UC San Diego physicists have created integrated circuits with particles called “excitons” at 125 degrees Kelvin (can be easily attained commercially with liquid nitrogen), bringing the possibility of a new type of extremely fast computer based on excitons closer to reality.

Excitons are pairs of negatively charged electrons and positively charged holes that can be created by light in a semiconductor such as gallium arsenide. When the electron and hole recombine, the exciton decays and releases its energy as a flash of light.

The fact that excitons can be converted into light makes excitonic devices faster and more efficient than conventional electronic devices with optical interfaces, which use electrons for computation and must then convert them to light for use in communications devices.