Inorganic semiconductor has DNA’s double-helix structure
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.0210104
IEEE Spectrum : A new semiconductor material has been discovered that has the flexible yet robust double-helix structure of DNA. The researchers, at the Technical University of Munich, say the material also has extraordinary optical and electronic properties. Made of tin, iodine, and phosphorus, SnIP has a number of advantages over other prominent semiconductor materials, such as indium phosphide and gallium arsenide. Not only are its components more abundant and less toxic, it is much more flexible and its fibers can be split into smaller strands just nanometers thick. Such a material could have many applications, including for solar cells and thermoelectric devices.