An organic salt that can be switched between two different conducting states is reported in September in the journal Nature.
One striking manifestation of this effect, described by Ichiro Terasaki and colleagues (Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan), is to achieve direct-to-alternating current conversion phenomena in a bulk single crystal - the team generate an alternating current of 40 hertz when a small, static direct-current voltage is applied to the crystal.
The behaviour of this salt is characteristic of that of a class of electronic device called a thyristor, which are widely used for the smooth control of power in a variety of applications, such as motors and refrigerators.
But unlike conventional thyristors, which need to be engineered from a series of diodes, the present material exhibits thyristor behaviour as a bulk property.
Publication:
Nature 437, 522-524 (22 September 2005) | doi: 10.1038/nature04087
Source: Nature
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