external stimuli such as force or external fields. Jerky material …
Homogenous liquid-metal nanodroplets achieved with high-temperature molten salt Australian researchers put planets in the palm of the hand Liquid metal, planet-like nanodroplets are successfully formed with a new technique developed at RMIT University, Australia. Like our own Planet Earth, the nanodroplets feature an outer ‘crust’, a liquid metal ‘mantle’, and a solid ‘core’. The solid intermetallic core is the key …
A process has been developed to engineer nanoscale arrays of conducting channels for advanced scalable electronic circuitry Using ion implantation and lithography, investigators created patterns of topological surface edge states on a topological material that made the surface edges conductive while the bulk layer beneath remained an insulator Low energy ion implantation, neutron and X-ray reflectometry techniques at ANSTO supported …
FLEET funding is supporting the next step in possible translation of thermoelectrics research towards commercialisation in future generators, electronics, vehicles, human-wearable and environmental sensors, and smart electronics Thermoelectric materials offer potential solutions to heat-management challenges common to many electronics technologies. Thermoelectrics are solid-state semiconductors that can convert heat gradients into useful electricity (known as the Seebeck effect). They can also …
Liquid metals are enigmatic metallic solvents. A new UNSW-led study of metallic crystals growing in a liquid metal solvent finds similarities and differences between liquid-metal solvents and more-familiar crystal-growth environments (such as water or the atmosphere) in which snowflakes or crystals of dissolved substances form. We can dissolve a large amount of sugar in water at high temperatures. But as …
2D oxide-based LED encapsulation extending device lifetime FLEET translation funding is supporting the next step in a liquid-metal printing application with significant commercial promise, in a project being led by RMIT PhD candidate Patjaree Aukarasereenont. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) play a crucial role in modern society – from mobile phones to LED billboards and home lighting, LEDs are ubiquitous. There are, …
Gold may hold the key to unlocking an elusive but highly desirable reaction pathway. A new Australian-led stud finds gold atoms could be key to unlocking organic reactions. Organic molecules are the building blocks for materials we use every day – from our clothes and coffee cups to the screen displays of our phones. Controlling reactions of these organic molecules …
FLEET Investigator A/Prof Bent Weber, and his team at NTU Singapore, have demonstrated unprecedented control of a one-dimensional flow of electrons in a rare quantum state that physicists have sought to understand for over half a century. The technique suggests a path to more-robust and more-accurate quantum computers. From: Nanyang Technical University, Singapore As you walk in a crowded shopping …
Multidimensional coherent spectroscopy (MDCS) on monolayer WS2 reveals Fermi polaron interactions Phase-space filling drives new optical selection rules, where excitons compete for the same electron Identification of a novel, cooperatively-bound exciton-exciton-electron state Recent Australian-led research has provided a world’s first measurement of interactions between Fermi polarons in an atomically-thin 2D semiconductor, using ultrafast spectroscopy capable of probing complex quantum materials. …
Congratulations to Priyank Kumar at the School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW Sydney, who becomes a new Chief Investigator within FLEET. “I look forward to contributing to the objectives of FLEET through both fundamental and translational research,” said Priyank. “I would like to thank Michael Fuhrer, Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh and the FLEET team for providing me this opportunity.” Priyank has been an …
First project approved for FLEET Translation Program funding PhD candidates Mitch Conway, Abby Goff, and Jack Muir have recently been awarded $31,000 in FLEET’s first round of funding from the FLEET Translation Program (FTP). Their cross-node collaboration between Swinburne and RMIT aims to create a catalogue of high quality 2D materials, namely transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and their heterostructures. …
Majorana fermions promise information technology with zero resistance A new, multi-node FLEET review investigates the search for Majorana fermions in iron-based superconductors. The elusive Majorana fermion, or ‘angel particle’ proposed by Ettore Majorana in 1937, simultaneously behaves like a particle and an antiparticle – and surprisingly remains stable rather than being self-destructive. Majorana fermions promise information and communications technology with …
Designer heterostructure is a potential high-temperature QAHE, where a topological material is sandwiched between two ferromagnets A Monash University-led research team has discovered that a structure comprising an ultra-thin topological insulator sandwiched between two 2D ferromagnetic insulators becomes a large-bandgap quantum anomalous Hall insulator. Such a heterostructure provides an avenue towards viable ultra-low energy future electronics, or even topological photovoltaics. …
A new RMIT-led study stacks two different types of 2D materials together to create a hybrid material providing enhanced properties. This hybrid material possesses valuable properties towards use in future memory and electronic devices such as TVs, computers and phones. Most significantly, the electronic properties of the new stacked structure can be controlled without the need for external strain, opening …
A collaborative study led by the University of Wollongong confirms switching mechanism for a new, proposed generation of ultra-low energy ‘topological electronics’. Based on novel quantum topological materials, such devices would ‘switch’ a topological insulator from non-conducting (conventional electrical insulator) to a conducting (topological insulator) state, whereby electrical current could flow along its edge states without wasted dissipation of energy. …
In a landmark discovery, FLEET University of Wollongong (UOW) researchers have realised the non-contact manipulation of liquid metal. The metals can be controlled to move in any direction, and manipulated into unique, levitated shapes such as loops and squares by using a small voltage and a magnet. The liquid metal used is galinstan, an alloy of gallium, indium and tin, …
Harnessing massive Dirac fermions in dual-magnetic-ion-doped Bi2Se3 topological insulator showing extremely strong quantum oscillations in the bulk. Double doping induces a gap for the topological surface state. A University of Wollongong-led team across three FLEET nodes has combined two traditional semiconductor doping methods to achieve new efficiencies in the topological insulator bismuth-selenide (Bi2Se3), Two doping elements were used: samarium (Sm) …
Welcome to FLEET’s long-time collaborator Dr Simon Granville, who this month joins the Centre as a Partner Investigator. Simon is a Principal Investigator at FLEET’s partner organisation the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, where he leads the Institute’s Future Computing project to control electron transport and spin through superconductivity and topology. As a Senior Scientist at the Robinson …
Innovative epitaxy technique creates a new phase of the popular multiferroic BiFeO3 Stress enhances the properties of a promising material for future technologies. UNSW researchers find a new exotic state of one of the most promising multiferroic materials, with exciting implications for future technologies using these enhanced properties. Combining a careful balance of thin-film strain, distortion, and thickness, the team …
An intrinsic magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4 has been discovered with a large band gap, making it a promising material platform for fabricating ultra-low-energy electronics and observing exotic topological phenomena. Hosting both magnetism and topology, ultra-thin (only several nanometers in thickness) MnBi2Te4 was found to have a large band-gap in a Quantum Anomalous Hall (QAH) insulating state, where the material is …
2D kagome materials are a platform for tuneable electron-electron interactions ‘Star-like’ atomic-scale kagome geometry ‘switches on’ magnetism in a 2D organic material A 2D nanomaterial consisting of organic molecules linked to metal atoms in a specific atomic-scale geometry shows non-trivial electronic and magnetic properties due to strong interactions between its electrons. A new study, published today, shows the emergence of …
Congratulations to FLEET Research Fellow Dr Iolanda Di Bernardo (Monash), who has received the highly prized Juan de la Cierva fellowship to fund research in Spain, starting in Spring 2022. The Juan de la Cierva fellowship is highly competitive, with a success rate between 10 and 15%, and is similar to the Australian DECRA fellowship. The grants encourage the recruitment …
Congratulations to FLEET AI Dr Zhi Li (UOW) who received an ARC Future Fellowship in this month’s announcement. The new ARC Fellowship will support Dr Li’s study of iron-based high-temperature topological superconductors, based at the Institute of Superconducting and Electronic Materials (ISEM) at the University of Wollongong. The topological non-trivial nature and zero resistance of topological superconductors make them very …
—first published APS Physics Electrons flow like a viscous fluid through a 2D channel with perfectly smooth sidewalls, offering a new platform to test solid-state and fluid dynamics theories. Electrons can, under certain conditions, flow like a fluid that’s thicker than honey. Now researchers have managed to observe this viscous fluid behavior in a way that allows unambiguous measurements and …
Monash review: joining topological insulators with magnetic materials for energy-efficient electronics A new Monash review throws the spotlight on recent research in heterostructures of topological insulators and magnetic materials. In such heterostructures, the interesting interplay of magnetism and topology can give rise to new phenomena such as quantum anomalous Hall insulators, axion insulators and skyrmions. All of these are promising …
A new ARC Research Hub highlighting the role of novel and 2D materials in emerging technologies in fields such as energy storage, purification and printed electronics features FLEET talent amongst its team. The ARC Research Hub for Advanced Manufacturing with 2D Materials (AM2D) will be led by Prof Mainak Majumder (Monash Department of Mechanical Engineering). Two FLEET Chief Investigators are amongst …
Tackling the next climate crisis with polariton superfluids, chocolate bars, ultra-fast laser pulses and chaotic gardening… FLEET’s Rishabh Mishra (Swinburne), Mitko Oldfield and Alex Nguyen (both at Monash University) have recently recorded explanations of their PhD research, submitted for the 2021 national Three Minute Thesis competition. Mitko Oldfield (School of Physics and Astronomy) explains his studies of polariton superfluids, with …
Fe-based superconductors reviewed The discovery of iron-based superconductors with a relatively high transition temperature Tc in 2008 opened a new chapter in the development of high-temperature superconductivity. The following decade saw a ‘research boom’ in superconductivity, with remarkable achievements in the theory, experiments and applications of iron-based superconductors, and in our understanding of the fundamental mechanism of superconductivity. A UOW …
Controlling Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in chiral magnet iron-doped tantalum-sulfide by proton intercalation Magnetic-spin interactions that allow spin-manipulation by electrical control allow potential applications in energy-efficient spintronic devices. An antisymmetric exchange known as Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions (DMI) is vital to form various chiral spin textures, such as skyrmions, and permits their potential application in energy-efficient spintronic devices. Published this week, a Chinese-Australia …
Please welcome FLEET’s three new Women in FLEET Honours students: Kyla Rutherford (RMIT) Olivia Kong (UNSW) Robin Hu (ANU) Kyla, Olivia and Robin have all received Women in FLEET Honours Scholarships, which are awarded to high performing students doing their Honours research project with FLEET. Kyla Rutherford will be working with Jared Cole at RMIT to understand transport properties in …
X- ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used for material characterization, providing quantitative information on the chemical composition of materials by identifying the type of elements that are present (nowadays, with a detection limit in the range of one part per thousand). XPS also allows the identification of the chemical state of the elements – such as the types of bonds …
The Liquid-metals spin-off company Liquid Metal Plus (LM+) initiated in 2020 with FLEET investigators Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh (UNSW) and Dr Torben Daeneke (RMIT), together with Dorna Esrafilzadeh (UNSW), was launched in April 2021. Pushing print on flexible touchscreens Climate rewind: turning CO2 back into coal The company has two areas of focus, with the unifying theme being application of liquid-metal technologies …
A team led by FLEET CI Prof Xiaolin Wang (University of Wollongong) has won a linkage project for topological materials based thermoelectricity. Thermoelectricity can directly convert heat to electrical energy or vice-versa. It plays an important role in renewable and sustainable energy by harvesting waste heat, which is widely available in human body, computer chips, sunlight and steel industry. Thermoelectric …
New research supports development of thermoelectric devices to convert waste heat from industry into a viable new energy source Australian industries could benefit from being able to harness the heat by-products from operations Development of advanced materials can sustainably convert waste heat into useful forms of energy to benefit Australia. The work will be undertaken as part of an Australian …
Inserting ions into, or between, atomically-thin materials can be used to alter their properties in a finely-controlled fashion. For example, graphene’s properties can be fine-tuned by injection of another material (a process known as ‘intercalation’) either underneath the graphene, or between two graphene sheets. (See article.) “Intercalating ions into layered materials increases the spacing and decreases the coupling between the …
A new study, out this week, could pave the way to revolutionary, transparent electronics. Such see-through devices could potentially be integrated in glass, in flexible displays and in smart contact lenses, bringing to life futuristic devices that seem like the product of science fiction. For several decades, researchers have sought a new class of electronics based on semiconducting oxides, whose …
Applying machine learning to automated characterisation of atomically-thin materials Just as James Cameron’s Terminator-800 was able to discriminate between “clothes, boots, and a motorcycle”, machine-learning could identify different areas of interest on 2D materials. The simple, automated optical identification of fundamentally different physical areas on these materials (eg, areas displaying doping, strain, and electronic disorder) could significantly accelerate the science …
Could long-distance interactions between individual molecules forge a new way to compute? Interactions between individual molecules on a metal surface extend for surprisingly large distances – up to several nanometers. A new study, just published, of the changing shape of electronic states induced by these interactions, has potential future application in the use of molecules as individually addressable units. For …
Spin-filtering could be the key to faster, more energy-efficient switching in future spintronic technology, allowing the detection of spin by electrical rather than magnetic means. A paper published last month by researchers at UNSW and international collaborators demonstrates spin detection using a spin filter to separate spin orientation according to their energies. Ultra-fast, ultra-low energy ‘spintronic’ devices are an exciting, …
new thermoelectric materials could unlock body-heat powered personal devices, such as wrist-watches A new University of Wollongong study overcomes a major challenge of thermoelectric materials, which can convert heat into electricity and vice versa, improving conversion efficiency by more than 60%. Current and potential future applications range from low-maintenance, solid-state refrigeration to compact, zero-carbon power generation, which could include small, …
Multiferroic BFO’s unique magnetic and electrical properties offer possible ultra-low energy data storage A new UNSW study comprehensively reviews the magnetic structure of the multiferroic material bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3 – BFO). The review advances FLEET’s search for low-energy electronics, bringing together current knowledge on the magnetic order in BFO films, and giving researchers a solid platform to further develop this …
Moore’s law is an empirical suggestion describing that the number of transistors doubles every few years in integrated circuits (ICs). However, Moore’s law has started to fail as transistors are now so small that the current silicon-based technologies are unable to offer further opportunities for shrinking. One possibility of overcoming Moore’s law is to resort to two-dimensional semiconductors. These two-dimensional materials …
International collaboration reviews future data-storage technology that steps ‘beyond binary’, storing more data than just 0s and 1s Electronic data is being produced at a breath-taking rate. The total amount of data stored in data centres around the globe is of the order of ten zettabytes (a zettabyte is a trillion gigabytes), and we estimate that amount doubles every couple …
Adding calcium to graphene creates an extremely-promising superconductor, but where does the calcium go? Adding calcium to a composite graphene-substrate structure creates a high transition-temperature (Tc) superconductor. In a new study, an Australian-led team has for the first time confirmed what actually happens to those calcium atoms: surprising everyone, the calcium goes underneath both the upper graphene sheet and a …
Quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE)-materials reviewed Magnetic topological insulators and spin-gapless semiconductors A collaboration across three FLEET nodes has reviewed the fundamental theories underpinning the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE). QAHE is one of the most fascinating and important recent discoveries in condensed-matter physics. It is key to the function of emerging ‘quantum’ materials, which offer potential for ultra-low energy …
—Written by Dr Iolanda di Bernardo, FLEET/Monash An Australian-led study uses a scanning-tunnelling microscope ‘trick’ to map electronic structure in Na3Bi, seeking an answer to that material’s extremely high electron mobility. In studying the topological Dirac semimetal, the team found that exchange and correlation effects are crucial to electron speed, and therefore mobility, and thus to the use of this …
There’s more to glass than meets the eye. Glasses, which are disordered materials with no long-range chemical order, have some mysterious properties that have remained enigmatic for several decades. Amongst these are the anomalous vibrational states that contribute to the heat capacity at low temperature. Early researchers established that these states obey Bose-Einstein statistics, and the name stuck, so today …
Record output power obtained from piezoelectric, atomically-thin material Remarkable synthesis advance for materials such as tin-monosulfide (group IV monochalcogenides), which are predicted to exhibit strong piezoelectricity Potential materials for future wearable electronics and other motion-powered, energy-harvesting devices RMIT-UNSW collaboration applies liquid-metal synthesis to piezoelectrics, advancing future flexible, wearable electronics, and biosensors drawing their power from the body’s movements. Materials such …
Spin-gapless semiconductors (SGSs) are a new class of zero-gap materials, with fully spin polarized electrons and holes. SGSs bridge the zero-gap materials and half-metals Material’s fascinating spin and charge states hold great potential for future spintronic technology. A University of Wollongong team has published an extensive review of spin-gapless semiconductors (SGSs) . Spin gapless semiconductors (SGSs) are a new class …
‘Twisted’ layers of 2D materials produce photonic topological transition at ‘magic’ rotation angles Principles of Moire-pattern bilayer graphene applied to 2D material photonics for first time Monash researchers are part of an international collaboration applying ‘twistronics’ concepts (the science of layering and twisting 2D materials to control their electrical properties) to manipulate the flow of light in extreme ways. The …
A recent FLEET homescience exercise explained how simple geometric patterns printed on transparency (‘overhead projector sheets’, to those of us old enough to remember such technology), and overlaid at varying angles, produced a combined ‘Moire’ pattern of varying dimensions. Two sheets of repeating squares produces a Moire pattern of larger squares. Two sheets of repeating triangles produces a Moire pattern …
An international FLEET collaboration publishing a review of atomically-thin ‘high temperature’ superconductors finds that each has a common driving mechanism: interfaces. The team, including researchers from the University of Wollongong, Monash University and Tsinghua University (Beijing), found that interfaces between materials were the key to superconductivity in all systems examined. The enhancement of superconductivity at interfaces (interface superconductivity enhancement effect) …
FLEET Partner Investigator Kirrily Rule (ANSTO) introduced an audience of over 100 to the use of neutron scattering in material analysis last week, in a live-streamed seminar co-hosted with the Australian Institute of Physics. Neutron scattering is a powerful tool for investigating the structure and dynamics of condensed matter systems. In particular the magnetic spin of the neutron can interact …
Phonon-polaritons in layered crystals have peculiar properties where they occur at the boundary between materials. In a new study led from UNSW, phonon-polaritons were studied in thin-layer hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) by combined scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Prof Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh’s multidisciplinary group at UNSW combined scattering-SNOM single-wavelength imaging and broadband scattering IR …
Superfluids were first discovered as a special quantum state of liquid helium, later dubbed as “Superfluid helium” once chilled past -269 degree celsius, starts to manifest properties that do not occur in other fluids. Penetration through a solid with nano-pores is one of the three fascinating macroscopic phenomena that are well known in superfluids such as liquid helium. It is …
Since their discovery in 2006, topological insulators have been widely discussed as a promising avenue for energy efficient electronics. Their unique high mobility edge states have a form of “quantum armour” that protects them from electron-scattering events that would otherwise produce waste heat. Unfortunately, practical applications of topological insulators have been severely limited by the small electronic bandgaps in most …
Forget the laboratory, substances that can solve environmental problems by capturing carbon dioxide, decontaminating water and cleaning up pollutants can be easily created in a kitchen, a UNSW Sydney study shows. In a paper published today in Nature Communications, UNSW chemical engineers shone a light on the mysterious world of liquid metals and their role as catalysts to speed up chemical …
Molecular self-assembly on a metal results in high-density 2D organic (carbon-based) quantum dot array with electric-field-controllable charge state Organic molecules used as nano-sized building blocks in fabrication of functional nanomaterials The achieved densities of the 2D organic quantum-dot arrays are an order of magnitude larger than conventional inorganic systems. A Monash University experimental study has fabricated a self-assembled, carbon-based nanofilm …
First observation of excitonic insulator New exotic state was first predicted in 1960s A University of Wollongong / Monash University collaboration has found evidence of a new phase of matter predicted in the 1960s: the excitonic insulator. The unique signatures of an excitonic insulating phase were observed in antimony Sb(110) nanoflakes. The findings provide a novel strategy to search for …
Oxidation of monolayer WS2 in ambient requires exposure to light, and keeping samples in darkness can protect from oxidation Routine exposure to room lights (days) or light microscopes can cause significant oxidation, suggesting wide reaching implications for current and future studies of monolayer S-TMDs To protect monolayer semiconductor transition metal dichalcogenides (S-TMDs) from oxidation, they must be entirely shielded from …
FLEET’s goal is to achieve 30% representation of women at all levels across FLEET. To begin to move towards this goal, we needed innovative approaches that would allow us to begin ‘shifting the dial’. One innovative initiative that has met with success was FLEET’s new women-only Fellowships, offered in multiple locations, and across all fields of study in the Centre. …
Molybdenum based compounds could provide key to hydrogen production for future zero-emissions energy RMIT/Monash collaboration opens promising route towards alkaline hydrogen production A FLEET study combining experimental expertise at RMIT with theoretical modelling at Monash University opens a new route towards efficient, cost-effective production of hydrogen. Researchers discovered that ammonium-doped, hexagonal molybdenum oxide (MoO3) displays extremely promising electronic and material …
Iron-doping of the topological insulator Sb2Te3 results in useful electronic and magnetic properties, quantified in a recent FLEET study at the University of Wollongong. The researchers studied the magneto-transport properties of an iron-doped topological insulator (Fe–Sb2Te3). After the material is doped via the addition of iron, its electronic structure changes significantly: multiple response frequencies emerge, in contrast to the single …
Welcome new AI Laurent Bellaiche Welcome to Prof Laurent Bellaiche, whose ongoing research collaborations with FLEET are recognised by him becoming a Centre Scientific Associate Investigator. At the University of Arkansas (US), Prof Bellaiche leads first-principles-based theoretical studies of ferroelectrics, magnetic compounds, multiferroics and other semiconductors. He has co-authored over 310 refereed journal articles, his publications have been cited more …
Dr Dmitry Efimkin (right) is a Scientific Associate Investigator at Monash University specialising in novel materials such as Dirac materials, graphene and topological insulators, and optical phenomena in solids. Within FLEET, Dmitry works with CIs Michael Fuhrer, Meera Parish, and Nikhil Medhekar in Research theme 2: exciton superfluids and Enabling technology A: atomically-thin materials, studying optical and collective phenomena in …
* Two-dimensional magnetism reviewed in new, collaborative review A collaborative FLEET study has reviewed recent progress in 2D ferromagnetism, and predict new, possible 2D ferromagnetic materials. The study also introduces possible applications of atomically-thin ferromagnets in novel dissipationless electronics, spintronics, and other conventional magnetic technologies. The scientists propose a new method of observing 2D ferromagnetism that could reveal new materials. …
FLEET’s fruitful relationship with Tsinghua University (Beijing) has been expanded, with the Centre welcoming two new Partner Investigators to lead research collaborations. Prof Shuyun Zhou studies the electronic structure of novel two-dimensional materials and heterostructures using advanced electron spectroscopic tools, including angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), spin-resolved ARPES, nano-ARPES and ultrafast, time-resolved ARPES. She has made important progress on the electronic structure …
Monash University engineers have unlocked the door to earlier detection of cancer with a world-first study identifying a potential new testing method that could save millions of lives. Researchers found that a sensor using new, more sensitive materials to look for key markers of disease in the body increased detection by up to 10,000 times. Associate Professor Qiaoliang Bao from …
Significant step toward future topological electronics The first electric field-switchable topological material Topological transistors would be an ultra-low energy , beyond CMOS solution to ICT energy use after the end of Moore’s Law Over the last decade, there has been much excitement about the discovery, recognised by the Nobel Prize in Physics only two years ago, that there are two …
FLEET researchers have designed a rapid nano-filter that can clean dirty water over 100 times faster than current technology. Simple to make and simple to scale up, the technology harnesses naturally occurring nano-structures of aluminium hydroxide that grow on liquid metal gallium. The researchers behind the innovation at RMIT University and UNSW have shown it can filter both heavy metals …
The discovery of new ferroelectric properties in the novel, layered material Indium(III) selenide (β’-In2Se3) enhances this material’s candidacy for non-volatile memory and low-power electronic and optoelectronic switches. FLEET researchers at Monash University and UNSW were on the Australian-Chinese team that confirmed in-plane ferroelectricity in the material, β’-phase In2Se3. In2Se3 belongs to a class of layered materials known as van der Waals …
First ever large-scale 2D surface deposition of piezoelectric material Simple, inexpensive technique opens new fields for piezo-sensors & energy harvesting Researchers have developed a revolutionary method to ‘print’ large-scale sheets of two dimensional piezoelectric material, opening new opportunities for piezo-sensors and energy harvesting. Importantly, the inexpensive process allows the integration of piezoelectric components directly onto silicon chips. Until now, no …
New materials inspired by nature could be key to future electronics Self-assembled nanostructures have atomically-precise structure and tailored electronic properties Bio organisms are the most-complex machines we know, and are capable of achieving demanding functions with great efficiency. A common theme in these bio-machines is that everything important happens at the level of single molecules – that is, at the …
Why 2D? What is it about two-dimensional materials that makes them so interesting for FLEET? FLEET UNSW/Wollongong collaboration finds transition point from 3D to 2D properties Constraining the movement of charge carriers (electrons or holes) to two dimensions unlocks unusual quantum properties, resulting in useful electronic properties. Although we refer to the layers within such materials as ‘2D’, they are …
Discovery has potential applications in artificial muscles, soft robotics and microfluidic circuitry In a breakthrough discovery, University of Wollongong (UOW) researchers have created a “heartbeat” effect in liquid metal, causing the metal to pulse rhythmically in a manner similar to a beating heart. Their findings are published in the 11 July issue of Physical Review Letters, the world’s premier journal …
FLEET PhD student Rebecca Orrell-Trigg (RMIT) uses liquid metals to synthesise 2D (atomically thin) materials for use in future ultra-low energy electronic devices. Late last year they developed a liquid metal “bubbling” method that was described as “ground breaking”, and have since refined this method to make it even more widely applicable. Rebecca’s interview covered the advantages of the new …
Last year, FLEET researchers at RMIT developed a ground-breaking new method of depositing atomically-thin (two-dimensional) crystals using molten metals, described as a ‘once-in-a-decade’ advance. Earlier this year, the same research team expanded the new method from controlled to ambient conditions, and has properly characterised the growth mechanisms for key tin oxides, which should allow improved control of target oxide growth. …
A variety of methods exist to deposit atomically-thin (two-dimensional) crystals. But large-scale deposition has remained a challenge. However a recent RMIT-led study has found success with a new technique with potential to open new doors for two-dimensional semiconductors. The discovery has been described as a ‘once-in-a-decade’ advance. The new technique introduces room-temperature liquid metals (gallium-based) as a successful reaction environment …
FLEET features in this month’s annual ‘nano’ edition of the Australian Manufacturing Tech magazine. The article looks at growth of atomically thin and other novel materials and nanofabrication, with a particular focus on partnerships. Atomically thin material projects presented include semiconductor fabrication at RMIT University (Lan Wang) and the University of Wollongong (Xiaoliang Wang) and molecular beam epitaxy (Mark Edmonds …
A University of Wollongong study has tightened the search for materials that would allow for ultra-fast, ultra-low energy ‘spintronic‘ electronics with no wasted dissipation of energy from electrical conduction. Spintronics is an emerging field of electronic study in which the ‘spin’ of electrons (their intrinsic angular momentum) is used in addition to their charge. Conventional electronics and information technology are …
A barrier to practical spintronic devices has been lowered as room-temperature ferromagnetic semiconductors created in an international collaboration involving FLEET’s Xiaolin Wang. While semiconductor spintronics promise lower switching energy and faster speed, a major limitation on its development as a viable technology is the lack of room temperature ferromagnetic semiconductor materials. A collaborative study between researchers from two Chinese universities …
Researchers in Enabling technology A – Atomically-thin materials
