Future electronic technologies depend on the discovery of unique materials. However, sometimes the naturally formed topology of atoms makes it difficult to produce new physical effects. To solve this problem, scientists at the University of Zurich have now succeeded in engineering superconductors one atom at a time, creating new states of matter.


Researchers have successfully created a new type of superconductor by arranging it one atom at a time, which could lead to the development of innovative materials and advances in quantum computing. This research provides a feasible way to overcome the limitations of natural materials, paving the way for novel states of matter in future electronics and computing technologies.

What will the computer of the future look like? How will it work? Finding answers to these questions is a major driver of fundamental physics research. There are several possible scenarios, from further developments in classical electronics to neuromorphic computing and quantum computers.

What all these approaches have in common is that they are based on novel physical effects, some of which have so far only been predicted theoretically. Researchers are working tirelessly to find new quantum materials using state-of-the-art equipment in order to create this effect. But what if there is no suitable material that occurs naturally?

In a recent study published in Nature Physics, UZH Professor Titus Neupert's research group worked closely with physicists at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle, Germany, to propose a possible solution. The researchers create the required materials themselves atom by atom.

Their research focuses on new types of superconductors, which are particularly interesting because they have zero resistance at low temperatures. Superconductors, sometimes called "ideal magnets," are used in many quantum computers due to their extraordinary interactions with magnetic fields. Theoretical physicists have spent years studying and predicting various superconducting states. "However, so far only a few superconducting states have been confirmed in materials," Professor Neupert said.

In their exciting collaboration, Harvard researchers theoretically predicted how atoms should be arranged to create new superconducting phases, and the German team then conducted experiments to achieve the relevant topologies. They used scanning tunneling microscopy to move and deposit atoms into the correct location with atomic precision.

The same method is also used to measure the magnetic and superconducting properties of the system. By depositing chromium atoms on the surface of superconducting niobium, the researchers created two new types of superconductivity. Similar methods have been used to manipulate metal atoms and molecules before, but until now, it has not been possible to create two-dimensional superconductors.

The results not only confirmed the physicists' theoretical predictions, but also gave them reason to speculate about what other new states of matter could be created using this method and how they might be used in future quantum computers.