NIST Discovers How Strain at Grain Boundaries Suppresses High-Temperature Superconductivity (IMAGE)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

NIST Discovers How Strain at Grain Boundaries Suppresses High-Temperature Superconductivity

Caption

Electron microscope image of two superconducting thin films that meet at a six degree tilt boundary (the dark line running through the image). The numerous smaller lines that intersect the grain boundary at 90 degrees are the individual crystalline layers. The connection between the two films shows distortions in the superconducting layers, which severely limits current flow in these materials.

Credit

F.J. Baca, US Air Force Research Lab

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