Scientists have achieved a groundbreaking feat, twisting tiny crystals to control electricity with unprecedented precision. Researchers at RIKEN have developed a novel technique to sculpt complex three-dimensional nanodevices directly from single crystals, demonstrating that geometry itself can dictate electron flow. This innovation promises a new era for smaller, more efficient electronics.
The pursuit of advanced electronics often focuses on material properties, yet the physical architecture plays an equally critical role. Current fabrication methods for microchips typically produce flat, two-dimensional devices, which limits their potential for compactness and efficiency. Developing three-dimensional structures could unlock significant performance gains, but creating them from high-quality crystalline materials has remained a formidable challenge for researchers globally.
This new approach bypasses previous limitations by enabling direct carving of intricate shapes. According to a ScienceDaily report from RIKEN dated January 25, 2026, the team’s method allows for precision cutting at sub-micron scales, opening possibilities for a vast array of materials. Such advancements are critical as demand for more powerful, yet smaller, computing components continues to surge across industries.
Nanosculpting and the Chiral Diode Effect
The core of this breakthrough lies in a focused ion beam instrument, capable of removing material with sub-micron precision. This “nanosculpting” technique allows scientists to carve desired forms from a solid block of crystalline material, much like a sculptor working with clay. To demonstrate its capabilities, the RIKEN team fabricated helical nanodevices from a topological magnetic crystal known as cobalt-tin-sulfur (Co3Sn2S2).
These twisted structures exhibited a remarkable phenomenon: nonreciprocal electrical transport, essentially behaving as switchable diodes. An electronic diode allows current to flow more easily in one direction than the other. In these helical devices, the preferred direction of current could be reversed by altering the material’s magnetization or by switching the “handedness” of the helix itself. This direct control over electron flow purely through geometry is a significant leap.
Max Birch, the study’s first author, emphasized the implications. “By treating geometry as a source of symmetry breaking on equal footing with intrinsic material properties, we can engineer electrical nonreciprocity at the device level,” Birch stated. The findings, published in Nature Nanotechnology, underscore a fundamental shift in how electronic components can be designed and manufactured.
The researchers further observed a reverse interaction where strong electrical pulses could flip the magnetization of the structure. This bidirectional control hints at potential applications beyond simple diodes, suggesting new avenues for memory and logic functions where information could be stored and processed based on both electrical and magnetic states, influenced by the physical twist of the material.
Geometry as a New Design Paradigm
The ability to twist tiny crystals to control electricity fundamentally redefines design principles for next-generation electronics. By comparing helices of varying sizes and observing their behavior across different temperatures, the RIKEN team attributed the diode effect to the uneven scattering of electrons along the curved, chiral walls of the devices. This confirms that physical shape directly influences electron motion.
Yoshinori Tokura, who leads the research group, highlighted the broader vision. “More broadly, this approach enables device designs that combine topological or strongly correlated electronic states with engineered curvature in the ballistic or hydrodynamic transport regime,” Tokura explained. This convergence of materials physics and nanofabrication points towards novel functional device architectures.
The implications are far-reaching. Imagine memory devices that store data based on physical twists, or logic circuits that operate with significantly less power due to shape-engineered pathways for electrons. These low-power, geometry-driven components could revolutionize computing, sensing technologies, and even energy conversion, making devices smaller, faster, and more sustainable.
This innovative research demonstrates that the physical form of a material is not merely a container for its properties but an active participant in defining its electronic behavior. As scientists continue to explore the intricate relationship between structure and function at the nanoscale, the potential for entirely new classes of electronic devices, shaped by a simple twist, grows ever more promising.
