Closer to next-generation electronics

Left to right: PhD students Fedele Tagarelli and Edoardo Lopriore, with Prof. Andras Kis © 2023 EPFL/ A.Herzog - EPFL engineers have found a way to control the interactions between excitons - quasiparticles that may one day transport data and replace the electrons in electronic devices. The engineers' method involves applying an electric field to a two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting material. Electronic devices have become an essential feature of just about all aspects of modern society. Yet, due in part to the growing use of the internet, they're bumping up against their limits in terms of processing speed and miniaturization. What's more, they consume vast amounts of energy in transporting and storing information, losing some of that energy as they go. Engineers - including those at EPFL - have been working for years to overcome these obstacles, such as by studying excitons and their behavior in 2D materials. Excitons are made up of an electron (which has a negative charge) and a hole (which has a positive charge).