Project description
Untangling the mechanism of higher-temperature superconductivity
Superconductivity – the ability of certain materials to conduct electric current with practically zero resistance – is deemed to be the result of two electrons bonding instead of repelling each other in extremely low temperatures. In a previous study, the EU-funded PairNoise project showed electron pairs can also appear when the material is slightly less cold – above the superconductivity temperature – and does not act as a semiconductor. To further study this phenomenon, PairNoise now aims to build a radically new electron pair microscope combining scanning tunnelling microscopy and shot-noise spectroscopy. With this instrument, researchers will also determine whether some of the most mysterious properties of quantum materials originate from pairing and find what limits superconductivity at even higher temperatures.
Objective
My aim with this proposal is to develop an electron pair microscope that can locally detect electron pairs without superconductivity, and to leverage this information to gain unprecedented understanding into quantum materials.
The electronic properties of most materials, including metals and insulators, are underpinned by single electrons. Superconductors are a notable exception: here, the charge carriers are electron pairs. It has been proposed, in order to explain quantum materials mysterious and potentially useful properties, that electron pairs exist without superconductivity and underpin the properties of materials that are not superconducting. Indeed, tantalizing signatures of electron pairs have been reported in high-temperature and disordered superconductors above their transition temperature Tc. However, experimental evidence of such electron pairing is highly disputed and controversial, because there exists currently no experimental probe to locally distinguish electron pairs without superconductivity from single electrons.
With PairNoise, I will develop and build a radically new electron pair microscope based on a unique proof-of-concept instrument developed in my group that can unambiguously detect electron pairs with atomic resolution. It combines scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), microfabrication, and shot-noise spectroscopy. With the electron pair microscope, I will determine the nature of the state above Tc in the most interesting superconductors, conclusively determine whether the pseudogap is due to pairing, and find what limits superconductivity at even higher temperatures in quantum materials.
My track record of developing first-of-its-kind STM instruments, and their successful utilization for scientific progress, perfectly positions me to make PairNoise a success and to open up a new research field with further applications in the detection of fractional charges, Majorana modes, and dynamical processes.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics superconductivity
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2021-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.