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A team of Boston College researchers discovered that the photocurrent flows in (illustrated in blue) along one crystal axis of the Weyl semimetal and flows

Silicon’s properties as a semiconductor are far from ideal. Athough silicon lets electrons whizz through its structure easily, it is much less accommodating to “holes”—electrons’ positively charged counterparts—and harnessing both is important for some kinds of chips. Furthermore, silicon is not very good at conducting heat, which is why overheating...

Silicon is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, and in its pure form the material has become the foundation of much of modern technology, from solar cells to computer chips. But silicon's properties as a semiconductor are far from ideal.

Researchers say cubic boron arsenide is the best semiconductor material ever found, with two major advantages over silicon: It provides high mobility to both electrons and holes, and it has excellent thermal conductivity.