Using viscous metals in micro fibers

© Wei Yan/2020 EPFL - Scientists have developed the first micro-structured fibers with a viscous metal inside - a perfect example of what cross-disciplinary teamwork can achieve. Platinum, copper, nickel and phosphorous - those are the components of an amorphous metal alloy with excellent mechanical properties. The alloy is also very corrosion-resistant and attract much interest in watchmaking and micromechanics. Now three scientists from EPFL's Laboratory of Photonic Materials and Fiber Devices (FIMAP) - PhD student Inès Richard, postdoc Wei Yan and Professor Fabien Sorin - have given it a new purpose: they are using it to make electrodes for plastic fibers. Their paper, which was co-authored by Professor Jörg Löffler from ETH Zurich, has been published in  Nature Nanotechnology . A thin electrical conductor  "Our metallic glass is part of a new category of metals with an amorphous structure," says Richard. "When the alloy is heated to a certain temperature, it first turns viscous and then becomes crystalline and solid." The advantage is that while the alloy is in a viscous state, it can be stretched into a nanometric-sized, uniform shape that runs the length of the fiber.