Superconducting Quantum Metamaterials from Convergence of Soft and Hard Condensed Matter Science

Published

May 16, 2021

Author(s)

Peter A. Beaucage, R. Bruce van Dover, Francis J DiSalvo, Sol M. Gruner, Ulrich Wiesner

Abstract

Superconducting quantum metamaterials are expected to exhibit a variety of novel properties, but have been a major challenge to prepare as a result of the lack of appropriate synthetic routes to high-quality materials. Here, the discovery of synthesis routes to block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly-directed niobium nitrides and carbonitrides is described. The resulting materials exhibit unusual structure retention even at temperatures as high as 1000 °C and resulting critical temperature, Tc, values comparable to their bulk analogues. Applying the concepts of soft matter self-assembly, it is demonstrated that a series of four different BCP-directed mesostructured superconductors are accessible from a single triblock terpolymer. Resulting materials display a mesostructure-dependent Tc without substantial variation of the XRD-measured lattice parameters. Finally, field-dependent magnetization measurements of a sample with double-gyroid morphology show abrupt jumps comparable in overall behavior to flux avalanches. Results suggest a fruitful convergence of soft and hard condensed matter science.

Citation

Advanced Materials

Volume

33

Issue

25

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202006975

Local Download

Citation

Beaucage, P. , , R. , , F. , Gruner, S. and Wiesner, U. (2021), Superconducting Quantum Metamaterials from Convergence of Soft and Hard Condensed Matter Science, Advanced Materials, [online], https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202006975, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=931154 (Accessed October 22, 2025)