Soft Matter Enabled Superconducting Quantum Materials and Applications

Soft matter enabled quantum materials constitute an emergent area of research bringing together the fields of soft and hard condensed matter science. Soft matter enabled superconducting quantum materials in particular hold great scientific as well as technological promise. This is based, respectively, on the observation of substantial modulations of superconductor properties, e.g. as a result of soft matter directed mesostructure formation, as well as on the availability of new form factors enabled via solution processing, e.g. via spin-coating, roll-to-roll (R2R) processing, or additive manufacturing (3D printing), foreign to traditional synthesis approaches often based on ultrahigh vacuum techniques. In this contribution, block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly based approaches to mesostructured superconductors will be discussed. BCP self-assembly, a hallmark of soft condensed matter physics, will be introduced to the formation of type-I and type-II superconductors in the form of metals and nitrides, respectively. Particular focus will be on the formation of three-dimensionally periodic cubic co-continuous structures such as the double gyroid and alternating gyroid, respectively, and how the resulting mesoporous structures substantially alter macroscopic superconductor behavior via modification of intrinsic superconductor materials properties including the Cooper-pair correlation length. Via shimming through various mesostructures while keeping the intrinsic superconductor atomic lattices unaltered, the formation of superconducting metamaterials will be introduced. Extension of materials synthesis approaches from the bulk to thin films is another focus area, allowing integration of superconductor mesostructure formation with microelectronics processing, e.g. including photolithography-based definition of thin film patterns. Results of these studies suggest exciting opportunities for opening up the limited traditional synthesis space of superconductors via the combination of crystalline hard materials formation with solution-based approaches known from the soft matter sciences. In return, this promises a range of novel materials structures and form factors that may lead to advanced superconducting materials properties not accessible via traditional routes, thereby substantially broadening the superconducting materials application space.