Physicists and materials scientists have been working on the mystery surrounding superconductivity — a state in which materials can conduct electricity without resistance. For instance, conventional superconductors usually need very low temperatures to function and feature behaviors underpinned by well-defined quantum regimes. The finding of new materials with exotic superconducting powers, though it may sound a bit obscure, could unlock infastructural transformative options from quantum computing to low-loss energy systems.
Physicists from MIT have recently been pursuing the study of a material they believe is revolutionary in terms of superconducting and metallic behavior due to its unique, differently-configured atomic structures. One of this material’s structural signature is the “wavy” nature of its atomic layers.
Structure of the New Material: Wavy Atomic Layers
The new synthesized material involves layering tantalum, sulfur and a spacer layer of strontium in sequence. This alternation gets stacked a few thousand times! Those layers have wrinkles in them, generated from the lattice mismatch between the metal and spacer layers that creates a stress relief causing buckling of the metallic layer.
Similar to the effects observed in moiré superlattices, where relative rotations between layers induce exotic quantum phenomena, this wave-like material provides a platform for defining atomic-scale lattice structure, leading to unprecedented physical properties. These waves affect the motion of electrons, and in turn determine the material’s exotic superconducting and metallic properties.
Superconducting Properties and Electron Behavior
In a normal superconductor, electrons pass through the material with no resistance, but in this new material the superconductivity is instead coupled to the atomic waves. These structural modulations affect the flow of electrons and lead to local enhancements or suppressions of superconductivity. The result is a new type of anisotropic superconductivity, in which electricity can will more freely in one direction (along the troughs of the waves) than another.
This directionality offers potential for practical applications, such as more efficient electronic components or novel quantum devices. The ability to direct electron flow by manipulating atomic structure is a significant advancement in the design of quantum materials.
Broader Implications and Future Prospects
The discovery of this material is particularly significant because it was achieved through rational design, a method where researchers predict and control material properties by manipulating their atomic-scale structure. This ability to design materials with tailored behaviors has broad implications for the future of quantum materials. By understanding the chemistry and physics behind these wavy structures, scientists can potentially create a new class of materials with a wide range of tunable properties, from superconductivity to magnetism.
In contrast to other two-dimensional materials that are extremely challenging to handle or pattern at the macroscopic scale, this new material can be produced in larger sheets hundreds of microns across enabling numerous opportunities for studying quantum behaviors. This opens up the search for many more materials with unprecedented properties as researchers expand the frontier of materials science.
This new material, with its wavy atomic layers and extraordinary superconducting properties, marks an exciting advancement in the field of quantum materials. Its unique structure not only provides new insights into electron behavior but also opens up possibilities for practical applications. As scientists continue to explore and design new materials based on atomic-level interactions, we are likely to see further breakthroughs that could redefine the future of superconductivity and electronics.
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07589-5
Credit: mit.edu – MIT Materials Research Laboratory