Researchers have discovered a new mechanism for energy sharing in tiny interfaces in semiconductors, the components at the heart of our electronic devices. This mechanism arises from the close coupling between electrons and atomic vibrations. Researchers made a sandwich of atomically thin layers and used short pulses of light to push electrons across the interface. They then used an ultrafast beam of electrons to capture the atomic motions triggered by this electron transfer. Even though only one atomic layer was photoexcited, both layers heated up at nearly the same time. The research found that this ultrafast transfer of heat occurs thanks to electrons using an interlayer "bridge" state to flow across the interface, triggering atomic vibrations (heat) in their wake.
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