Home Science Iron-rich lamellae in the semiconductor

Iron-rich lamellae in the semiconductor

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There is often a pronounced symmetry when you look at the lattice of crystals: the atoms are uniformly arranged. This behavior was also to be expected by a crystal, which physicists from Germany and Poland produced: a compound from an indium arsenide semiconductor, spiked with some iron. The material, however, did not adhere to perfect symmetry. The iron formed two-dimensional, lamellar-shaped structures in the crystal that lent the material a striking property: it became magnetic.