STARnet researchers at the C-SPIN center have published results demonstrating that a thin sputtered bismuth selenide (Bi₂Se₃) film can be 18 times more efficient than state-of-the art spin hall effect materials such as Pt, Ta, or W.  The performance of this topological insulator challenges conventional wisdom.

While the sputtering technique is common in the semiconductor industry, this is the first time it has been used to create a topological insulator material that could be scaled up for semiconductor and magnetic industry applications.

This discovery could open the door to more advances in the semiconductor industry as well as related industries, such as magnetic random access memory (MRAM) technology.

Link to EurekAlert Article