The physicists at the University of Texas in Austin have developed the thinnest superconducting metal sheet of the world. The development of the thinnest superconducting sheet of lead with two atoms thick will help in the advancement of superconductor technologies. The superconductors have the unique ability to maintain an electrical current indefinitely with no power source.

 

Superconductors are basically used in MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machines, particle accelerators, quantum interference devices and other applications.  The ultra-thin superconducting metal sheet has been developed by Professor Ken Shih and his Texas University colleagues. According to Ken Shih, this superconducting metal sheet will help others to build devices and study new properties of superconductivity.

 

Generally in superconductors electrons move through the material together in pairs called Cooper pairs. Ken Shih's superconducting metal sheet has innovative property of confining the electrons to move in two dimensions. The researchers of Texas University have used advanced materials synthesis techniques to lay the two-atom thick sheet of lead atop a thin silicon surface. According to Shih, further experiments will be conducted to make the metal sheet more perfect than most thin films made of other materials.