A new theory-guided framework could help scientists probe the properties of new semiconductors for next-generation microelectronic devices or discover materials that boost the performance of quantum computers.

Research to develop new or better materials typically involves investigating properties that can be reliably measured with existing lab equipment. But this represents just a fraction of the properties that scientists could potentially probe in principle. Some properties remain effectively “invisible” because they are too difficult to capture directly with existing methods.

Take electron-phonon interaction. This property plays a critical role in a material’s electrical, thermal, optical, and superconducting properties. But directly capturing it using existing techniques is notoriously challenging.

Now, MIT researchers have proposed a theoretically justified approach that could turn this challenge into an opportunity. Their method reinterprets neutron scattering, an often-overlooked interference effect as a potential direct probe of electron-phonon coupling strength.

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