https://phys.org/physics-news/superconductivity/ en-us The latest news on superconductivity Superconductors—materials that can conduct electricity without energy loss—are crucial for next-generation high-efficiency, ultrafast electronics. However, most superconductors share a critical limitation: they lose their superconducting properties in strong magnetic fields. In contrast, a class of superconductors containing heavy elements can sustain an unusual type of superconductivity in magnetic fields beyond the conventional limit. Now, new research has demonstrated that this limitation can be overcome by sandwiching atomically thin films of a lightweight element called gallium between two other materials to engineer quantum interactions at the interfaces between the layers. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-unusual-superconductivity-lightweight-element.html Superconductivity Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:00:03 EDT news695304894 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 published in the journal Nature Physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tiny-synthetic-diamond-superconductivity-route.html Condensed Matter Mon, 13 Apr 2026 15:40:05 EDT news695304421 A team of researchers has identified atomic distortions that may be linked with high-temperature superconductivity in a promising class of nickel-based materials, offering new insight into how next-generation superconductors might be designed. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-atomic-distortions-reveal-clues-superconductivity.html Condensed Matter Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:00:04 EDT news694354637 Superconductivity—the ability of a material to conduct electricity without any energy loss to heat—enables highly efficient, ultra-fast electronics essential for advanced technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, particle accelerators and, potentially, quantum computers. New research has now revealed that iron telluride (FeTe), a compound composed of the chemical elements iron and tellurium and long thought to be an ordinary magnetic metal, is in fact a superconductor. The researchers found that hidden excess iron atoms induce the material's magnetism, and removing these atoms allows electricity to flow with zero resistance. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-superconductivity-material-thought-magnetic.html Condensed Matter Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:40:01 EDT news694263182 Quantum computers, systems that process information leveraging quantum mechanical effects, could outperform classical computers on some advanced tasks. These systems rely on qubits, the fundamental units of quantum information, that become linked via an effect known as quantum entanglement and share a unified quantum state. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-dual-rail-superconducting-qubits-generate.html Superconductivity Thu, 26 Mar 2026 08:10:01 EDT news693652193 Superconductors are materials that conduct electricity with an electrical resistance of zero. Superconductivity is generally observed when materials are cooled down to extremely low temperatures. In some cases, however, like in so-called high-temperature superconductors, this property emerges at higher temperatures. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-spinel-crystal-unusual-pressure-superconductivity.html Condensed Matter Tue, 24 Mar 2026 08:00:07 EDT news693479340 A tiny crystal chip which uses terahertz radiation to see clearly through a wide range of materials could find applications in health care, biological research, and security screening. Researchers from Scotland and Japan have developed a lightweight superconducting chip, which they say could unlock the full potential of terahertz imaging technologies and lead to the development of more powerful and portable devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-superconducting-chip-generates-tunable-terahertz.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:10:07 EDT news693495781 Quantum computers, computing systems that process information using quantum mechanical effects, could outperform classical computers on some computational tasks. These computers rely on qubits, the basic units of quantum information, which can exist in multiple states (0, 1 or both simultaneously), due to quantum effects known as superposition and entanglement. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-superconducting-quantum-processor-significantly-wiring.html Superconductivity Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:30:01 EDT news693234189 Researchers have proposed that a newly identified class of magnetic materials could extend the zero-resistance currents of superconductors to electron spins. Publishing their calculations in Physical Review X, Kyle Monkman and colleagues at the University of British Columbia propose how "altermagnets" could enable persistent spin currents to flow without dissipation. If confirmed experimentally, the effect could provide a powerful new platform for spintronics, where information is encoded in spin rather than electric charge. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-superconducting-altermagnets-energy-loss.html Condensed Matter Sat, 21 Mar 2026 12:00:02 EDT news693045824 For more than a century, condensed matter physics has grappled with one of its greatest unsolved challenges: how to build superconductors that operate at room temperature and transmit electricity with no loss. Now, in a paper published in Nature, a team of Harvard physicists has reported new insights into why one promising superconductor has yielded mysteriously uneven results. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-window-superconductivity-reimagining-classic-tool.html Condensed Matter Fri, 20 Mar 2026 19:00:01 EDT news693228425 Quantum communication systems are emerging solutions to transmit information between devices in a network leveraging quantum mechanical phenomena, such as entanglement. Entanglement is a quantum effect that entails a link between two or more particles that share a unified state even at a distance, so that measuring one instantly affects the other. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-microwave-quantum-network-resilience-disturbances.html Superconductivity Wed, 18 Mar 2026 07:40:02 EDT news692963544 Superconducting materials could play a crucial role in the energy-efficient applications of the future. However, several technical challenges still stand in the way of their practical use. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed a new material design that addresses a major obstacle in the field: enabling superconductivity to operate at higher temperatures while also withstanding strong magnetic fields. This breakthrough could pave the way for far more energy-efficient electronics and quantum technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-superconductor-advancement-ultra-energy-efficient.html Superconductivity Tue, 17 Mar 2026 12:20:03 EDT news692966521 Researchers from the Texas Center for Superconductivity (TcSUH) and the department of physics at the University of Houston have broken the temperature record for superconductivity at ambient pressure—a breakthrough that could eventually lead to more efficient ways to generate, transmit, and store energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ceramic-shatters-longstanding-high-temperature.html Condensed Matter Sun, 15 Mar 2026 12:00:01 EDT news692362507 When we think of powerful magnets used in particle accelerators or for NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), we often envision bulky machines, sometimes the size of buildings. But in an extraordinary breakthrough for physics, scientists at ETH Zurich have created magnets that are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand yet powerful enough to rival some of the world's most powerful magnets. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-palm-sized-superconducting-magnet-tesla.html Condensed Matter Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:20:01 EDT news692527581 Electron movement and structures described in quantum physics allow researchers to better understand how and why materials like superconductors behave as they do. Rice University researchers Jianwei Huang and Ming Yi have developed a new capability, magnetoARPES, building on angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) that allows researchers to study quantum behaviors they have been unable to resolve using ARPES alone. The work has been published in Nature Physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-quantum-behavior-action-magnetoarpes-reveals.html Superconductivity Wed, 11 Mar 2026 06:00:03 EDT news692367301 The search for materials that can conduct electricity at room temperature without losing energy is one of the greatest and most consequential challenges of modern physics: loss-free power transmission, more efficient motors and generators, more powerful quantum computers, cheaper MRI devices. Hardly any other material discovery has the potential to change so many areas of technology and everyday life at the same time. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-room-temperature-superconductor-scientists-agenda.html Superconductivity Mon, 09 Mar 2026 18:00:03 EDT news692288462 For the first time, physicists have demonstrated that a material's superconductivity can be altered by coupling it to an in-built, light-confining cavity. In experiments published in Nature, a team led by Itai Keren at Columbia University show how quantum properties can be deliberately engineered by bonding carefully chosen materials together—without applying any external light, pressure, or magnetic field. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-superconductivity-built-confining-cavity.html Superconductivity Sun, 08 Mar 2026 18:00:02 EDT news691410808 Superconductivity is a quantum state of matter characterized by an electrical resistance of zero and the expulsion of magnetic fields at low temperatures below a critical point. Superconductors, materials in which this state occurs, have proved to be highly advantageous for the development of various technologies, including medical imaging devices, particle accelerators and quantum computers. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-superconducting-dome-hints-high-temperature.html Condensed Matter Sat, 07 Mar 2026 12:10:01 EST news691940206 Physicists in China have unveiled new clues to the origins of high-temperature superconductivity in an iron-based material just a single unit-cell thick. Led by Qi-Kun Xue and Lili Wang at Tsinghua University, the team's experiments show that the effect emerges through a striking dichotomy between two atomic "sublattices" in the material—offering deeper insight into how superconductivity arises. Their results are published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-hidden-atomic-dichotomy-superconductivity-ultra.html Superconductivity Tue, 03 Mar 2026 08:10:01 EST news691669418 The world is never really at rest. Even in a vacuum near ultracold temperatures where all classical motion should come to a halt, you'll find quantum fluctuations. In thin, two-dimensional materials, these include random vibrations that can alter electromagnetic fields, a feature that theorists have posited could be quite useful for modifying materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-vibrations-superconductivity-nearby-crystal.html Superconductivity Thu, 26 Feb 2026 18:10:01 EST news691348741 Many physicists are searching for a triplet superconductor. Indeed, we could all do with one, although we may not know it yet—or understand why. Triplet superconductors could be the key to achieving the most energy-efficient technology in the future. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-triplet-superconductivity-physicists-link-quantum.html Superconductivity Thu, 19 Feb 2026 12:40:01 EST news690724882 The low-noise, high-gain properties needed for high-performance quantum computing can be realized in a microwave photonic circuit device called a Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifier (JTWPA), RIKEN researchers have shown experimentally. This advance stands to speed up development of superconducting quantum computer systems at the 100-qubit scale. The work is published in the journal Physical Review Applied. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-amplifier-noise-gain-quantum.html Superconductivity Tue, 17 Feb 2026 11:00:26 EST news690548401 Two or more graphene layers that are stacked with a small twist angle in relation to each other form a so-called moiré lattice. This characteristic pattern influences the movement of electrons inside materials, which can give rise to strongly correlated states, such as superconductivity. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-strong-superconductivity-supermoir-lattice.html Condensed Matter Sun, 15 Feb 2026 13:00:03 EST news689952122 Quantum materials and superconductors are difficult enough to understand on their own. Unconventional superconductors, which cannot be explained within the framework of standard theory, take the enigma to an entirely new level. A typical example of unconventional superconductivity is strontium ruthenate, SRO214, the superconductive properties of which were discovered by a research team that included Yoshiteru Maeno, who is currently at the Toyota Riken—Kyoto University Research Center. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-muon-knight-shift-reveals-behavior.html Condensed Matter Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:20:06 EST news689867457 Two-dimensional (2D) materials, in general, allow the realization of unique quantum phenomena unattainable in the common three-dimensional (3D) world. A prime example is graphene. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have a similar structure. Both can be stacked to form van der Waals heterostructures or can be exfoliated into single layers. But TMDs have an extra variety of excellent properties, including strong spin-orbit coupling and superconductivity. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-broken-inversion-symmetry-3d-crystals.html Condensed Matter Fri, 06 Feb 2026 15:00:01 EST news689603688 Today's most powerful computers hit a wall when tackling certain problems, from designing new drugs to cracking encryption codes. Error-free quantum computers promise to overcome those challenges, but building them requires materials with exotic properties of topological superconductors that are incredibly difficult to produce. Now, researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) and West Virginia University have found a way to tune these materials into existence by simply tweaking a chemical recipe, resulting in a change in many-electron interactions. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-tuning-topological-superconductors-adjusting-ratio.html Superconductivity Thu, 05 Feb 2026 17:07:43 EST news689533621 How exactly unconventional superconductivity arises is one of the central questions of modern solid-state physics. A new study published in the journal Nature provides crucial insights into this question. For the first time, an international research team was able to demonstrate a direct microscopic connection between a strongly correlated normal state and superconductivity in so-called moiré materials. In the long term, these findings could contribute to the development of new quantum materials and superconductors for future quantum technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-superconductivity-insights-moir-materials.html Condensed Matter Thu, 05 Feb 2026 10:44:53 EST news689510642 You can tell a lot about a material based on the type of light shining at it: Optical light illuminates a material's surface, while X-rays reveal its internal structures and infrared captures a material's radiating heat. Now, MIT physicists have used terahertz light to reveal inherent, quantum vibrations in a superconducting material, which have not been observable until now. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-terahertz-microscope-reveals-motion-superconducting.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 04 Feb 2026 11:00:06 EST news689415002 How are superconductivity and magnetism connected? A puzzling relation between magnetism and superconductivity in a quantum material has lingered for decades—now, a study from TU Wien offers a surprising new explanation. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-superconductivity-exposes-altermagnetism-symmetries.html Condensed Matter Tue, 03 Feb 2026 09:13:39 EST news689332382 When cooled to its superconducting state, niobium blocks the radiative flow of heat 20 times better than when in its metallic state, according to a study led by a University of Michigan Engineering team. The experiment marks the first use of superconductivity—a quantum property characterized by zero electrical resistance—to control thermal radiation at the nanoscale. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-niobium-superconducting-field.html Superconductivity Tue, 03 Feb 2026 07:46:05 EST news689326683