Review of Cutting-Edge Research on Iron Selenide Superconductors
© The Physical Society of Japan
This article is on
Exotic Superconducting States in FeSe-based Materials
J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 89, 102002 (2020).
Scientists review the incredible progress in our understanding of the superconducting properties of iron selenide and provide their own insights, taking us one step closer to revolutionizing energy and electronics.
Since its discovery, superconductivity has been a most intriguing phenomenon in solid-state physics. Although researchers in the early eighties thought that its mechanisms were already well understood, the discovery of unconventional superconductivity at high temperatures in copper- and iron-based materials flipped the tables, prompting a flurry of studies seeking to explain the underlying mechanisms.
In particular, iron selenide exhibits several unique physical properties, many of which have only been explored theoretically and are yet to be observed. Now, in an effort to keep other scientists up to date, experimental physicists from Japan have condensed over a decade of research in this field into a review article.
In the article, they go over the exotic superconducting properties of iron selenide, such as anisotropic superconductivity, magnetic-field induced superconducting states, BCS-BEC crossover, electronic nematicity, and topological superconductivity, as well as experimental methods to explore the origin of superconductivity, which could be a peculiar type of electron pairing.
One approach employed by the authors themselves is using scanning tunneling microscopy to observe standing waves of electrons on the surface of iron selenide superconductors at different tunneling energies. This provides insight into the electronic structure of the material and its superconducting energy gap, which is fundamental to understanding the superconducting state.
The authors believe that iron selenide superconductors will be key to understanding unconventional superconductivity so that someday, a superconductor that operates at room temperature and atmospheric pressure can be developed. Such a feat would revolutionize the energy and electronics fields. Moreover, superconductivity may play a fundamental role in quantum computers. This review article will hopefully make research progress in superconductive iron selenides more accessible, thereby inspiring experimental research.
Exotic Superconducting States in FeSe-based Materials
J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 89, 102002 (2020).
Share this topic
Fields
Related Articles
-
Thermodynamic Property of a CMOS Device beyond Landauer Limit
Statistical physics and thermodynamics
Electronic transport in condensed matter
Cross-disciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology
2024-1-23
Focusing on a CMOS NAND GATE operating in a sub-threshold region, the thermodynamic cost of computation was analyzed in relation to input/output voltages surpassing the Landauer limit.
-
Possible Origin of High Thermoelectric Power Factor in Ultrathin FeSe: A Two-band Model
Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces and nanostructures
Structure and mechanical and thermal properties in condensed matter
Cross-disciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology
2023-12-21
The high thermoelectric power factor observed in ultrathin FeSe can be theoretically explained by a two-band model with chemical potential between upper and lower band bottoms.
-
Exploring Recent Advances in the Physics of Biofluid Locomotion
Measurement, instrumentation, and techniques
Cross-disciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology
Electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, and classical and fluid mechanics
Statistical physics and thermodynamics
Mathematical methods, classical and quantum physics, relativity, gravitation, numerical simulation, computational modeling
Structure and mechanical and thermal properties in condensed matter
2023-12-8
This Special Topics Edition of the JPSJ describes the latest advances in the field of biofluid locomotion, shedding light on the underlying physics behind the movement of organisms that swim and fly.
-
A New Superconductor Family with Various Magnetic Elements
Superconductivity
Cross-disciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology
Electron states in condensed matter
2023-10-27
A new superconductor family, Sc6MTe2, has been discovered, comprising seven variations with magnetic elements labeled as M. Notably, only a few known superconductor families exist that involve various magnetic elements.
-
Exploring Vortex Dynamics in a Multi-band Superconductor
Superconductivity
2023-8-22
We measured the microwave flux-flow Hall effect in FeSe, where the cancellation of holes and electrons was observed. This is a novel effect of multi-band superconductors.