Zernike Colloquium - Paul Chu : A Possible New Paradigm to Higher Temperature Superconductors
When: | Th 02-06-2016 16:00 - 17:00 |
Where: | Lecture Hall: 5111.0080 |
Paul C. W. Chu
University of Houston Science Center
Texas Center for Superconductivity
Houston, TX, USA
In the last 28 years, great progress has been made in all areas of high temperature superconductivity (HTS) research following the extensive effort world-wide. Many new compounds have been discovered, the superconducting temperature Tc has been raised from 35 K to 134 at ambient and 164 K at 30 GPa, many models have been proposed to explain the myriad of intriguing anomalous properties and many prototypes devices have been constructed and tested with performance superior to their non-superconducting counterparts. Unfortunately, the Tc has stagnated at 164 K since 1994, a commonly accepted microscopic theory is still elusive and commercialization of HTS is yet-to-be realized. Perhaps, it is time to leave the comfortable but less productive path and dive into the wood occasionally to search for new paths. In this talk, I shall discuss two possible paths: enhanced superconductivity through interfaces and through ultrahigh pressures. I shall present our recent direct evidence for a Tc up to 35 K in undoped CaFe2As2 single crystals through low temperature annealing and examine the recent report of 203 K Tc in HnS under 200 GPa by Eremets et al. with specific emphasis on its magnetic state.