From top student in college to scientific research powerhouse

Chapter 75: I got it! I got it! A whole piece, measured directly!
The reception room was quiet; everyone was staring at the box filled with sealed containers.

Meng Zhiyang, Hong Zhenyu, Cao Wang and others looked somewhat bewildered. They had come to inspect the results, but the other party had shown them a large pile of materials and said they could take them away for testing.

This rhythm is completely different from what I imagined.

For high-tech future materials research projects, the standard acceptance process involves going to the laboratory to see a small, carefully preserved piece of material.

Such material is just a sample; nothing can be seen on the surface.

The next step is for the other party to provide a large amount of testing data, including various documents and analysis reports, and give a special explanation. Several experts will study the data together and then make a final decision.

Now the other party has brought a large box of materials and is saying they can take them away for testing?
"That's really convincing..." Meng Zhiyang was the first to react, muttering in a daze.

Others also reacted.

No report or analytical data can be as convincing as materials that can be taken away for testing.

This persuasiveness was so strong that they all felt they could leave.

Leave, take the materials with you, and go to a professional laboratory for testing.

With the detection of topological edge states and the Ising superconducting signal, the project results are naturally without any problems.

If it cannot be detected, we will discuss it further.

Judging from the other person's appearance, there's a high probability that the test will be fine.

The inspection team members looked at each other.

Hong Zhenyu and Cao Wang's eyes turned red. They were the ones who were truly doing research on tinene and understood its value better than others.

Hong Zhenyu's team conducted more in-depth research, but using bismuth telluride substrates and performing more than ten experiments, it would be quite good if they could extract a small amount of stably arranged stanene.

Even a tiny bit, about half the size of a fingernail, is considered quite large.

Even a tinene the size of half a fingernail is very unstable; a weak signal can be detected at some locations in the material, while nothing can be detected at others.

Therefore, the most difficult and costly part of tinene research is detection, especially precise detection, which requires a lot of manpower, energy and time.

Now the other party has produced a huge pile of materials, each piece bigger than a fingernail, packaged in a large box. There must be at least twenty or so boxes of material samples.
Hong Zhenyu immediately realized what was happening and asked in surprise, "You've found a way to make stanene grow stably?"

The others immediately became serious.

"These can hardly be considered to be growing steadily, can they?"

Zhu Bingkun glanced at the box and said nonchalantly, "We conduct large-scale experiments, and each experiment produces a little bit, so we accumulate a lot..."

These material samples are the product of large-scale experiments, so there's no question of stable growth.

Within the defined framework, the yield of stanene was relatively high.

On average, each experiment yields a measurable sample of tinene film about the size of a fingernail.

The 'multilayer tinene film' material they are researching can be considered to have stable growth. After removing the unstable edges of a whole piece of material, it is a 'multilayer tinene film'.

The two materials are also different.

The samples in the box are ultrathin tinene films, some of which are only a few atomic layers thick, and some may even be single atomic layers, so thin that they are not visible at all.

In ultrathin tinene films, topological edge states can be clearly detected at certain locations, and weak Ising superconducting signals can also be detected.

The 'multilayer tinene thin film' currently under research has even more atomic layers and is already a conventional 'three-dimensional' material.

With more atomic layers, the superconducting properties become more defined, and the Ising superconductivity phenomenon can be directly measured.

The topological edge state characteristics are exactly the opposite. With more layers, imperfect stacking of atomic layers directly affects the insulation properties inside the material.

Their experiment also aims to construct a 'multilayer tinene thin film' material with perfectly stacked atomic layers.

The presence of stable insulating properties within the material demonstrates the phenomenon of topological edge states.

Topological edge states determine 100% conductivity at room temperature.

The ultrathin stanene sample has topological edge state characteristics, but because its composition is extremely unstable, some places have two atomic layers, some places have more layers, and some places the material sticks together, the material properties are very unstable.

The advantage of ordered stacking of multilayer tinene thin layers is that even if the materials stick together at some locations, the pathways are much larger due to the large number of atomic layers, and other locations remain unobstructed.

In summary, tinene has fewer layers, so it must be of higher quality, making it tens or hundreds of times more difficult to manufacture.

The higher the number of layers in tinene, the better its properties even if the quality is slightly lower, and its practical value is much higher.

The current experiment aims to determine the internal insulation properties of the material, thereby preparing a material that is 100% conductive at room temperature.

Zhu Bingkun was getting anxious as he thought about it, "What are the test results? Is this still not over?"

"Even sending a message would be fine..."

There were many samples in the box, and Chen Shuai helped take out several and put them on the table so that the inspection team could take a closer look.

Meng Zhiyang, Hong Zhenyu, and Cao Wang all took the samples and examined them carefully. After a while, the three of them put them down and said nothing more about the samples.

Cao Wang and Hong Zhenyu couldn't wait to take the samples back and do the testing.

Hong Zhenyu, in particular, has been conducting research for many years but has not been able to prepare a tinene sample of such size.

Cao Wang, on the other hand, had the opposite mindset. He hoped that the samples he saw were fake and that nothing could be detected when he got back, otherwise his team would not be able to continue their research.

In the same research direction, the other party used bismuth telluride as a substrate to prepare so many tinene samples, and all of them could detect topological edge states and Ising superconducting signals.

What about his team?
Two years of effort went down the drain, and subsequent research became meaningless.

This is the brutal reality of competition in scientific research.

Cao Wang kept a straight face, unable to smile at all. Later, he simply moved closer to Meng Zhiyang and whispered, "Academician Meng, the sample is about done. Shouldn't we move on to the next step? We can't just sit here forever."

In fact, he also wanted to visit the laboratory, see the substrates they were researching, and see how their tinene preparation process differed from his own team's.

Perhaps we can learn from this?
If they can obtain the other party's key technology, they will also be able to stably manufacture tinene thin film materials, and the research can continue.

The other party's project has been accepted and settled, while their project is still in progress.

This will allow for further research.

Cao Wang was so restless from thinking about it that he simply stood up.

Meng Zhiyang also stood up and said, "We can't just sit here all the time. Let's go visit the laboratory."

The group immediately left the reception room and headed towards the back laboratory.

Zhu Bingkun and Xue Kun walked at the front together. He went into each laboratory to give an introduction, and also focused on the entire process of tinene preparation.

Cao Wang wanted to learn more, so he walked very far ahead.

Meng Zhiyang and Tan Yanming are both academicians, but they are laymen, so they just casually look around and listen.

Hong Zhenyu didn't have as many ideas as Cao Wang; the research on tinene was just one of his projects.

He walked a little further back, very close to Zhang Minghao.

It wasn't until just now that Hong Zhenyu learned that Zhang Minghao was the biggest contributor to Zhu Bingkun's team's research.

Therefore, he was happy to discuss technical issues with Zhang Minghao.

"Through experimental data analysis, we have determined the correlation between the growth characteristics of the substrate and tinene."

“By finding some correlations in the data and then designing experimental schemes based on them, we can prepare higher quality tinene films…” Hong Zhenyu seemed to understand.

The same principle applies to the research and development of tinene thin films, as well as other high-tech materials: we need to analyze experimental data and find commonalities to adjust the experimental plan.

He asked curiously, "You also study substrates?"

He then added, "My team previously used copper-based and gold-tin eutectic substrates to prepare tinene thin films."

He shook his head as he spoke, clearly indicating that the effect was not ideal.

Zhang Minghao pondered, "If a copper-based substrate is used, the gaps between tin atoms might become smaller, reducing the controllable space and thus losing some properties, right?"

"I don't really understand gold-tin eutectic. This material is too complex and very expensive."

Gold is inherently expensive.

Gold-tin eutectic, which can be understood as a gold-tin alloy, is a material that only appears in laboratories and is not easy to buy.

If the preparation is carried out in a laboratory, the preparation process will also consume a lot of money.

Hong Zhenyu smiled and then talked about other substrate issues, including molybdenum disulfide and tungsten disulfide. His team has made great progress in the research on the preparation of tinene thin films on different substrates.

The two walked and talked.

Hong Zhenyu discovered that no matter what kind of substrate was mentioned, Zhang Minghao could always chime in with a few words, sometimes saying "what might happen" and directly stating their experimental findings.

He was very surprised.

How did the other party make their judgment? It seems they thought about it carefully before coming to a conclusion?
Is there any pattern to this?
Hong Zhenyu was puzzled, but he also understood why Zhu Bingkun's team was able to achieve such results and why Zhang Minghao made the greatest contribution to the research.

This young man is absolutely a genius in the field of tinene research!

……

The laboratory in the back row has three floors, but the experimental rooms are all concentrated on the first floor. The overall area is not large, with only a dozen or so experimental rooms. The rest are empty rooms, warehouses, and equipment rooms.

Zhu Bingkun led the inspection team and quickly toured the entire laboratory.

The inspection team was struck by how small the laboratory was. They were all worldly-wise and wouldn't even look at a small laboratory like this.

For example, Cao Wang.

He works at a key national materials center, and even a side building in the materials research and development center is larger than the applied electromagnetics laboratory.

The laboratory equipment is barely up to standard.

"Such a rudimentary laboratory, yet it has produced such great results." Cao Wang felt extremely resentful.

He hoped to see the key technologies, but after touring the entire laboratory and having the other party explain the preparation process, he still couldn't see anything.

The key issue is the substrate, but he can't just take the substrate with him, can he?
Once he says something like that, everyone else will know what he's up to.

The group walked into the testing room.

The door is closed.

Cao Wang was about to push open the door with doubt when Zhu Bingkun stopped him.

Zhu Bingkun said, "They're doing tests inside, so please don't disturb them."

Cao Wang was taken aback. "You're getting tested again today?"

"Correct."

Zhu Bingkun didn't say much; he had no good feelings towards Cao Wang whatsoever.

Cao Wang was a little unwilling. He felt that the testing room might also be a key area, otherwise why would the other party prevent him from seeing it?
He quickly added, "But we also need to see the testing lab; otherwise, how will we know the testing process? We still need to analyze the samples when we get back!"

He said it, and all he got in return were a bunch of questioning looks.

He realized he had made a mistake again.

As a professional in the field of tinene, I don't know how to determine the topological edge states and the superconducting properties of Ising.
Meng Zhiyang was also dissatisfied with Cao Wang, but since they were both on the inspection team, he had to save face for him.

He coughed lightly, just about to change the subject, when the door to the testing room opened.

Everyone looked over.

Fang Huimin stood at the door, her mental state was obviously not right, her facial muscles were tense, her eyes were red, and her calves were trembling as she stood on the steps.

She stared blankly at the person at the door with her mouth slightly agape, then broke into a smile and suddenly shouted, "Zhu Bingkun!"

"Xue Kun!"

"Zhang Minghao!"

"Ha ha--"

As she spoke, she walked down the steps, put her hand on Zhu Bingkun's neck, and grinned excitedly, shouting, "I got it! I got it!"

"It's a single piece of material, and the inside is completely insulated!"

The others, unaware of the situation, exchanged bewildered glances.

Zhu Bingkun immediately realized what was happening and asked in surprise, "You detected it? You really detected it? The whole piece?"

"Of course, would I lie to you!"

Zhu Bingkun's demeanor changed instantly. He took a deep breath, looked around, and excitedly rushed towards Zhang Minghao, grabbing his shoulder and shouting, "Did you hear that?"

"Found it! A whole piece of material, just like you said, it depends on luck!"

"Today, my luck has come!"

Zhang Minghao was equally excited. He nodded vigorously, "It's done! That's great!"

As he spoke, he braced himself against Zhu Bingkun's arm and said through gritted teeth, "But Teacher Zhu, don't get too excited!"

"You're scratching me, and it hurts!"

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention, hahaha..."

When others finished speaking, Xue Kun walked over to Fang Huimin and asked, "Was the signal detected, or was it detected directly?"

"It was detected directly!"

"Sigh~~~"

Xue Kun took a deep breath, clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging, unable to contain his excitement.

The others looked at each other, their faces full of confusion.

Meng Zhiyang asked Tan Yanming in a low voice, "Do you know what's going on?"

Tan Yanming was also unsure, and he walked towards Zhang Minghao, whose expression seemed relatively normal.

Zhang Minghao leaned close to his ear and whispered something.

Upon hearing this, Tan Yanming seemed to be electrocuted, his body stiffening instantly. His eyes widened, and he exclaimed excitedly, "Then what are we waiting for!"

"Get a thorough test done right away!"

(End of this chapter)