Quantized conductance atomic switch

Nanoelectronics switched on A new atomic-scale electromechanical switch has properties that may make it suitable as an element in future nanoelectronic devices. The switch is made by simply crossing a silver sulphide wire and a platinum wire with a 1-nm spacing. When a sufficiently strong voltage pulse is applied, silver atoms from the silver sulphide are electrically introduced into the gap, forming an atomic bridge between the wires; the resulting structure exhibits quantized conduction. The formation process is reversible and the atomic bridge can be annihilated with a second voltage pulse. The ‘crossbar’ structure is convenient for integrating the switch into devices, opening the way for the fabrication of logic circuits using these switches as sole components.