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Scientists discover new way to achieve superconductivity at high temperatures

  • August 16, 2024
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Scientists from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University and other institutions have made a significant discovery in the field of superconductors. The researchers discovered that a key property

Scientists discover new way to achieve superconductivity at high temperatures

Scientists from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University and other institutions have made a significant discovery in the field of superconductors. The researchers discovered that a key property of a superconductor—electron pairing—occurs at much higher temperatures than previously thought and in a material where it would be least expected: an antiferromagnetic insulator.


Superconductors are special materials that allow electricity to pass through them without losing energy. They have enormous potential for applications in a variety of areas, from computers to cell phones to power grids to transportation. However, superconductors generally only work at extremely low temperatures, limiting their practical applications.

In the study, scientists observed electrons in the intermediate stage. The discovery suggests that ways could be found to turn similar materials into superconductors that operate at higher temperatures.

“The electron pairs appear ready to superconduct, but something is stopping them. If we can find a new method to synchronize the pairs, we could possibly apply this to create higher-temperature superconductors,” said Ke-Jun Xu, a Stanford graduate student in applied physics and co-author of the paper.

The scientists chose the cuprate family, which has not been studied in depth, because its maximum superconductivity temperature is relatively low (25 Kelvin) compared to other cuprates. However, the researchers found that electron pairing in this material persists up to 150 Kelvin, suggesting that electrons pair at much higher temperatures than the zero resistance state of around 25 Kelvin.

Cuprates are a class of chemical compounds containing copper (Cu) ions in the +2 or +3 oxidation state. Typically, cuprates are oxides of copper combined with other elements such as oxygen, aluminum, calcium, etc. In the context of superconductivity, cuprates are a special class of materials that can exhibit superconducting properties under certain conditions. Cuprate superconductors often contain layers of copper ions sandwiched between layers of other elements and can have different crystal structures. They were discovered in 1986 and quickly attracted the attention of researchers due to their potential to create high-temperature superconductors.

“Our results open a new avenue. We plan to study this gap in pair interactions in the future to help design superconductors using new techniques,” said Zhi-Xun Shen, a Stanford professor and researcher at the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences (SIMES), who led the study.

This discovery could be of great importance for the development of superconductors that operate at high temperatures, which could revolutionize many areas of science and technology.


Source: Port Altele

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