"Novel Material Combinations Enhance Superconductivity for Quantum Computing"

Researchers at Penn State have combined two magnetic materials to create a unique type of superconductivity that could support the development of more robust quantum computing. The combination of materials, described in the journal Science, has the potential to facilitate the construction of topological quantum computers, which store data simultaneously in a range of possible states. The researchers used a technique called molecular beam epitaxy to stack together a topological insulator and an iron chalcogenide, confirming the presence of all three critical components of chiral topological superconductivity at the interface between the materials. This new system may also be useful in the search for material systems that exhibit behaviors similar to those of theoretical particles known as chiral Majoranas, which could be promising for quantum computing.