https://phys.org/physics-news/superconductivity en-us The latest news on superconductivity "A place for everything and everything in its place"—making sense of order, or disorder, helps us understand nature. Animals tend to fit nicely into categories: Mammals, birds, reptiles, whatever an axolotl is, and more. Sorting also applies to materials: Insulator, semiconductor, conductor, and even superconductor. Where exactly a material lands in the hierarchy depends on a seemingly invisible interplay of electrons, atoms, and their surroundings. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-rare-physics-superconductor.html Superconductivity Wed, 02 Aug 2023 13:15:33 EDT news610200917 Last week, a group of South Korean physicists made a startling claim. In two papers uploaded to the arXiv preprint server, they say they have created a material that "opens a new era for humankind." https://phys.org/news/2023-07-viral-room-temperature-superconductor-excitementand-skepticism.html Superconductivity Mon, 31 Jul 2023 13:30:01 EDT news610028777 MIT scientists and colleagues have created a simple superconducting device that could transfer current through electronic devices much more efficiently than is possible today. As a result, the new diode, a kind of switch, could dramatically cut the amount of energy used in high-power computing systems, a major problem that is estimated to become much worse. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-team-simple-superconducting-device-energy.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:14:57 EDT news609754492 Researchers have demonstrated the ability to grow high-quality thin films of a recently discovered superconductor material called potassium tantalate (KTaO3). The researchers also discovered that the material retains its superconductive characteristics even when exposed to extremely high magnetic fields. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-high-quality-superconductor-resilience-magnetic.html Superconductivity Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:45:03 EDT news609687901 A team of physicists affiliated with several institutions in South Korea is claiming to have created the elusive room-temperature/ambient-pressure superconducting material. Their work has not yet been peer reviewed. They have posted two papers on the arXiv preprint server. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-korean-team-room-temperature-ambient-pressure-superconductor.html Superconductivity Thu, 27 Jul 2023 10:48:54 EDT news609673728 Superconductors—found in MRI machines, nuclear fusion reactors and magnetic-levitation trains—work by conducting electricity with no resistance at temperatures near absolute zero, or -459.67°F. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-game-changing-superconductors-machine-tools.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Fri, 21 Jul 2023 09:17:03 EDT news609149821 A research team led by Prof. Chen Xianhui from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), collaborating with the team led by Prof. Sun Jian from Nanjing University, realized a new high superconducting transition temperature of 36 K in elemental materials under high pressure. Their study was published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-highest-elemental-superconducting-transition-temperature.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Thu, 20 Jul 2023 12:12:16 EDT news609073934 Researchers at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University say they've found a way to make thin films of an exciting new nickel oxide superconductor that are free of extended defects. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-foundation-superconducting-nickelates-boost.html Superconductivity Thu, 13 Jul 2023 12:14:03 EDT news608469241 The future of electronics will be based on novel kinds of materials. Sometimes, however, the naturally occurring topology of atoms makes it difficult for new physical effects to be created. To tackle this problem, researchers at the University of Zurich have now successfully designed superconductors one atom at a time, creating new states of matter. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-superconductors-built-atom.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Thu, 13 Jul 2023 10:59:03 EDT news608464741 Physicists at the University of Regensburg (UR) led by the research groups of Professor Dr. Christoph Strunk / Dr. Nicola Paradiso and Professor Dr. Jaroslav Fabian made an exciting discovery: In their publication just published in Nature Nanotechnology, the research teams experimentally demonstrate a dramatic sign change of the supercurrent diode effect. The corresponding experimental data are in quantitative agreement with the theory of Dr. Andreas Costa, also a physicist at the University of Regensburg. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-physicists-reversal-josephson-diode-effect.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Mon, 10 Jul 2023 13:04:36 EDT news608213072 A team of physicists at the University of Maryland's Joint Quantum Institute and Quantum Materials Center has achieved millisecond coherence while testing the properties of a fluxonium qubit in a quantum circuit. In their study, reported in the journal Physical Review Letters, the group made some small changes to the circuit parameters controlling the qubit to increase relaxation times. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-millisecond-coherence-fluxonium-qubit.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Thu, 06 Jul 2023 10:16:25 EDT news607857369 Researchers use a new tool to help improve a key component in commercially produced quantum computing circuits. The team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Ames National Laboratory in partnership with the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS), a DOE National Quantum Information Science Research Center led by Fermilab, used the terahertz SNOM microscope, originally developed at Ames Lab, to investigate the interface and connectivity of a nano Josephson Junction (JJ). https://phys.org/news/2023-07-tool-quantum-circuit-component.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Wed, 05 Jul 2023 12:16:42 EDT news607778199 Researchers have made a breakthrough in the development of a camera so sensitive it can detect a single photon. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-superconducting-nanowire-camera-explore-brain.html Optics & Photonics Superconductivity Wed, 05 Jul 2023 10:36:57 EDT news607772212 In the field of superconductivity—the phenomenon in which electrons can flow through a material with essentially zero resistance—the "holy grail" of discovery is a superconductor that can perform under everyday temperatures and pressures. Such a material could revolutionize modern life. But currently, even the "high-temperature" (high-Tc) superconductors that have been discovered must be kept very cold to function—too cold for most applications. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-visualization-zero-field-pair-density.html Superconductivity Mon, 03 Jul 2023 13:10:06 EDT news607608601 Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered a new distinct form of silicon called Q-silicon which, among other interesting properties, is ferromagnetic at room temperature. The findings could lead to advances in quantum computing, including the creation of a spin qubit quantum computer that is based on controlling the spin of an electron. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-quantum-boost-discovery-q-silicon.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Thu, 29 Jun 2023 11:31:02 EDT news607257061 Scientists using one of the world's most powerful quantum microscopes have made a discovery that could have significant consequences for the future of computing. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-superconducting-state-significant-quantum-future.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Wed, 28 Jun 2023 11:00:05 EDT news607166232 What good is a powerful computer if you can't read its output? Or readily reprogram it to do different jobs? People who design quantum computers face these challenges, and a new device may make them easier to solve. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-toggle-switch-versatile-quantum-processors-clearer.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Mon, 26 Jun 2023 14:22:03 EDT news607008121 Under certain conditions—usually exceedingly cold ones—some materials shift their structure to unlock new, superconducting behavior. This structural shift is known as a "nematic transition," and physicists suspect that it offers a new way to drive materials into a superconducting state where electrons can flow entirely friction-free. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-physicists-superconductivity.html Superconductivity Thu, 22 Jun 2023 11:32:04 EDT news606652321 Fifteen years ago, an alternative technique to look for the elusive Majorana particles was conceived theoretically. But no one carried out the experiment, until now. Physicist Jianfeng Ge and his colleagues from the Allan lab of the Leiden Institute of Physics have now successfully carried out the first measurements. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-method-majorana-particles.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Thu, 22 Jun 2023 10:59:00 EDT news606650338 Typical superconducting quantum circuits, such as qubits—basic processing units of a quantum computer, must be operated at very low temperatures, of a few 10s of millikelvin, or hundredths of a degree from absolute zero temperature. These temperatures are today easily accessible in modern refrigerators. However, the intrinsic temperature of devices turns out to be much higher because the materials required to make good qubit circuits are by their nature very poor thermal conductors. This thermalization problem becomes more and more acute as the scale and complexity of circuits grow. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-cooling-technology-quantum-circuits.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Fri, 16 Jun 2023 10:10:24 EDT news606129019 A University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led team has developed a new superconducting diode, a key component in electronic devices, that could help scale up quantum computers for industry use and improve the performance of artificial intelligence systems. Compared to other superconducting diodes, the researchers' device is more energy efficient; can process multiple electrical signals at a time; and contains a series of gates to control the flow of energy, a feature that has never before been integrated into a superconducting diode. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-superconducting-diode-quantum-artificial-intelligence.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Tue, 06 Jun 2023 07:18:59 EDT news605254732 Within superconductors little tornadoes of electrons, known as quantum vortices, can occur which have important implications in superconducting applications such as quantum sensors. Now a new kind of superconducting vortex has been found, an international team of researchers reports. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-tiny-quantum-electronic-vortexes-circulate.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Thu, 01 Jun 2023 14:00:04 EDT news604846198 In a ground-breaking experiment, scientists from the University of Groningen, together with colleagues from the Dutch universities of Nijmegen and Twente and the Harbin Institute of Technology (China), have discovered the existence of a superconductive state that was first predicted in 2017. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-scientists-evidence-superconducting-state-ising.html Superconductivity Wed, 24 May 2023 12:10:04 EDT news604148998 Researchers from QuTech improved the so-called "Andreev spin qubit" in a critical way and believe it can become a prime candidate in the pursuit of a perfect qubit. The new type of qubit is created in a more reliable and intrinsically stable way, compared to previous versions, by combining the advantages of two other types of qubits. The team has published their work in Nature Physics. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-stable-qubit-prime-candidate-universal.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Mon, 22 May 2023 11:00:05 EDT news603967432 What makes some materials carry current with no resistance? Scientists are trying to unravel the complex characteristics. Harnessing this property, known as superconductivity, could lead to perfectly efficient power lines, ultrafast computers, and a range of energy-saving advances. Understanding these materials when they aren't superconducting is a key part of the quest to unlock that potential. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-density-linked-atomic-distortions-would-be.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Wed, 17 May 2023 17:05:34 EDT news603561919 A team of physicists at Nanjing University, attempting to replicate the superconductivity results from an experiment conducted by a team at the University of Rochester, produced the desired material but also found that it was not superconductive. In their study, reported in the journal Nature, the group replicated the work by the prior team and tested the resulting material. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-replication-room-temperature-superconductor-superconductivity.html Superconductivity Wed, 17 May 2023 09:36:35 EDT news603534969 Meeting the world's energy demands is reaching a critical point. Powering the technological age has caused issues globally. It is increasingly important to create superconductors that can operate at ambient pressure and temperature. This would go a long way toward solving the energy crisis. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-superconductive-images-3d-disorder-driven-fractals.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Fri, 12 May 2023 13:37:40 EDT news603117444 Scientists from Jilin University, the Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, and Skoltech have synthesized lanthanum-cerium polyhydride, a material that promises to facilitate studies of near-room-temperature superconductivity. It offers a compromise between the polyhydrides of lanthanum and cerium in terms of how much cooling and pressure it requires. This enables easier experiments, which might one day lead scientists to compounds that conduct electricity with zero resistance at ambient conditions—an engineering dream many years in the making. The study was published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-material-room-temperature-superconductivity.html Superconductivity Fri, 12 May 2023 08:36:03 EDT news603099361 A group of researchers led by Andreas Wallraff, Professor of Solid State Physics at ETH Zurich, has performed a loophole-free Bell test to disprove the concept of "local causality" formulated by Albert Einstein in response to quantum mechanics. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-entangled-quantum-circuits-einstein-concept.html Superconductivity Quantum Physics Wed, 10 May 2023 13:25:22 EDT news602943918 Physicists have discovered "stacked pancakes of liquid magnetism" that may account for the strange electronic behavior of some layered helical magnets. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-physicists-stacked-pancakes-liquid-magnetism.html Condensed Matter Superconductivity Wed, 10 May 2023 09:15:04 EDT news602928901