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Kiel team discovers new phenomenon in graphene: laser pulses control electrons with lightning speed and nanometer precision.
A research team in Kiel has demonstrated a previously unknown effect in graphene – a single layer of carbon atoms whose discovery earned the 2010 Nobel Prize. For years, graphene has been seen as a promising material for nanoelectronics, thanks to its exceptional conductivity, flexibility, and stability. Now, researchers from the Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics at Kiel University have taken this promise a step further.
In a study published in Physical Review Research, Dr. Jan-Philip Joost and Professor Michael Bonitz show for the first time that light pulses can generate electrons at specific designated locations in the material. To investigate how electrons move and interact, they simulated the effects of laser pulses on small graphene clusters. Their results open up entirely new approaches for nanoelectronics.
Light pulses as nanoscale switches
In these systems, ultrashort laser pulses act like light switches on the nanoscale. Within just femtoseconds – a millionth of a billionth of a second – they switch electrons on and off at precisely defined spots. When a pulse strikes a graphene cluster, electrons gather at one edge. A second pulse can generate electrons almost instantly at a different site. The researchers can steer the electrons with high precision, like a traffic signal guiding them where to go.
“We discovered this spatial selectivity in a chemically completely homogeneous material – graphene consists solely of carbon,” explains Michael Bonitz. “Until now, such an effect was only known in molecules composed of different atoms with distinct absorption properties. In our graphene clusters, control emerges solely from the electronic structure and from special topological states. Even under small perturbations, the electron positions remain stable, making the control reliable.”
Challenges for integration into real devices
The findings could mark a major step forward for next-generation electronics. Today’s transistors operate in the gigahertz range. Graphene-based components switched by laser pulses could function in the petahertz range – up to 10,000 times faster.
In communication systems, precisely guided electron pathways could enable rapid data transfer with minimal energy consumption. This opens up possibilities for high-performance computing, AI chips, and other ultra-fast electronic systems. The challenge now is to integrate the excited electrons reliably into actual circuits.
“If these processes can be transferred into real devices, it would be a huge leap for nanoelectronics,” says Jan-Philip Joost.
The research was partially funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG, BO1366/16).
About the Priority research area KiNSIS
The nanoworld is governed by different laws than the macroscopic world, by quantum physics. Understanding structures and processes in these dimensions and implementing the findings in an application-oriented manner is the goal of the priority research area KiNSIS (Kiel Nano, Surface and Interface Science) at Kiel University. Intensive interdisciplinary cooperation between physics, chemistry, engineering and life sciences could lead to the development of novel sensors and materials, quantum computers, advanced medical therapies and much more. www.kinsis.uni-kiel.de/en
Professor Michael Bonitz
Institute for Theoretical Physics
Kiel University
+49 431 880-4122
bonitz@theo-physik.uni-kiel.de
https://www.itap.uni-kiel.de/theo-physik/bonitz
Press contact
Christina Anders
Science Communication
Priority research area KiNSIS
canders@uv.uni-kiel.de
+49 431 880-4855
Jan-Philip Joost & Michael Bonitz (2025): „Ultrafast charge separation induced by a uniform field in graphene nanoribbons“, Phys. Rev. Research 7; DOI: 10.1103/dtk9-xv6n
https://www.uni-kiel.de/en/research/priority-research-areas/details/news/graphen...
Michael Bonitz and Jan-Philip Joost
Copyright: © Christina Anders, Uni Kiel
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Michael Bonitz and Jan-Philip Joost
Copyright: © Christina Anders, Uni Kiel
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