Research Funding: SEK 24 million from Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
Annica Black-Schaffer at the Department of Physics and Astronomy is co-applicant in the project Quantum geometry and flat bands towards room temperature superconductivity, that receives SEK 24 million in project funding from Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW) has granted a total of SEK 835 million to 30 basic research projects in the fields of medicine, natural sciences and technology that are deemed to have the potential to lead to future scientific breakthroughs. Three projects will be led by researchers at Uppsala University and in yet another project, Quantum geometry and flat bands towards room temperature superconductivity, Uppsala University is co-applicant.
Quantum geometry and flat bands towards room temperature superconductivity
The quest for room-temperature superconductivity is considered a holy grail of modern physics. Not only would it contribute to solving many of today’s energy challenges but also facilitate the integration of quantum computers into society.
The most promising material so far has been a high-temperature superconductor (HTS) based on copper oxide. However, the complex electron correlations and lack of tunability have hindered further progress. Recently, an exciting discovery was made when the much simpler material, bilayer graphene, exhibited superconducting properties. By twisting two layers of graphene at a “magic angle,” a moiré pattern is created, featuring a flat band and strong electron correlations, which in turn give rise to superconductivity.
The research project aims to explore how these moiré patterns and quantum metrics can be used to design the band structure and create flat bands in both high-temperature superconductors and graphene.
“By combining these two material platforms, we hope to increase our understanding of the principles behind high-temperature superconductivity and promote superconductivity at higher temperatures, ultimately aiming to achieve room-temperature superconductivity,” says Floriana Lombardi, professor of Quantum Device Physics at Chalmers University of Technology.
Grant: SEK 24,000,000 over five years
Principal investigator: Professor Floriana Lombardi, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology
Co-applicants in the project: Annica Black-Schaffer from Uppsala University, Ulf Gran and Sergey Kubatkin from Chalmers University of Technology and Johannes Hofmann from Gothenburg University.
Project funding from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
A total of 30 projects, in medicine, natural sciences and technology, have been evaluated after an international peer review process to have such high scientific potential that they have the possibility of leading to future scientific breakthroughs. Each project has been evaluated by at least four or five international experts in the respective field.