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Charge transport and hydrodynamics in materials

Nature Reviews Materials volume 8, pages 726–741 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

As high-quality single-crystal materials used in electronic devices approach the microscale and nanoscale, charge-transport phenomena in these devices result in inhomogeneous spatial signatures with strong implications for observable material properties. These signatures include spatially varying dissipation, which affects thermal management strategies in devices, and interface resistance between different materials, and are essential for the functional control of devices. In this Review, we investigate the spatially inhomogeneous signatures of charge flow in conductors, with particular emphasis on the recently rekindled field of electron hydrodynamics, a regime where electrons are strongly interacting and can flow collectively akin to fluids. We highlight recent experimental advances in transport measurements that enabled the observation of these signatures and review the theoretical frameworks used to interpret and predict these observations. We outline the new charge-transport phenomena introduced by crystal symmetry in materials, provide an outlook on future research opportunities and identify experimental and theoretical challenges in the study of hydrodynamic transport in materials.

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Fig. 1: Experimental demonstrations of hydrodynamic flows.
Fig. 2: New charge-transport phenomena.
Fig. 3: Current-density variability in system with hexagonal symmetry.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank A. Jermyn for discussions. G.V. acknowledges support from the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science. A.Y. acknowledges support from the Army Research Office under grant no. W911NF-22-1-0248, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through grant GBMF 9468, and the Quantum Science Center (QSC), a National Quantum Information Science Research Center of the US Department of Energy. P.N. acknowledges support from the QSC, a National Quantum Information Science Research Center of the US Department of Energy, the Office of Naval Research under grant no. 13672292 and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through grant no. 8048.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Georgios Varnavides

  2. Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Amir Yacoby

  3. Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Physik Fester Stoffe, Dresden, Germany

    Claudia Felser

  4. Physical Sciences, College of Letters and Science, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Prineha Narang

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  1. Georgios Varnavides
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  2. Amir Yacoby
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All authors contributed to literature review, manuscript writing, figure composition and article integration. G.V. and P.N. conceived the topical focus of this Review. P.N. supervised the project.

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Correspondence to Georgios Varnavides or Prineha Narang.

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Varnavides, G., Yacoby, A., Felser, C. et al. Charge transport and hydrodynamics in materials. Nat Rev Mater 8, 726–741 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-023-00597-3

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