discovered that, under the right conditions, graphene could become a superconductor if one piece of graphene were laid on top of another piece and the layers were twisted to a specific angle – 1.08 degrees – creating twisted bilayer graphene.
With great precision, Haidong Tian, first author of the paper and a student in Lau’s research group, was able to obtain a device so close to the magic angle that the electrons were nearly stopped by usual condensed matter physics standards. The sample nevertheless showed superconductivity. As with everything quantum, quantum geometry is complex and not intuitive. But the results of this study have to do with the fact that an electron is not only a particle, but also a wave – and thus has wavefunctions.
The superconductive effects of this material can only be found in experiments at extremely low temperatures. The ultimate goal is to be able to understand the factors that lead to high-temperature superconductivity, which will be potentially useful in real-world applications, such as electrical transmission and communication, Bockrath said.