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WIGNER CRYSTALS

A long-sought regime of electronic behaviour

Nature Materials volume 21, pages 268–269 (2022)Cite this article

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Upon decreasing the electron density in a two-dimensional electronic system to a critical value, a transition should occur from a quantum to a classical regime. An oxide now shows electrical properties marking such a transition.

Application of a magnetic field perpendicular to a 2D layer diminishes the energy cost for quantum confinement, and Wigner crystals have indeed been observed under this condition. The Wigner crystal transition has proven difficult to observe in zero applied magnetic field. In many materials, at low electron density electrons become stuck in traps of the disorder potential. Therefore, there has been a decades-long effort to produce low-disorder materials with the right properties for crystallization to occur. A recent optics experiment on a monolayer semiconductor showed results consistent with a Wigner crystal transition3, but crucial transport experiments have yet to show clear signatures of a zero-field transition. Now, writing in Nature Materials, Joseph Falson and colleagues present such transport experiments on zinc oxide (ZnO) that are indeed suggestive of Wigner crystallization4.

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Fig. 1: The particle density of an electron crystal.

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  1. Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Raymond Ashoori

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  1. Raymond Ashoori
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Correspondence to Raymond Ashoori.

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Ashoori, R. A long-sought regime of electronic behaviour. Nat. Mater. 21, 268–269 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-022-01212-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-022-01212-6

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