A new class of materials, the so-called topological insulators, holds the promise to
realize such phenomena and revolutionize computing. Topological insulators are, in
theory, non-metallic in the interior of the material but behave like a metal at the surface.
While known topological insulators demonstrate the metallic surface state, these materials have not been made pure enough for incorporating into electronic devices. Specifically, they are not yet insulating in the interior. This project will seek to find new topological insulators and to engineer them to levels of purity needed for an insulating interior and satisfy the performance demands of
electronic circuits. The goal of the project is to create topological insulator materials that are pure enough in the bulk to exhibit true insulating behavior. Topological insulators are found among high-Z atom containing semiconductors with band gaps small enough that the spin-orbit coupling related to the large Z-number can invert the conduction and valence band. Materials synthesis by solid state chemistry techniques will be guided by simulations based on density functional theory. Prototype transistor devices will be fabricated on a smaller subset of these systems. The results at each measurement stage will be fed back to the theory and synthesis efforts. The project will impact the electronics industry as well as train  graduates skilled in the computational and experimental techniques of this new class of materials.