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Conducting Electricity Without Loss Superconductor Satisfies Data Centers' Hunger for Energy

Source: Press release Chalmers University of Technology | Translated by AI 3 min Reading Time

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Superconducting materials could play a decisive role in energy-efficient applications in the future—if a few hurdles are overcome. A material concept has now been developed that enables superconductivity at higher temperatures while withstanding strong magnetic fields.

The concept image illustrates how the pattern of tiny protrusions and depressions created on the substrate (MgO, bottom) controls the arrangement of atoms in the superconducting material (YBCO, top). At the interface between the two layers, an electronic structure enables superconductivity to occur at higher temperatures than previously possible.(Image: Chalmers University of Technology / Riccardo Arpaia)
The concept image illustrates how the pattern of tiny protrusions and depressions created on the substrate (MgO, bottom) controls the arrangement of atoms in the superconducting material (YBCO, top). At the interface between the two layers, an electronic structure enables superconductivity to occur at higher temperatures than previously possible.
(Image: Chalmers University of Technology / Riccardo Arpaia)

Digital devices, data centers and information and communication technology networks currently account for around 6 to 12 percent of global electricity consumption. There is therefore a growing need for more energy-efficient electronics. Superconducting materials have proven to be a promising solution here; superconductors can conduct electricity without any loss of energy. They therefore have the potential to make power grids, electronics and quantum technologies many times more energy efficient.

A new high-temperature superconductor developed by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) transports electricity without electrical resistance and retains its superconducting properties even in a magnetic field. Normally, superconductivity breaks down abruptly in such a case. The power consumption then increases just as suddenly, causing the power grid to collapse in extreme cases. The solution is particularly interesting for data centers, which already consume up to twelve percent of the electricity produced worldwide.

Countless Material Combinations Without Breakthrough

However, this does not solve the problem that superconductivity, even that which has the attribute of high-temperature conductivity, only works at temperatures far below -148 °F. A great deal of energy is required to reach these extremely low temperatures, which partially negates the savings due to the superconductivity effect.

In the search for material combinations that enable superconductivity at higher temperatures—ideally room temperature—researchers around the world have tried countless compounds without achieving their goal. Nor have they been able to break the materials' intolerance to magnetic fields.

Established Material As A Basis

Instead of testing new combinations of materials, Floriana Lombardi and her team started with an established copper oxide-based material that belongs to the cuprate family. Cuprates are well-known superconductors that function at relatively high temperatures between minus 220 °F and -321 °F.

Their "guinea pig" was a cuprate that was only a few nanometers thick. However, in order to use this extremely thin material as a conductor of electricity, it must be deposited on a substrate that forms the necessary basis for growth, as the Swedish scientists report in their publication in "Nature".

Lombardi has chosen a substrate with a specially structured surface. This acts as a control element for the deposition of individual molecules. They do not form a flat surface, but waves. "Since the atoms in the substrate are arranged in a certain pattern, they can 'steer' the arrangement of the atoms in the superconducting layer," adds physicist Eric Wahlberg from the RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. By changing the surface structure of the substrate, we were able to influence the superconducting properties and ensure that they were maintained even at higher temperatures and under the influence of strong magnetic fields."

New Design Principle for Future Superconductors

With this breakthrough, the researchers present a new design principle for the development of superconducting materials that could potentially work at much higher temperatures in the future, perhaps even close to room temperature. "Instead of looking for new materials or changing the chemical properties of existing materials, we show how superconductivity can be improved through the design of the substrate," says Lombardi.

These results pave the way for practical applications of superconductors in energy-efficient electronics, next-generation quantum components and technologies that require strong magnetic fields. "This shows that very small changes at the nanoscale can have a decisive impact and may even unlock the full potential of superconductivity in the electronics of the future," Lombardi is certain.

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