(MIT: Cambridge, MA) -- A material with a high electron mobility is like a highway without traffic. Any electrons that flow into the material experience a commuter’s dream, breezing through without any obstacles or congestion to slow or scatter them off their path.

The higher a material’s electron mobility, the more efficient its electrical conductivity, and the less energy is lost or wasted as electrons zip through. Advanced materials that exhibit high electron mobility will be essential for more efficient and sustainable electronic devices that can do more work with less power.

Now, physicists at MIT, the U.S. Army Research Lab, and elsewhere have achieved a record-setting level of electron mobility in a thin film of ternary tetradymite, a class of mineral that is naturally found in deep hydrothermal deposits of gold and quartz.

For this study, the scientists grew pure, ultrathin films of the material in a way that minimized defects in its crystalline structure. They found that this nearly perfect film—much thinner than a human hair—exhibits the highest electron mobility in its class.

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