This award from the Condensed Matter Physics program of the Division of Materials Research supports the University of Indiana at Urbana Champaign with a project to determine the fundamental mechanisms behind exotic superconductors. These are materials that exhibit zero electrical resistance, but whose properties are poorly understood. This work will resolve current controversies regarding the properties of exotic superconductors and reveal new physics, thereby laying the groundwork for utilizing exotic superconductors in applications. The collaborative structure of the research will provide a rich environment for training undergraduates and graduate students in a broad spectrum of nanotechnology-related work. Educational aspects will be further integrated through the development of courses directly related to the proposed research and through research-related seminars and workshops that target women and underrepresented minorities.
TECHNICAL
The goal of this project is to determine the symmetry and transport properties of superconducting materials suspected of exhibiting unconventional pairing symmetry. The aim is to both gain key insight into complex superconducting systems and also to lay the groundwork for utilizing novel excitation modes in devices. The focus will be on new classes of materials whose superconductivity is likely to be unconventional, but whose pairing symmetry has not been verified and whose transport is poorly understood: specifically, proximity-coupled topological insulators (possibly complex p-wave), topological superconductors (possibly complex p-wave), and doped dichalcogenides (unknown symmetry). A suite of complementary experimental techniques will be used to optimally probe superconductivity, including: phase-sensitive Josephson interferometery, tunneling spectroscopy, low-temperature transport, nano-patterned proximity-coupling, and strong chemical or ionic doping. This work will resolve controversies regarding the order parameter symmetry of exotic superconductors and reveal new physics, such as the existence of Majorana modes in superconducting topological systems or the nature of the dome-shaped superconducting phase diagram in doped MoS2. The collaborative structure of the research will provide a rich environment for training undergraduates and graduate students in a broad spectrum of nanotechnology-related work. Educational aspects will be further integrated through the development of courses directly related to the proposed research and through research-related seminars and workshops that target women and underrepresented minorities.
