A look into one of our laboratories for physical characterization showing instruments for the measurement of magnetic properties, electrical and thermal transport properties, specific heat capacity etc at low temperatures and in high magnetic fields

Superconductivity - W. Schnelle

Superconductivity – the complete loss of electrical resistance of a material below a certain temperature Tc – has fascinated researchers ever since. The long-standing rule that superconductivity occurs only in compounds of non-magnetic elements has been shattered. Oxo-cuprate with Tc as high as 150K and iron pnictide and chalcogenide superconductors may reach their high Tc thanks to magnetic exitations. Materials in which superconductivity is due to the coupling of electrons to lattice vibrations (treated within the BCS theory) have been thought to reach only lower Tc. Theoretical predictions of new superconductors have not been completely reliable until now.

At the left please find links to pages describing the investigated superconducting systems in detail. A short overview is given in our report (pdf). Recent results on superconductivity of transition-metal dichalcogenides, especially of the proposed Weyl-semimetal MoTe2, are reported here (pdf).

The continuous production of new materials at MPI-CPfS has called for a strategy to discover new phenomena and also superconductivity. The materials are initially screened and then investigated in detail in our physical characterization facilities.

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