The transforming power of light

A group of researchers from the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and the Humboldt University of Berlin have found out that semiconductors can be converted to metals and back more easily and more quickly than previously thought. This discovery may increase the processing speed and simplify the design of many common technological devices. From smartphones to computer processors - much of the technology we nowadays use heavily features transistors. They connect many of the different materials that make up these devices, and are essential for any kind of data processing. Because they are so important, scientists and engineers have long tried to optimize them by modifying their material properties, so that they can be used more flexibly. Now, a team of researchers the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and the Humboldt University of Berlin has found an important clue on how to achieve that. Transistors are often made up of semiconductors, i.e. materials that conduct electricity, but not quite as well as metals.