Quantum Nitride Materials

Can a widely-used, mature nitride system hold the key to quantum technologies of the future?

(a) Layer structure of the epitaxial nitride heterostructure. (b) High-resolution transmission electron microscopy image of the semiconductor /superconductor interface.

Hot-Bronze Thin Film

MagLab researchers have discovered a new fabrication of Nb3Sn that will could yield compact, portable accelerators for industrial, medical and environmental applications.

Bright field STEM cross-section images of Nb3Sn films produced using (a) the newly-discovered hot bronze method and (b) the post-reaction method.

Fungal findings

New research reveals molecular architecture of fungal cell walls and the structural responses to stresses, work that could help develop more effective anti fungal medications for millions.

Illustrative scheme of the fungal cell wall as a composition of many different polysaccharides and associated proteins.

Space Simulator

Researchers develop a novel design for a magnetic levitation-based low-gravity simulator that promises to break new group for future space research.

A schematic of the magnet system

Research Initiatives

Research Initiatives - Materials

MATERIALS

Scientists use our magnets to explore semiconductors, superconductors, newly-grown crystals, buckyballs and materials from the natural world — research that reveals the secret workings of materials and empowers us to develop new technologies.

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Research Initiatives - Energy

ENERGY

Scientists here are working to optimize petroleum refining, advance potential bio-fuels such as pine needles and algae, and fundamentally change the way we store and deliver energy by developing better batteries.

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Research Initiatives - Life

LIFE

With the world’s strongest MRI magnet, scientists here study everything from living animals to individual cells, from proteins to disease-fighting molecules found in plants and animals — work that could improve treatment of AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer’s and other diseases.

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Latest Science Highlights


  • Novel "hot-bronze" Nb3Sn for compact accelerators
    22 November 2021
    Novel "hot-bronze" Nb3Sn for compact accelerators

    A new "hot bronze" thin film growth recipe was developed to produce high quality superconducting Niobium-Tin (Nb3Sn) films that are easier to fabricate and that outperform existing technologies.

  • New quantum tricks in nitride materials
    22 November 2021
    New quantum tricks in nitride materials

    Gallium nitride (GaN) and Niobium nitride (NbN) are widely used in today's technologies: GaN is used to make blue LEDs and high-frequency transistors while NbN is used to make infrared light detectors. This experiment explores whether a nitride-based device may be relevant for quantum technologies of the future.

  • Sunlight converts plastics into diverse chemical mixtures
    25 October 2021
    Sunlight converts plastics into diverse chemical mixtures

    Sunlight can chemically transform plastics from consumer plastic bags into complex chemical mixtures that leach into the ocean. Understanding the impact of plastic pollution requires advanced analytical techniques that can identify transformed plastic molecules in water samples, and requires instrumentation only available at the Maglab.

See all Science Highlights

Featured Publications


Quantum Rivals in Nitride Materials, P. Dang, et al., Science Advances, 7 (8), eabf1388 (2021), See Science Highlight or Read online 

Nb3Sn films via a novel hot-bronze method for compact accelerators, W. K. Withanage, et al., Superconductor Science and Technology, 34 (6), 06LT01 (2021), See Science Highlight or Read online 

Unusual high-field state discovered in mineral atacamite, L. Heinze, et al., Physical Review Letters, 126 (20), 207201 (2021), See Science Highlight or Read online 

Sunlight converts plastics into diverse chemical mixtures, A. N. Walsh, et al., Environ. Sci. Technol., 55 (18), 12383–12392 (2021), See Science Highlight or Read online 

Absence of Weak-Links in Bi-2212 Round Wire, Y. Oz, et al., Phys. Rev. Materials, 5(7), 074803 (2021), See Science Highlight or Read online 

Advanced Microscopy for Better Nanostructural Insights in Bi-2212 Round Wires, T.A. Oloye, et al., Supercond. Sci. Technol., 34035018 (2021), See Science Highlight or Read online 

Restoration of breathing after drug overdose and spinal cord injuries, M.D. Sunshine, et al., Communications Biology, 4 (1), 1-15 (2021), See Science Highlight or Read online 

Linear-in temperature resistivity from isotropic Planckian scattering rate, G. Grissonnanche, et al., Nature, 595, 667-672 (2021), See Science Highlight or Read online 

Testing the Critical Current of High-Temperature-Superconducting REBCO Cables Using a Superconducting Transformer, H. Yu, et al., IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 30 (4), 5500204 (2020), See Science Highlight or Read online 

New High-Magnetic-Field Thermometers for Sub-Millikelvin Temperatures, A. Woods, et al., arxiv, 2107.02387 (2020), See Science Highlight or Read online 

A New Method for Understanding Dynamic Nuclear Polarization, Q. Stern, et al., Science Advances, 7 (18), eabf5735 (2021), See Science Highlight or Read online