Putting a New Spin on 1T Phase Tantalum Disulfide

To unlock the complex structure and behavior of 1T Phase Tantalum Disulfide, researchers used the Pair Distribution Function (PDF) beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility located at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, to learn more about the material’s structure.

Researchers Test Quantum Theory with Precision-Engineered Thin Films

Comparing experimental results and theoretical calculations can be difficult for quantum materials. One solution is to use sample materials that isolate and emphasize an atomic line with one dimensional properties. In this study, scientists grew thin films of layered copper-oxygen materials to experimentally test theories of electron interaction in quantum materials. The study indicates that standard theory is not sufficient and requires a new term to fit the experimental data.

A foundation that fits just right gives superconducting nickelates a boost

Researchers at SLAC and Stanford found a way to make thin films of an exciting new nickel oxide superconductor that are free of extended defects. This improved the material’s ability to conduct electricity with no loss and revealed that it’s more like superconducting cuprates than previously thought.

First Direct Visualization of a Zero-Field Pair Density Wave

Scientists directly observed a pair-density wave (PDW) in an iron-based superconducting material with no magnetic field present. This state of matter, which is characterized by coupled pairs of electrons that are constantly in motion, had been thought to only arise when a superconductor is placed within a large magnetic field. This exciting result opens new potential avenues of research and discovery for superconductivity.

New superconducting diode could improve performance of quantum computers and artificial intelligence

A University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led team has developed a more energy-efficient, tunable superconducting diode—a promising component for future electronic devices—that could help scale up quantum computers for industry and improve artificial intelligence systems.

Study finds nickelate superconductors are intrinsically magnetic

Scientists embedded elementary particles called muons into a nickel oxide superconductor to learn more about its magnetic properties. They discovered very different magnetic behavior than the best known unconventional superconductors, the cuprates, display.

The futuristic South Pole Telescope looks far back in time

Designed to detect the oldest light in the universe, the South Pole Telescope is helping researchers at Argonne and around the world to learn about the beginnings of the universe.

Study uncovers how structural changes affect the superconducting properties of a metal oxide

A team led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers has discovered how subtle structural changes in strontium titanate, a metal oxide semiconductor, can alter the material’s electrical resistance and affect its superconducting properties. The research can help guide future experiments and materials design related to superconductivity and the creation of more efficient semiconductors for various electronic device applications.

Mapping the Electronic States in an Exotic Superconductor

Scientists mapped the electronic states in an exotic superconductor. The maps point to the composition range necessary for topological superconductivity, a state that could enable more robust quantum computing.

Scientists glimpse signs of a puzzling state of matter in a superconductor

High-temperature superconductors conduct electricity with no loss, but no one knows how they do it. SLAC scientists observed the signature of an exotic state of matter called “pair density waves” in a cuprate superconductor and confirmed that it intertwines with another exotic state.

Magnetism Meets Topology on a Superconductor’s Surface

Scientists have found an energy band gap—an energy range where no electrons are allowed—opens at a point where two allowed energy bands intersect on the surface of an iron-based superconductor. This unusual electronic energy structure could be used for quantum information science and electronics.

The Room-Temperature Superconductor Arrives at Last

For the first time since superconductivity was discovered in 1911, scientists have created the world’s first superconductor that works at room temperature. To do so, they engineered a new material never before found on earth using a photochemical process to create a starting framework of hydrogen-rich materials. The finding has important implications for quantum computing and energy storage and production.

Brookhaven’s Ivan Bozovic Wins 2021 James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials

The American Physical Society has selected physicist Ivan Bozovic of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory as a co-recipient of the 2021 James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials. Bozovic and his collaborators were recognized “For pioneering the atomic-layer-by-layer synthesis of new metastable complex-oxide materials, and the discovery of resulting novel phenomena.”

SLAC researchers find evidence for quantum fluctuations near a quantum critical point in a superconductor

Theory suggests that quantum critical points may be analogous to black holes as places where all sorts of strange phenomena can exist in a quantum material. Now scientists say that they have found strong evidence that QCPs and their associated fluctuations exist in a cuprate superconductor.

Quantum Materials Quest Could Benefit From Graphene That Buckles

Graphene, an extremely thin two-dimensional layer of the graphite used in pencils, buckles when cooled while attached to a flat surface, resulting in beautiful pucker patterns that could benefit the search for novel quantum materials and superconductors, according to Rutgers-led research in the journal Nature. Quantum materials host strongly interacting electrons with special properties, such as entangled trajectories, that could provide building blocks for super-fast quantum computers. They also can become superconductors that could slash energy consumption by making power transmission and electronic devices more efficient.

Electrons Line Dance in a Superconductor

Scientists have confirmed a theoretical prediction for high-temperature superconductors. In a superconductive state, like-charged electrons overcome their repulsion to pair up and flow freely. Different states of matter make superconductivity possible. One of those theorized states of matter is called a pair density wave. The scientists confirmed pair density waves using advanced microscopic imaging techniques.

Scientists Dive Deep Into Hidden World of Quantum States

A research team led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a technique that could lead to new electronic materials that surpass the limitations imposed by Moore’s Law.

Theoretical breakthrough shows quantum fluids rotate by corkscrew mechanism

Scientists performed simulations of merging rotating superfluids, revealing a peculiar corkscrew-shaped mechanism that drives the fluids into rotation without the need for viscosity.

Argonne’s Valerii Vinokur awarded Fritz London Prize

Valerii Vinokur, a senior scientist and distinguished fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, has been awarded the Fritz London Memorial Prize for his work in condensed matter and theoretical physics.

How a Magnet Could Help Boost Understanding of Superconductivity

Physicists have unraveled a mystery behind the strange behavior of electrons in a ferromagnet, a finding that could eventually help develop high temperature superconductivity. A Rutgers co-authored study of the unusual ferromagnetic material appears in the journal Nature.

A joint venture at the nanoscale

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory report fabricating and testing a superconducting nanowire device applicable to high-speed photon counting. This pivotal invention will allow nuclear physics experiments that were previously thought impossible.