Superconducting field effect

Can an electric field transform a superconductor material into a normal metal? Yes, it can: this is the result of a collaboration between the SPIN institute, Nano-CNR and NEST institute in Pisa.

This discovery was unexpected, as the common belief was that standard superconductors should behave as metals and completely screen external electric fields. On the contrary, the team of researchers has discovered that when a strong electric field is applied to a superconductor wire the critical current is suppressed and the superconductor-to-normal metal transition is induced.

This discovery has important implications. On a fundamental level, we have now achieved a deeper understanding about how superconductors interact with, and are influenced by electric fields. At the same time, the discovery paves the way to the development of a new generation of devices (such as a superconducting field effect transistor), with a vast range of applications from superconducting electronics to quantum technologies.

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Scientific References

Nature

Nano Letters


Popular references

La repubblica

Nature electronics

Physics world

CNR

TG3 Liguria

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