Printing the Future: Atomic-Scale 3D Breakthrough in Superconductors

Researchers at Cornell University have unveiled a pioneering 3D printing method that works at the scale of atoms. Their process could revolutionize the way superconductors are designed and built, offering new opportunities in areas that demand extreme efficiency such as quantum computing.

The team used an ink made of copolymers mixed with inorganic particles and printed it onto a surface. Once heated, this ink transformed into what they call a “porous crystalline superconductor.” On the tiniest scale, heating triggered atoms to reorganize into a lattice structure. At the same time, larger particles already embedded in the design reinforced the framework, resulting in a crystalline structure with a record-breaking surface area for superconducting materials.

A Decade of Persistence

This achievement is the product of nearly ten years of work under the guidance of Professor Ulrich Wiesner from Cornell’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. By creating superconductors with unprecedented surface area, the team hopes to inspire new approaches to devices that rely on quantum effects. Though still in its early stages, the method could eventually be applied to metallic compounds like titanium nitride, opening the door to materials with different but equally useful properties.

A Global Race in Discovery

Around the world, other breakthroughs are reshaping the field. Japanese researchers at Nagoya University have advanced gallium oxide semiconductors, while MIT scientists found a superconductor hidden in graphite that behaves like a magnet. Meanwhile, UK researchers confirmed the existence of “altermagnetism,” a new class of magnetism that could accelerate the development of superconducting technologies.