Superconductivity

In two-dimensional tungsten ditelluride, two different states of matter — topological insulator and superconductor — can be chosen at will, MIT researchers discovered.

First two-dimensional material that performs as both topological insulator and superconductor

MIT researchers have demonstrated that a tungsten ditelluride-based transistor combines two different electronic states of matter.

October 31, 2018

Physicists at MIT and Harvard University have found that graphene, a lacy, honeycomb-like sheet of carbon atoms, can behave at two electrical extremes: as an insulator, in which electrons are completely blocked from flowing; and as a superconductor, in which electrical current can stream through without resistance.

Insulator or superconductor? Physicists find graphene is both

When rotated at a "magic angle," graphene sheets can form an insulator or a superconductor.

March 5, 2018

Physicists at MIT and Harvard University have demonstrated a new way to manipulate quantum bits of matter. The researchers report using a system of finely tuned lasers to first trap and then tweak the interactions of 51 individual atoms, or quantum bits.

Scientists demonstrate one of largest quantum simulators yet, with 51 atoms

New technique manipulates atoms into antiferromagnetic state.

November 29, 2017

Scientists at MIT have found a way to visualize electron behavior beneath a material’s surface. The team’s technique is based on quantum mechanical tunneling, a process by which electrons can traverse energetic barriers by simply appearing on the other side. In this image, researchers show the measured tunneling spectra at various densities, with high measurements in red.

A new window into electron behavior

Scientists invent technique to map energy and momentum of electrons beneath a material’s surface.

November 16, 2017

Assistant Professor Zach Hartwig joined the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering faculty this year after almost a decade of doctoral and postdoc work at MIT.

Zach Hartwig: Applying diverse skills in pursuit of a fusion breakthrough

Newly-appointed Assistant Professor Zach Hartwig's mission is to use nuclear technology to benefit society and the environment.

May 22, 2017

“My upbringing fostered the desire to tackle big problems that have a global impact," says MIT grad student Julien Barber. "Fusion fits the bill of a global remedy for both energy needs and some environmental problems. It’s trying to change the game.”

Julien Barber: Protecting magnets and the environment

Master's candidate explores ways to cool high-temperature superconductors used in fusion research.

March 27, 2017

MIT professor of physics Senthil Todadri seeks to understand unusual metals that defy the textbook description. “We’ve been making slow but steady progress, not just I, myself, but the community as a whole, but I would really like that progress to accelerate,” he says.

Faculty highlight: Senthil Todadri

A quest to understand superconductivity leads MIT theoretical physicist Senthil Todadri to discoveries about new magnetic materials called quantum spin liquids.

February 6, 2017

MIT postdoc Jörn Venderbos (left) and graduate student Vladyslav Kozii co-authored a new paper with Biedenharn Career Development Assistant Professor of Physics Liang Fu proposing that a class of superconducting materials can host Majorana fermions near absolute zero, and their existence can be verified using nuclear magnetic resonance.

Majorana fermions predicted in a superconducting material

MIT researchers propose a new method for verifying the existence of a theoretical quasiparticle.

December 21, 2016

Arthur Freeman, first associate director of National Magnet Laboratory, dies at 86

June 17, 2016

Arrows indicate the spin direction in the ferromagnetic insulator (EuS, shown in red) and topological insulator (Bi2Se3, shown in blue) at the interface between the two materials.

Researchers find unexpected magnetic effect

Combining two thin-film materials yields surprising room-temperature magnetism.

May 9, 2016

MIT postdoc Cui-Zu Chang works with equipment that can monitor topological insulator thin-film quality as it grows. The bright green vertical bar on computer screen is an indicator of very high-quality film growth. Chang led work in the Moodera group showing the first zero-resistance edge state in a circuit.

Achieving zero resistance in energy flow

MIT postdoc Cui-Zu Chang makes a spintronic breakthrough in the Moodera group.

May 6, 2016

MIT Senior Research Scientist Jagadeesh Moodera stands in front of a custom-built system used to fabricate ultrathin films. His work includes devices that exhibit resistance-free, spin-polarized electrical current; enabling memory storage at the level of single molecules; and the search for the elusive Majorana fermions sought for quantum computing.

Research highlight: Jagadeesh Moodera

Step-by-step, the Moodera Research Group is building the essential knowledge and hardware for next-generation quantum computers.

April 29, 2016

Crunching quantum code

MIT physics graduate student Sagar Vijay co-develops error correction method for quantum computing based on special electronic states called Majorana fermions.

February 12, 2016

MIT assistant professor of physics Liang Fu seeks to identify new materials that can process and store quantum information robustly.

Faculty highlight: Liang Fu

MIT theoretical physicist’s research bridges abstract math and exotic computing materials.

February 3, 2016

Atoms of niobium and nitrogen in an ultrathin superconducting film that helped MIT researchers discover a universal law of superconductivity.

New law for superconductors

Mathematical description of relationship between thickness, temperature, and resistivity could spur advances.

December 16, 2014

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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