Superconducting materials for building more powerful quantum computers

A project led by the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) and the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) has been selected by the BBVA Foundation as part of its prestigious Fundamentos Programme. The selected project will be exploring how to create artificial materials with properties such as superconductivity; these materials could be vital in the development of future quantum computers.

The project "Artificial Quantum Matter: From 2D Materials to Spin Lattice Systems" (AQM■2MSLS), led by Francisco Guinea (DIPC) and Iván Brihuega (UAM), seeks to combine theoretical with experimental research to design two-dimensional networks of atoms that allow the properties of the resulting materials to be controlled with precision.

“If artificial materials that combine the properties of several apparently very different materials could be produced, new functionalities that would go beyond what nature can offer us would be achieved,” explained Francisco Guinea, senior researcher at the Donostia International Physics Center and one of the project's lead researchers.

So the proposal puts forward three construction methods: by moving hydrogen atoms one by one onto a substrate of graphene or other materials; by using quantum dots made of nanometer-sized pieces of metal and arranged to form the network; or by deforming existing two-dimensional materials, such as graphene. The ultimate aim is to achieve a superconducting network that allows electrical current to pass without losses, and to explore how to expand these networks to three dimensions.

The team also includes the participation of Dario Bercioux (DIPC), Deung-Jang Choi (CFM and DIPC), Mikhail I. Katsnelson (Radboud University and Constructor University), and José Ángel Silva-Guillén (IMDEA Nanoscience).

Fundamentos Programme –BBVA Foundation

Through its Fundamentos Programme the BBVA Foundation has selected 12 innovative projects out of a total of 633 applications received. This initiative is designed to promote exploratory, fundamental, and interdisciplinary research that addresses core issues in basic science. Each project will be receiving funding of up to €250,000 and will have a three-year execution period; they are divided into three major fields of knowledge: Physics and Chemistry; Biology and Biomedicine; and Engineering.