PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers demonstrates substrate design principles for scalable superconducting quantum materials

NYU Tandon–Brookhaven National Laboratory study shows that crystalline hafnium oxide substrates offer guidelines for stabilizing the superconducting phase

2025-10-03
(Press-News.org) Silicides — alloys of silicon and metals long used in microelectronics — are now being explored again for quantum hardware. But their use faces a critical challenge: achieving phase purity, since some silicide phases are superconducting while others are not.

The study, published in Applied Physics Letters by NYU Tandon School of Engineering and Brookhaven National Laboratory, shows how substrate choice influences phase formation and interfacial stability in superconducting vanadium silicide films, providing design guidelines for improving material quality.

The team, led by NYU Tandon professor Davood Shahrjerdi, focused on vanadium silicide, a material that becomes superconducting (able to conduct electricity without resistance) when cooled below its transition temperature of 10 Kelvin, or about -263°C. Its relatively high superconducting transition temperature makes it attractive for quantum devices that operate above conventional millikelvin temperatures.

Researchers engineered crystalline hafnium oxide substrates and compared them with standard silicon dioxide under identical processing conditions. Hafnium oxide offered greater chemical stability and suppressed unwanted secondary phases, though it degraded under the highest processing temperatures.

"Achieving phase-pure superconducting films requires careful attention to the substrate-film interface," said Shahrjerdi. "Our findings show that substrate design is an integral aspect of the synthesis process.”

The chemical stability of hafnium oxide proved crucial for maintaining film quality during processing. Most intriguingly, atomic-resolution imaging suggested that the crystalline structure of hafnium oxide may influence the orientation and phase selection of overlying silicide grains, pointing to possible templating effects that could enable selective phase nucleation.

The research provides fundamental insights that extend beyond vanadium silicides to other superconducting silicide systems. The principles identified — chemical inertness, thermal stability, and structural ordering — offer design guidelines for next-generation quantum device substrates.

"These findings complement our recent work on physical patterning techniques," noted Shahrjerdi. "Together, they expand the design space for quantum hardware."

In addition to Shahrjerdi, the paper’s authors are Miguel Manzo-Perez, Moeid Jamalzadeh, and Iliya Shiravand (Ph.D. students at NYU Tandon); and Sooyeon Hwang, Kim Kisslinger, and Dmytro Nykypanchuk from the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The work was conducted in part at the NYU Nanofabrication Cleanroom (NYU Nanofab) with characterization support from Brookhaven National Laboratory.

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

How better software choices could cut US health care costs

2025-10-03
Denied insurance claims are among the biggest challenges facing the U.S. health care system – driving up costs and leaving providers with billions in unpaid bills.   Hilal Atasoy, an associate professor at the Rutgers Business School, thinks she’s uncovered an elegant if simple solution: better software management. Her paper on the topic appears in the September issue of the journal MIS Quarterly.   Medical claims contain a range of information, including patient demographics, medications, ...

Concussion history in NCAA athletes yields mixed health outcomes

2025-10-03
Audio    New research investigating health outcomes in NCAA athletes during their first year after leaving college sports found that some health measures were worse than expected, but others actually improved.    The results varied depending on the athletes' history of contact exposure and the number of years they played their sport.   "In athletes that are ending their collegiate careers, those with more concussions reported worse outcomes on certain health measures," said Reid Syrydiuk, first author on the study and a doctoral candidate in kinesiology studying at the University of Michigan ...

Counting plastic reveals hidden waste and sparks action

2025-10-03
Online supermarket shopping is fuelling Britain’s plastic waste crisis because packaging is less visible to consumers, according to new research from the Revolution Plastics Institute at the University of Portsmouth.  The study found that nearly half of UK households underestimate how much plastic they throw away each week, a phenomenon researchers call “plastic blindness”. Those who relied most heavily on online grocery deliveries were especially likely to be shocked by the volume ...

Warming oceans may pose a serious threat to American lobsters

2025-10-03
The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans, raising concerns for its $2 billion-a-year American lobster fishery. Scientists at William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS have been studying the impacts of ocean acidification and warming on lobster reproduction, and the results of their most recent research suggest the rising temperatures pose the greatest risk. Utilizing a purpose-built experimental facility designed by Professor Emily Rivest and housed in the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS’ Seawater Research Laboratory, the researchers exposed egg-bearing lobsters from the Gulf of Maine ...

Deaths from drug-induced unintentional injury rise across the US

2025-10-03
Key Takeaways  Death rates from unintentional injury related to drug use rose nearly 60% from 2018 to 2023.    Men are most at risk — for every one woman who dies from a drug-related accident, about two men die.   When drugs are involved in a traumatic injury, there are more difficulties in treating these patients compared with patients whose injuries were not related to drug use.  CHICAGO (October 3, 2025) — An increasing number of people are dying from drug-related accidental injuries. The rate has risen by nearly 60% within the last five years, according to new study findings.   The research will be ...

In car crashes with pedestrians, age and zip code may predict extent of traumatic injuries

2025-10-03
Key Takeaways  While both adults and children are severely injured in pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions, adults often face more serious outcomes than children, according to a national analysis.  In another study, mapping the geographical location of injuries in Colorado revealed areas in Denver County most prone to accidents, which could help researchers target efforts to prevent future crashes.  CHICAGO — Pedestrian-motor vehicle accidents are a common cause of injury ...

AI optimizes evacuation, diagnosis, and treatment of wounded soldiers in Ukraine

2025-10-03
Key Takeaways  In Ukraine, the medical role of AI has evolved from limited use to wide-ranging applications in evacuation, diagnosis, predictive analytics, and treatment of wounded soldiers.  An analysis of 68 wounded soldiers showed that by analyzing data in real time from wearable medical devices, AI enhanced treatment by assisting medical personnel in delivering personalized care based on a soldier’s medical history, condition, and available resources.  The researchers found that AI not only accelerated drug delivery, identified new treatments for injuries, and supported artificial limb ...

Mastectomy linked to worsened sexual health, body image after surgery

2025-10-03
Key Takeaways  Women who undergo a mastectomy for breast cancer may be at higher risk of developing emotional and physical problems after treatment compared with women who undergo procedures that preserve breast tissue, such as a lumpectomy.  Developing a universal screening tool to assess a woman’s readiness for mastectomy from an emotional and psychological perspective would be an important next step to improve long-term outcomes after surgery.  CHICAGO — While mastectomy is often a necessary and life-saving treatment option for many women with breast cancer, the surgery may contribute ...

Drop in credit score after cancer diagnosis linked to increased mortality, study shows

2025-10-03
Key Takeaways  Among 42,451 patients, 8.5% developed financial toxicity (a credit score below 600) after their diagnosis; an additional 3% were already in that category.  Patients whose credit score fell by two tiers within 12 months of diagnosis faced a 29% higher risk of death. Over any six-month period after diagnosis, a one-tier drop increased mortality risk by 12%, and a two-tier drop raised it by 63%, compared with patients whose scores stayed stable.  An increase in credit score was not found ...

Use of weight loss drugs before bariatric surgery has soared in recent years, study finds

2025-10-03
Key Takeaways  Rapid uptake of weight loss drugs before metabolic and bariatric surgery: Between 2020 and 2024, the use of weight loss drugs before surgery rose sixteenfold among metabolic and bariatric surgery patients, highlighting their growing popularity and perceived effectiveness.  Substantial Increase Among Patients Without Diabetes: Use of GLP-1s, a class of drugs used to treat both Type 2 diabetes and weight loss, rose elevenfold in patients without diabetes, reflecting growing weight-focused ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New software tool MARTi fast-tracks identification and response to microbial threats

Rare brain cell may hold the key to preventing schizophrenia symptoms

A new tool to find hidden ‘zombie cells’

New Cleveland Clinic research finds up to 5% of Americans carry genetic mutations associated with cancer risk

Once tadpoles lose lungs, they never get them back

Small group of users drive invasive species awareness on social media

One bad safety review can tank an Airbnb booking — Even among thousands of positive ones, new study finds

Text-based system speeds up hospital discharges to long-term care

California schools are losing tree canopy

How people learn computer programming

Exploring a mechanism of psychedelics

Scientists can now explore mechanisms behind attachment issues

Researchers watched students’ brains as they learned to program

An AI-powered lifestyle intervention vs human coaching in the diabetes prevention program

AI-powered diabetes prevention program shows similar benefits to those led by people

New study may transform diagnosis of Britain’s number one cancer

Stillbirths in the United States

How animals get their spots, and why they are beautifully imperfect

Stillbirths in the U.S. higher than previously reported, often occur with no clinical risk factors

Durability of 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines against JN.1 subvariants

Online unsupervised Tai Chi intervention for knee pain and function in people with knee osteoarthritis

A nose for microbes: how hunger tunes the brain

TRF1 protein loss reduces body fat and improves metabolic health in mice without shortening telomeres

JMIR Medical Education invites submissions on bias, diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence in medical education

SwRI receives $9.9 million contract to assess reliability of F-16 landing gear components

Computer scientists build AI tool to spot risky and unenforceable contract terms

Self-affirmations can boost well-being, study finds

New certification helps clinicians advance digital cardiac care

Why earthquakes sometimes still occur in tectonically silent regions

Music therapy during surgery reduces anesthetic use and stress responses

[Press-News.org] Researchers demonstrates substrate design principles for scalable superconducting quantum materials
NYU Tandon–Brookhaven National Laboratory study shows that crystalline hafnium oxide substrates offer guidelines for stabilizing the superconducting phase