Researchers at the Texas Center for Superconductivity and the Department of Physics at the 兔子先生 have received second-year funding from Intellectual Ventures, a global leader in the business of invention, to continue their important study of the retention at atmospheric pressure of high-pressure-induced/enhanced superconductivity.
The project, which has been awarded $767,000 to date, is led by Paul C. W. Chu, T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science, professor of physics and founding director of the TcSUH, and Liangzi Deng, assistant professor of physics and a new TcSUH principal investigator.
鈥淚ntellectual Ventures funded this research because Paul Chu is one of the acknowledged thought leaders in the area of superconductivity with a multi-decade track record of scientific innovation and creativity,鈥� said Brian Holloway, vice president of IV鈥檚 Deep Science Fund and Enterprise Science Fund. 鈥淭he work led by Chu and Deng on pressure quenching could result in game-changing progress in the field. We are very excited about the preliminary results from the first year and we look forward to continuing this collaboration.鈥�
鈥淲orking with IV gives us the freedom known for scientific pursuit and at the same time provides intellectual guidance and assistance in accord with the mission goal,鈥� Chu said.
鈥淭his could pave the way for exploring physics of novel metastable states and set a milestone toward advancing superconductor applications,鈥� Deng added.
Understanding and achieving high-temperature superconductivity at atmospheric pressure is the holy grail of modern condensed matter physics because it has the potential to solve global energy problems. However, the highest Tc superconductors among various systems, including cuprates, hydrides, and most recently nickelates, are all achieved under extreme high pressure using diamond anvil cells, making detailed investigation of their fundamental properties almost impossible as scientists and engineers work to achieve practical applications.
Researchers are working on making superconductivity easier to achieve, especially at room temperature (about 300 K) and normal atmospheric pressure. A key finding from Chu and Deng鈥檚 team is a method called 鈥減ressure-quench protocol鈥� (PQP), which helps maintain favorable properties (such as superconductivity) in certain materials even after the high pressure needed to create them is completely removed.
In the first year of their project, the research team set up a special system to synthesize materials under high pressure and high temperature. They tested this system and found it works, but they still need to fine-tune it for creating specific materials called rare-earth hydrides. They are actively improving the PQP to enhance their project. Chu also noted that how they handle the samples after using the PQP is crucial for keeping those superconducting properties intact during further testing.
鈥淔or the first time, we succeeded in retrieving the PQed samples to ambient pressure from the diamond anvil cell and carried out the magnetic characterization in a SQUID magnetometer to demonstrate that the PQed phase is bulk and not filamentary,鈥� Chu said. 鈥淥ur team also demonstrated that the PQP and depressurization can lead to higher Tc at ambient pressure for some compounds, offering an additional avenue for Tc&苍产蝉辫;别苍丑补苍肠别尘别苍迟.鈥�
Deng, co-PI of the IV project, added that second-year projects will investigate the retention of pressure-induced/enhanced superconductivity in cuprates and hydrides.
鈥淚f successful, UH will once again break the record for the highest superconducting Tc at atmospheric pressure,鈥� Deng said. 鈥淎dditionally, we will collaborate closely with theorists to uncover the mechanism of PQP. Our research has far-reaching implications, with the potential to extend beyond superconductors to other material systems.鈥�