Matthew Bartnof

Abstract As the features of microprocessors are miniaturized, low-dielectric-constant (low-k) materials are necessary to limit electronic crosstalk, charge build-up, and signal propagation delay. However, all known low-k dielectrics exhibit low thermal conductivities, which complicate heat dissipation in high-power-density chips.

Structural phase transitions run in families of crystalline solids. Perovskites, for example, feature a remarkable number of structural transformations that produce a wealth of exotic behaviors, including ferroelectricity, magnetoresistance, metal–insulator transitions and superconductivity. In superatomic crystals and other such materials assembled from programmable building blocks, phase transitions offer pathways to new properties that are both tunable and switchable.