SUPERCONDUCTIVITY Interfaces heat up

The use of an ionic liquid as a gate dielectric to induce superconductivity in an inorganic band insulator up to a temperature of 15 K by an electric field has created new opportunities in superconductivity research. A team of researchers has introduced the alternative approach to overcome the challenges associated with the traditional approaches. The alternative approach involves the charge carrier density on the surface of an insulating film of the layered inorganic material, ZrNCl to be increased to 2.5 × 1014 charges cm-2. This charge density is sufficiently high to electrostatically drive the insulating parent material to a superconductor with a transition temperature (Tc) of 15 K.