Researchers from ICMAB-CSIC, the Politecnico di Milano and Université de Liège have adapted a direct laser writing technique that allows them to “draw” superconducting properties in a material. The result is a new way to locally program the behavior of a superconductor, tuning it from a fully superconducting state to an insulating one with extraordinary precision.

High-temperature superconductors (HTSC) are materials that can conduct electricity without resistance at higher temperatures than conventional superconductors. Since they can operate at temperatures achievable using inexpensive liquid nitrogen cooling, they are considered promising candidates for future applications such as quantum technologies, superconducting electronics or next-generation memory devices.

However, patterning HTSC is particularly difficult at very small scales, as their ceramic nature makes them sensitive to conventional micro-and nanofabrication methods. The material’s oxygen level is key to determining its behavior: whether it is superconducting or insulating.