Holy Grail of material science: how did MIT scientists achieve superconductivity? Details here

Getting superconductivity that promises zero resistance to electricity at room temperature continues to be the 'holy grail' of material science. It can be achieved technically by moving electrons as efficiently as possible. This is called improving electron mobility. The scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made a breakthrough in the field but in a different way. They have increased the electron mobility or reduced the resistance to electricity by creating a thin film atom by atom using molecular beam epitaxy to lower the material’s number of impurities and defects.

MIT Scientists Increase Electron Mobility

Experts have said that it could prove to be a game-changer for thermoelectric devices and spintronic applications. According to the research paper published in 'Materials Today Physics', MIT scientists succeeded in making a ternary tetradymite only 100 nanometers thick, but it has exceeded the electron mobility to a level not achieved so far.

Holy Grail of material science

In a press statement, MIT’s Jagadeesh Moodera, a co-author of the study, said that earlier what people had achieved in the field of electron mobility was like traffic on a road under construction, you’re backed up, you can’t drive, it’s dusty, and it’s a mess. He added that in the new material, it was like driving on the Mass Pike with no traffic.

MIT researchers make a crystalline structure

Adopting a new method, the MIT researchers built a crystalline structure one atom at a time. They fired atoms onto a substrate in a vacuum under controlled temperatures. By his method, they made a ternary tetradymite film with little to no impurities. But the moot question was whether by making this film they have increased the electron mobility in real terms.

The experts of material science have said that this Tbreakthrough can be a game-changer for thermoelectric devices that convert waste heat into energy or spintronic applications, which process information using an electron’s spin.

FAQs

What is superconductivity?

Superconductivity is a set of physical properties where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic fields are expelled from the material. Any material exhibiting these properties is a superconductor.

How can superconductivity be achieved?

A material can be made superconductor by increasing electronic mobility and reducing resistance to electricity.