Directly measuring electrical properties in ultra-thin topological insulators

Physicists at Forschungszentrum Jülich have made a significant step towards the realization of new types of electronic components. Using a special four-tip scanning tunneling microscope, they were able to directly measure the extraordinary electrical properties that exist in ultra-thin topological insulators for the first time. These properties result from the fact that the electron spin is coupled to the direction of the electric current, and enables realization of a topological quantum computer.