Recently, scientists are increasingly developing in the field of creating two-dimensional materials. And the already mentioned graphene is far from the only one on this list. For example, we recently wrote about a new modification of phosphorus, which may well supplant carbon material. However, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently demonstrated a material that combines the properties of two different electronic components. And it can be very useful when building quantum computing systems.
The new 2D material is tungsten telluride. Of course, this substance has been known for a long time, but only by creating a transistor based on it (by placing a 2D material between two layers of boron nitride), scientists from MIT discovered that the resulting element can switch between two electronic states. When the charge passes "along the edge" of the device, it has the properties of a topological insulator, and when the action is terminated, tungsten telluride performs the function of a superconductor. According to MIT physics professor Pablo Jarillo-Herrero
One of the most promising areas in which the new tool can be applied, according to researchers, is the development of quantum computers, for the creation of which it was just necessary to develop a substance that works in this way.
In this case, it will be possible to talk about the use of the so-called Majorana fermions. These are elementary particles that have not yet been found in nature, but according to the theory, these are particles, which at the same time are their own antiparticles. They can manifest themselves precisely in materials similar to the one described at absolute zero temperature.
Vladimir Kuznetsov