SLAC topics

Quantum materials

Quantum materials, such as high-temperature superconductors and topological insulators, have unusual properties that emerge out of interactions between their electrons.

Related links:  
Energy sciences 
Department of Energy’s Quantum Materials brochure (pdf)

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Illustration of changes in a superconductor as it approaches a quantum critical point

Illustration
Scientists have developed an AI-based method that helps gather data more efficiently in the search for new materials, allowing researchers...
self driving experiments
News Feature

The method could lead to the development of new materials with tailored properties, with potential applications in fields such as climate change, quantum computing...

self driving experiments
News Feature

During her fellowship she will continue research that aims to deepen our understanding of quantum materials.

Headshot of Judy Ji
News Feature

The team developed a groundbreaking method that harnesses the structure of light to twist and tweak the properties of quantum materials. 

quantum control
News Brief

In a new study, SLAC researchers suggest a small-scale solution could be the key to solving a large-scale mystery.

Black spheres travel across a grid of blue spheres.
News Feature

Strongly interacting electrons in quantum materials carry heat and charge in a way that’s surprisingly similar to what individual electrons do in normal metals...

An illustration shows electrons transporting heat from a warmer to a cooler area of a material.
Press Release

With up to a million X-ray flashes per second, 8,000 times more than its predecessor, it transforms the ability of scientists to explore atomic-scale...

LCLS-II first light
News Feature

It irons out wrinkles in thin films of these novel superconductors so scientists can see their true nature for the first time. 

Colorized electron microscope images reveal defects in the atomic structure of a nickelate superconductor (right) compared to a defect-free structure (right)
News Feature

This ‘beautiful’ herringbone-like pattern could give rise to unique features that scientists are just starting to explore.

An illustration of a dramatic, herringbone-like pattern in the atomic lattice of a newly created quantum material. Against a black background, calcium atoms are seen as light blue spheres, cobalt atoms in dark blue and oxygen atoms in red. Lines connecting the oxygen atoms represent the atomic lattice.
Illustration

This illustration depicts a herringbone-like pattern in the atomic lattice of a quantum material created by researchers at SLAC and Stanford.

An illustration of a dramatic, herringbone-like pattern in the atomic lattice of a newly created quantum material. Against a black background, calcium atoms are seen as light blue spheres, cobalt atoms in dark blue and oxygen atoms in red. Lines connecting the oxygen atoms represent the atomic lattice.
News Feature

This month, Symmetry presents a series of articles on the past, present and future of quantum research—and its many connections to particle physics, astrophysics...

Illustration of a hummingbird
News Feature

Belopolski has made key discoveries about Weyl semimetals and topological magnets, systems in which quantum effects produce new emergent particles with exotic electronic and...

Portrait of Ilya Belopolski