Researchers have discovered evidence that superconductivity can be controlled by influencing the surrounding environment, a finding that may lead to more efficient electronics down the road, according to a new study.
Superconductivity, or the ability of certain materials to conduct electric currents without any energy loss when cooled below a critical temperature, is a property still not very well understood. While a major challenge, understanding more about its formation mechanisms could lead to better, more long-lasting materials as well as more powerful quantum devices.
Led by Chun Ning (Jeanie) Lau, senior author of the study and a professor of physics at The Ohio State University, the research team constructed a special material called twisted bilayer graphene — a layer of carbon stacked onto another and rotated at a small angle.
By attaching the material to a man-made synthetic diamond called strontium titanate, Lau and colleagues were able to see and control how strongly electrons — tiny subatomic particles — in the system interacted with each other. Electron interactions that control properties like magnetic states and chemical bonding come in pairs, and by adjusting the “settings” of these pairs, the team was able to switch the material’s superconductivity on and off.
To read more, click here.