Nanowerk February 21, 2023
An international team of researchers (Japan, Germany?) has demonstrated a switch analogous to a transistor, made from fullerene. They theorized, tested and confirmed how the emission of electrons from excited molecules of fullerene should behave when exposed to specific kinds of laser light. They controlled the way a molecule directs the path of an incoming electron using a very short pulse of red laser light. When placed on a metal point the fullerenes orientated a certain way so they will direct electrons predictably. They achieved a switching speed 1 million times faster than a classical transistor. According to the researchers, in principle, as multiple ultrafast electron switches can be combined into a single molecule, it would only take a small network of fullerene switches to perform computational tasks potentially much faster than conventional microchips. However, there are several hurdles to overcome, such as how to miniaturize the laser component, it may still be many years before we see a fullerene switch-based smartphone… read more. Accepted TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Changing tracks. The light pulse can alter the path taken by the incoming electron, here represented by a train. Credit: Yanagisawa et al