Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Superconducting semiconductor chips aim for switching the effect on/off magnetically as a result of cooperative U.S./Israeli researcher. Look for switching superconductor thin-film semiconductor chips by the end of the decade. R.C.J.
Superconductors have typically required bulk materials to transform into resistanceless conduction mode when cooled, but researchers have bucked that trend by fabricating thin films of nanowires at Brookhaven National Laboratory in cooperation with Israel's Bar-Ilan University. Once fabricated, the scientists discovered that external magnetic fields could modulate the resistance of their nanowires, opening the future possibility of switching superconductivity on and off magnetically...Application of an externally increasing magnetic field was found to modulate the resistance of the material, instead make a linear change as was expected. As a result, the researchers hope to engineer a new type of superconducting thin film that enables the superconducting effect to be switched on and off magnetically.
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Posted by R. Colin Johnson at 9:19 AM