NIST researcher Albert Rigosi received a 2022 award for his work establishing a new standard for the ohm, the unit of electrical resistance. By utilizing specialized graphene devices that rely on the quantum Hall effect, the United States became the first nation to officially incorporate this material into its national definition of electrical units. This achievement represents a major update to how precision measurements are calibrated for the country’s industries.
The implementation focuses on stabilizing graphene’s electron density across large areas to ensure commercial viability, along with new designs featuring superconducting contacts and junctions for accessing various resistance values. While the core standard is now active, ongoing research aims to expand the reliability and utility of these devices. This advancement supports the broader development of quantum technologies by providing more accurate foundational measurements for future instruments.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/awards/albert-rigosi-receives-2022-katharine-b-gebbie-young-investigator-award
Keywords: quantum Hall effect, graphene, ohm definition
