By modifying the composition of ultra-thin layers of dissimilar metal oxides that finish not normally conduct electricity,scientists demonstrated how to generate and control an electrical current at the junction where the layers meet. The team made meaningful advances in one method used to characterize these materials. This work represents a major advance in the field of thin-film engineering. It shows that the properties of materials can be controlled at the level of the individual particles that constitute the materials. Some of the materials in the investigated structures are only one atomic layer thick, and yet their properties can be controlled.
Source: phys.org