Semiconductors have become ubiquitous, but they also have limitations. Excitons (electron hole pairs) are generated in semiconductors, which means that energy is lost in the form of heat, and information transmission is speed limited. In a paper published in the journal Science on the 26th, a team of chemists from Columbia University described the fastest and most efficient semiconductor to date: a metaatomic material called Re6Se8Cl2. The atomic structure of any material will vibrate, producing quantum particles called phonons. Excitons are caused by the interaction between electrons and holes. Phonons and excitons can interact, and the reaction of phonons can cause excitons to carry energy and information around electronic devices, scattering at nanosecond and femtosecond speeds, resulting in energy loss. The excitons in Re6Se8Cl2 do not scatter when in contact with phonons, but instead combine with phonons to produce new quasi particles called acoustic excitons polarons. Although polarons exist in many substances, the polarons in Re6Se8Cl2 have a special property: they can undergo ballistic or scattering free flow. This ballistic behavior may mean developing faster and more efficient equipment. In the experiment conducted by the team, the acoustic exciton polaron in Re6Se8Cl2 moved twice as fast as electrons in silicon, passing through several micrometers of the sample in less than a nanosecond. Considering that the transmission lifetime of polarons can last about 11 nanoseconds, the team believes that the single transmission distance between acoustic excitons and polarons can cover over 25 micrometers. Due to the fact that these quasi particles are controlled by light rather than current and gating, the processing speed of theoretical devices is likely to reach femtosecond, which is six orders of magnitude faster than the nanosecond achievable by current gigahertz electronic devices, and all occur at room temperature. Researchers say that in terms of energy transfer, at least to date, Re6Se8Cl2 is the best known semiconductor. Re6Se8Cl2 can be peeled off into atomic flakes, which means they may combine with other similar materials to exhibit more unique properties. However, Re6Se8Cl2 is unlikely to be commercially available as the first element in its molecule, rhenium, is one of the rarest elements on Earth and therefore extremely expensive. In the following time, researchers will use advanced imaging technology to investigate why Re6Se8Cl2 exhibits such extraordinary behavior. (New News Agency)