On July 4th, National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan announced the successful development of highly conductive and wear-resistant high-entropy materials, which can be extended to applications in the semiconductor and related industries. This remarkable achievement has been published in the top international journal “Nature Communications”.
According to the press release from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, high-entropy materials are composed of multiple key elements in near equimolar ratios, making it one of the hottest areas in materials science in recent years. The diverse combination of elements breaks traditional limitations, breathing new life into the periodic table and opening up innovative choices for material applications.
The interdisciplinary high-entropy team led by Professor Shih-Chuan Feng from the Department of Electrical Engineering at NCKU, along with Professor Hao-Chih Liu, Professor Wen-Tung Hsu from the Department of Materials Science at NCKU, Professor Cheng-Shan Yang from the Graduate Institute of Photonics and Optoelectronics at National Taiwan Normal University, and doctoral student Zheng-Xian Yeh from NCKU, utilized expertise in coating technology, computational materials science, terahertz optoelectronics, and atomic-scale surface technology to unlock important academic issues in the field and develop a new generation of high-entropy materials that possess both conductivity and wear resistance. Coating these materials on atomic force microscope probe surfaces can enhance the probe’s lifetime and improve atomic-scale surface imaging when scanning objects.
This research, based on optics, mechanics, electronics, and computational materials science, proposes that high-entropy materials can be designed to conduct electricity through linear combinations of elements. It proves that electronic transport behavior is related to effective electron mass, plasma frequency, and relaxation time, which is a significant discovery in the field of high-entropy materials. Building upon this foundation, the design of high-entropy materials in the future will be more diverse. The paper is titled “Low-frequency conductivity of low-wear high-entropy alloys” and has been published in the prestigious international journal “Nature Communications,” attracting global attention.
Professor Shih-Chuan Feng stated that this research is the result of interdisciplinary collaboration and has made important contributions to the theoretical understanding of the conduction mechanism in high-entropy alloys. The potential applications in industries such as semiconductors, connectors, communications, passive components, among others, could bring about revolutionary breakthroughs.
Professor Wen-Tung Hsu noted that previous studies on high-entropy alloys have focused on their mechanical properties, while researching their optical and electrical properties could expand their applications in the semiconductor field, which is exciting for a new material. By developing predictive models for the optical and electrical properties of high-entropy alloys with computational simulations, the acceleration of their application in optoelectronic semiconductors could help transition the material towards industrialization.
Professor Hao-Chih Liu mentioned that the study of high-entropy materials has progressed from theoretical exploration to industrial applications. Applying highly conductive low-wear high-entropy materials to scanning probe measurement technology in this case effectively demonstrates the advantages of high-entropy materials and opens up possibilities for enhancing key technological advancements in various industries.
Professor Cheng-Shan Yang explained that the new electronic transmission and optical properties of high-entropy materials will determine their potential fields of application. Developing measurement methods tailored to these materials from basic physics and illustrating the mechanisms can help improve the efficiency and design concepts of future optoelectronic semiconductor devices. The team expressed gratitude for the support from the National Science Council’s high-entropy project over the years.