Bruno Leopoldo L&S Math & Physical Sciences
Grain-Boundary Percolation of Topological Surface States
Modern computing technologies are increasingly facing a limitation not in chip performance, but in the movement of charge through nanoscale metal interconnects. In the process of shrinking these wires below about 20 nm, their electrical resistance rises sharply due to electron scattering. Consequently, data transport becomes slower and less energy-efficient. This raises the question of whether new materials at these scales, namely quantum materials, can evade these classical limits.This project investigates whether topological semimetals (TSMs) can surpass our industry-standards. Topological metals host unusual electronic states that allow them to perform low-resistant transport and remain robust even in ultra-thin films. This project aims to experimentally realize some of these TSMs and widen the range of such materials by simulating proposed topological polycrystalline, non-ideal materials grown by chip-compatible methods. Successful measurements would further low-resistance interconnects, by opening doors to much more easily manufacturable TSMs, and could provide supporting evidence for our theoretical models of topological behavior in imperfect crystal regimes.
Message To Sponsor
I would like to extend my gratitude to my donor for the opportunity to explore this new research direction. Topological semimetals are an increasingly important area of condensed matter physics, both for their theoretical significance and potential in next-generation nanoelectronics. Yet the experimental realization of topological interconnects remains underdeveloped. I am excited to contribute to research at the forefront of surface-dominated transport and look forward to where this work leads.