![\"Ripples](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ripples-of-the-future-1.jpg\" "\\"Rendering")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Rendering of a two-dimensional metal (middle layer) intercalated between a layer of graphene (top) and silicon carbide (bottom). Credit: Kunyan Zhang<\/p>\n
Just as overlapping ripples on a pond can amplify or cancel each other out, waves of many kinds\u2014including light, sound and atomic vibrations\u2014can interfere with one another. At the quantum level, this kind of interference powers high-precision sensors and could be harnessed for quantum computing.<\/p>\n
In a new study published<\/a> in Science Advances, researchers at Rice University and collaborators have demonstrated a strong form of interference between phonons\u2014the vibrations in a material’s structure that constitute the tiniest units (quanta) of heat or sound in that system. The phenomenon where two phonons with different frequency distributions interfere with each other, known as Fano resonance, was two orders of magnitude greater than any previously reported.<\/p>\n “While this phenomenon is well-studied for particles like electrons and photons, interference between phonons has been much less explored,” said Kunyan Zhang, a former postdoctoral researcher at Rice and first author on the study. “That is a missed opportunity, since phonons can maintain their wave behavior for a long time, making them promising for stable, high-performance devices.”<\/p>\n By showing that phonons can be harnessed as effectively as light or electrons, the study paves the way for a new generation of phonon-based technologies. The team’s breakthrough hinges on the use of a two-dimensional metal on top of a silicon carbide<\/a> base. Using a technique called confinement heteroepitaxy, the researchers intercalated just a few layers of silver atoms between a layer of graphene and silicon carbide, producing a tightly bound interface with remarkable quantum properties.<\/p>\n “The 2D metal triggers and strengthens the interference between different vibrational modes in silicon carbide, reaching record levels,” Zhang said.<\/p>\n The research team studied how phonons interfere with each other by looking at the shape of their signal in Raman spectroscopy, a technique that measures the vibrational modes of a material. The spectrum revealed a sharply asymmetric line shape and in some cases showed a complete dip, forming an antiresonance pattern characteristic of intense interference.<\/p>\n The effect proved highly sensitive to the specificities of the silicon carbide surface. The comparison of three different surface terminations of silicon carbide revealed a clear link between each surface and its unique Raman line shape. Moreover, when the researchers introduced a single dye molecule to the surface, the spectral line shape changed dramatically.<\/p>\n “This interference is so sensitive that it can detect the presence of a single molecule,” Zhang said. “It enables label-free single-molecule detection with a simple and scalable setup. Our results open up a new path for using phonons in quantum sensing and next-generation molecular detection.”<\/p>\n Exploring the dynamics of the effect at low temperatures, the researchers confirmed that the interference stemmed purely from phonon interactions and not electrons, marking a rare case of phonon-only quantum interference. The effect has only been observed in the particular 2D metal\/silicon carbide system used in the study and is absent in regular bulk metals. This is due to the special transition pathways and surface configurations enabled by the atomically thin metal layer.<\/p>\n \n Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers<\/strong> who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. The study also explored the possibility of using other 2D metals, such as gallium or indium, to induce similar effects. By fine-tuning the chemical composition of these intercalated layers, researchers could design custom interfaces with tailored quantum properties.<\/p>\n “Compared to conventional sensors, our method offers high sensitivity without the need for special chemical labels or complicated device setup,” said Shengxi Huang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and materials science<\/a> and nanoengineering at Rice and corresponding author on the study.<\/p>\n “This phonon<\/a>-based approach not only advances molecular sensing but also opens up exciting possibilities in energy harvesting, thermal management and quantum technologies, where controlling vibrations is key.”<\/p>\n More information:<\/strong> \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCitation<\/strong>: \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
\n Sign up for our free newsletter<\/a> and get updates on breakthroughs,
\n innovations, and research that matter\u2014daily or weekly<\/strong>.\n <\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKunyan Zhang et al, Tunable phononic quantum interference induced by two-dimensional metals, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126\/sciadv.adw1800<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRice University<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPowerful form of quantum interference paves the way for phonon-based technologies (2025, August 11)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 12 August 2025
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-08-powerful-quantum-paves-phonon-based.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rendering of a two-dimensional metal (middle layer) intercalated between a layer of graphene (top) and silicon carbide (bottom).…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3845],"tags":[75,76,74,71,70,72,53,73,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-337484","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-physics","8":"tag-materials","9":"tag-nanotech","10":"tag-physics","11":"tag-physics-news","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-science-news","14":"tag-technology","15":"tag-technology-news","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115013824484156162","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}