Creating Nano-Networks with Self-Integrated Atomic Quantum Wires.

Researchers at Kyoto University, the University of Tokyo, and the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Germany have developed a simple method to engineer atomic-scale wires in the shape of nano-rings, stripes, and X-/Y-junctions. They grew single crystalline, atomic-scale wires of a Mott insulator using pulsed-laser-deposition, which maintained a bandgap comparable to wide-gap semiconductors. The team observed atomic pattern formation through non-equilibrium reaction-diffusion processes to gain insight into the formation of quantum architecture in nano-networks. The nanowires and junctions dramatically increased the integration of electronic circuits, providing a physical playground to explore the phenomenon of atomic-scale-based, non-equilibrium self-organization suited for exotic electronic states and for quantum advances.