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Related Concept Videos

Semiconductors01:22

Semiconductors

There is variation in the electrical conductivity of materials - metals, semiconductors, and insulators that are showcased with the help of the energy band diagrams.
Metals such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), or lead (Pb) have low resistivity and feature conduction bands that are either not fully occupied or overlap with the valence band, making a bandgap non-existent. This allows electrons in the highest energy levels of the valence band to easily transition to the conduction band upon gaining...
Metal-Semiconductor Junctions01:24

Metal-Semiconductor Junctions

The contact of metal and semiconductor can lead to the formation of a junction with either Schottky or Ohmic behavior.
Schottky Barriers
Schottky barriers arise when a metal with a work function (Φm) contacts a semiconductor with a different work function (Φs). Initially, electrons transfer until the Fermi levels of the metal and semiconductor align at equilibrium. For instance, if Φm > Φs, the semiconductor Fermi level is higher than the metal's before contact. The semiconductor's...
Conductors and Insulators01:19

Conductors and Insulators

Some materials may easily let electrical charges pass through them, while others obstruct their flow. The former are called conductors and the latter insulators. The atomic structures of materials determine whether they are conductors or insulators of electricity.
Most metals are conductors. Their atomic configuration is such that one or more electron(s) are loosely bound to the nucleus in each atom. Thus, a sea of mobile electrons are available in them, known as free electrons. Their easy...
Theory of Metallic Conduction01:17

Theory of Metallic Conduction

The conduction of free electrons inside a conductor is best described by quantum mechanics. However, a classical model makes predictions close to the results of quantum mechanics. It is called the theory of metallic conduction.
In this theory, Newton's second law of motion is used to determine the acceleration of an electron in the presence of an applied electric field. Then, its velocity is expressed via this acceleration.
An electron moves through the crystal, containing positive ions,...

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Updated: Jun 14, 2026

All-electronic Nanosecond-resolved Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: Facilitating the Investigation of Single Dopant Charge Dynamics
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Programming Insulator-to-Metallic Transport in Insulating Materials via Surface Single-Atom Engineering.

Linhe Yu1, Yihao Liu1, Zhizhong Wang1

  • 1Institute of Optoelectronics & College of Future Information Technology, Fudan University Shanghai, P. R. China.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|June 13, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Researchers engineered insulating materials to achieve metal-like electronic transport using single-atom surface modification. This breakthrough enables robust, versatile electronic devices and high-performance electromagnetic shielding from ultrathin films.

Keywords:
electromagnetic shieldingelectronic transportinsulating materialmetal–insulator dichotomysingle‐atom band engineering

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Surface Science

Background:

  • Conventional materials are limited by the metal-insulator dichotomy.
  • Achieving metallic transport in insulators is challenging due to strong electronic localization.
  • Reconfigurable electronic states offer potential for advanced material functionalities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate a universal strategy for programming electronic transport in insulating materials.
  • To explore the potential of single-atom engineering for creating novel electronic and shielding properties.
  • To overcome the limitations of traditional metal-insulator classifications.

Main Methods:

  • Surface single-atom engineering on insulating oxides and nitrides (SiO2, Al2O3, BN).
  • Inducing local symmetry breaking, bandgap compression, and impurity-band percolation.
  • Characterizing electronic transport and electromagnetic wave shielding performance.

Main Results:

  • Achieved linear and deep programming of electronic transport in insulators.
  • Demonstrated continuous bandgap narrowing leading to metallic transport with minimal temperature dependence.
  • Developed an ultrathin SiO2 film with 98.6% electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (80 µm thickness) stable from 300-800 K.

Conclusions:

  • Single-atom band engineering is a viable strategy for programming electronic transport in insulators.
  • Insulating materials can achieve metallic shielding performance without temperature-induced degradation.
  • This approach redefines materials beyond the conventional metal-insulator paradigm, opening avenues for advanced electronics and functionalities.