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The electrical resistivity of conventional metals such as copper is known to increase in thin films as a result of electron-surface scattering, thus limiting the performance of metals in nanoscale electronics. Here, we find an unusual reduction of resistivity with decreasing film thickness in niobium phosphide (NbP) semimetal deposited at relatively low temperatures of 400°C. In films thinner than 5 nanometers, the room temperature resistivity (~34 microhm centimeters for 1.5-nanometer-thick NbP) is up to six times lower than the resistivity of our bulk NbP films, and lower than conventional metals at similar thickness (typically about 100 microhm centimeters). The NbP films are not crystalline but display local nanocrystalline, short-range order within an amorphous matrix. Our analysis suggests that the lower effective resistivity is caused by conduction through surface channels, together with high surface carrier density and sufficiently good mobility as the film thickness is reduced. These results and the fundamental insights obtained here could enable ultrathin, low-resistivity wires for nanoelectronics beyond the limitations of conventional metals. 

While magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) stands out as a leading candidate for embedded nonvolatile memory and last-level cache applications, its endurance is compromised by substantial self-heating due to the high programming current density. The effect of self-heating on the endurance of the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) has primarily been studied in spin-transfer torque (STT)-MRAM. Here, we analyze the transient temperature response of two-terminal spin–orbit torque (SOT)-MRAM with a 1 ns switching current pulse using electro-thermal simulations. We estimate a peak temperature range of 350–450 °C in 40 nm diameter MTJs, underscoring the critical need for thermal management to improve endurance. We suggest several thermal engineering strategies to reduce the peak temperature by up to 120 °C in such devices, which could improve their endurance by at least a factor of 1000× at 0.75 V operating voltage. These results suggest that two-terminal SOT-MRAM could significantly outperform conventional STT-MRAM in terms of endurance, substantially benefiting from thermal engineering. These insights are pivotal for thermal optimization strategies in the development of MRAM technologies. 

We demonstrated a nonvolatile electrically reconfigurable metasurface based on low-loss phase-change materials Sb₂Se₃with phase-only (~0.25π) modulation in the free-space. The tunable metasurface is robust against reversible switching over 1,000 times. 

Atomically thin 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), such as MoS₂, are promising candidates for nanoscale photonics because of strong light–matter interactions. However, Fermi‐level pinning due to metal‐induced gap states (MIGS) at the metal–monolayer (1L)‐MoS₂interface limits the application of optoelectronic devices based on conventional metals due to high contact resistance. On the other hand, a semimetal–TMD–semimetal device can overcome this limitation, where the MIGS are sufficiently suppressed allowing ohmic contacts. Herein, the optoelectronic performance of a bismuth–1L‐MoS₂–bismuth device with ohmic electrical contacts and extraordinary optoelectronic properties is demonstrated. To address the wafer‐scale production, full coverage 1L‐MoS₂grown by chemical vapor deposition. High photoresponsivity of 300 A W⁻¹at wavelength 400 nm measured at 77 K, which translates into an external quantum efficiency (EQE) ≈1000 or 10⁵%, is measured. The 90% rise time of the devices at 77 K is 0.1 ms, suggesting they can operate at the speed of ≈10 kHz. High‐performance broadband photodetector with spectral coverage ranging from 380 to 1000 nm is demonstrated. The combination of large‐array device fabrication, high sensitivity, and high‐speed response offers great potential for applications in photonics, including integrated optoelectronic circuits.