Highly Efficient Computer Chips using Bismuth Telluride

A new type of material which in near future can provide high speed and more efficient computer chips has been identified by the U.S. scientists. Researchers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University revealed the material to be Bismuth Telluride. The uniqueness of this material is that it allows electrons at the surface of the material to travel without any loss in energy at room temperatures and the advantage is that it can be constructed using the already available semiconductor technologies. The scientists believe that this material will create a giant leap which will lead to the next generation of electronics. The online edition of the journal Science Express said that the study proves Bismuth Telluride to be a Topological Insulator - a material that allows free flow of electrons at its surface without any loss in energy at room temperatures. Chen, one of the lead researchers of this study said that this research is one step ahead of what the theorists formulated because there was a quantitative difference in that. He also added that the material is three dimensional and so it can be doped easily and fabricated using the current semiconductor technology.