Project description
New research on graphene towards room-temperature superconductors
Ever since the discovery of graphene, scientists have been fascinated with the strange, two-dimensional lattice of pure carbon and the new physics it holds. Recent groundbreaking studies showed that twisted bilayer graphene can exhibit alternating superconducting and insulating regions at room temperature. But how that happens remains a mystery: once it has been solved, the information could potentially help scientists engineer materials that conduct electricity with zero resistance near room temperature. The EU-funded SuperTwist project will help piece together the puzzle of graphene’s unconventional superconductivity by experimentally revealing its defining aspect, known as the superconducting order parameter. Since no single experimental method can define this complex quantity, the project will combine expertise from different disciplines including material science and metrology.
Objective
It is widely believed that the development of room temperature superconductivity is one of biggest challenges of modern physics and will lead to a technological revolution. However, a detailed understanding of how high temperature superconductivity arises in unconventional superconductors has to this day eluded scientists. This year, in a breakthrough discovery, scientists have found superconductivity in a radically new compound, which has a strikingly similar phenomenology to most unconventional superconductors – “magic” angle bilayer graphene. As graphene crystals are ultra-clean, highly tuneable and its parent state is well understood, I strongly believe that the study of these compounds will cause a long awaited revolution in the comprehension of unconventional superconductivity.
In this project I will uncover the nature of superconductivity in “magic” angle graphene, by experimentally revealing its defining aspect – the superconducting order parameter. While no experimental method alone can definitely define the order parameter and since key experimental techniques are unavailable for these truly nano-scale materials, I will implement a radically new, multidisciplinary approach between material science and the development of disruptive measurement techniques. To achieve this ambitious goal, my truly unique background is essential, which includes van der Waals engineering, quantum transport, microwave engineering and quantum optics. I will employ these versatile skills to (i) develop robust procedures to engineer novel van der Waals hetero-structures of “magic” angle graphene to manipulate its phonons, impurities and magnetic correlations, (ii) perform Josephson interferometry and tunnelling experiments to
investigate its macroscopic phase, spin state and excitation spectrum, (iii) develop novel thermal transport and specific heat techniques to investigate the size and nodal structure of its superconducting gap.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materialstwo-dimensional nanostructuresgraphene
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesatomic physics
- social sciencespolitical sciencespolitical transitionsrevolutions
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesquantum physicsquantum optics
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronicssuperconductivity
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-STG - Starting GrantHost institution
80539 Muenchen
Germany