Found: Smallest Superconductor Ever; Could Enable Next-Gen Nanoscale Electronics

Honey, I shrunk the superconductors

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 03.29.2010 at 1:03 pm 4 Comments

Tiniest Superconductor This combined image shows several nanoscale superconducting molecular wires on a silver substrate (left) and the smallest superconductor (right) at just 0.87 nanometers wide. Saw-Wai Hla and Kendal Clark, Ohio University

Scientists have created the world's smallest superconductor, from a sheet of four molecule-pairs less than a nanometer wide. That's far smaller than the head of a pin -- which stretches across a million nanometers -- and more on the order of a DNA molecule, which is about 2 nanometers wide.

Superconductivity has been considered a large-scale phenomenon ever since its discovery in 1911. But the new study by Ohio University scientists suggests that nanoscale superconducting wires could become a very real possibility for powering tiny electronic devices or other energy applications.

"Researchers have said that it's almost impossible to make nanoscale interconnects using metallic conductors because the resistance increases as the size of wire becomes smaller," said Saw-Wai Hla, a physicist at Ohio University. "The nanowires become so hot that they can melt and destruct."

Getting around that problem required Hla and his colleagues to create molecules of an organic salt known as (BETS)2-GaCl4, and put it on a surface of silver. They also had to cool the molecules down to around 10 Kelvin (-263 degrees Celsius). But the scientists hope to test other materials that could form nanoscale superconducting wires at less chilly temperatures.

Perhaps just as crucial, the study showed that superconducting organic salts could grow on a substrate material such as silver -- good to know for possibly manufacturing the nanoscale electronic circuits on a large scale.

Electronic circuits have already become much more flexible and smaller, in applications ranging from wearable clothing to stick-on heart or brain sensor arrays. The future advent of tiny superconductor wires should only speed up development of nanoscale electronics.

[Ohio University]

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4 Comments

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sanud002

03/29/10 at 2:21 pm

It amazing to me that every time I turn around that a new groundbreaking revelation has occurred thanks to nanotechnology. I feel that there is amazing promise in the field of nanotech because of the efficiency and endless possibilities. I mean scientists are just beginning to understand how physics function on the nano level so really anything is possible! I just saw how the military designed a solar panel using nanotechnology that is flexible and 10,000 times more efficient the the old standard cell. Imagine what kinda dent that could put in your carbon footprint. I'll post a link if you want to see it for yourself. Nanotechnology is definitely here to stay and I'm pumped on it!

www.ndep.us/LabTV2.aspx?id=16&t=It's%20a%20Small%20World

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10jacobf

03/29/10 at 8:23 pm

You're right sanud002, technology development for the future is and will be breathtaking. Though we might have some inevitable problems to deal with (as with every technological development) the benefits we stand to gain are virtually endless.

But there's more than just nanotechnology to get excited about:
- mining in space (a favorite of mine)
- new frontiers in medicine
- biological discoveries and manipulation
- energy discoveries (like Gen IV nuclear plants)
- etc...

The 21st Century will be one for the history books. The only question is how we'll all play a part in it.

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Brian P.

03/31/10 at 10:54 am

Nice. I wonder how Apple can use this to make a better I-pod?

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James989

07/15/10 at 6:07 pm

we need nano generators to power our small devices, I bet you can manipulate magnetic fields a lot easier on that scale.

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