Phys.org May 5, 2021
Researchers in Switzerland used first-principles calculations to identify intrinsic superconductivity in monolayer W2N3, a material that has recently been identified as being easily exfoliable from a layered hexagonal-W2N3 bulk by calculations, a theory also supported by experimental evidence. They found a critical temperature of 21 K, that is, just above liquid hydrogen and a record-high transition temperature for a conventional phonon-mediated 2D superconductor. According to the researchers the material could be doped such that currently unoccupied helical edge states 0.5 eV above the Fermi level become filled, even while superconductivity persists making W2N3 a viable candidate for studying and exploiting the possible coexistence and interactions of the superconducting state with topologically protected edge states. Superconductivity in 2D systems has relevance to our understanding of fundamental physics and potential technological applications in nanoscale devices such as quantum interferometers, superconducting transistors, and superconducting qubits…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
The model predicts a remarkably high superconducting critical temperature of 21 K in the easily exfoliable, topologically nontrivial 2D semimetal W2N3. Credit: Davide Campi @EPFL