Highly crystalline superconducting MgB2 nanowires formed by electrodeposition

Abstract

Superconducting nanowires can be synthesised in high-throughput chemical routes and hold great promise as a low-dissipative material for superconducting devices. The applicability of superconducting nanowires, however, has been limited due to the lack of an adequate method to fit the nanowires into given electronic circuits. One of the biggest obstacles is to connect metal terminals to superconducting nanowires in order to establish electric contacts. One attractive method to surmount this difficulty is to synthesise superconducting nanowires directly upon metal terminals such that the nanowires electrically contact the metal surface. Here we demonstrate that this can be achieved by electrodeposition in molten salts. The 39-K superconductor magnesium diboride (MgB2) is electrodeposited to metal surfaces in the form of highly crystalline nanowires. The MgB2 nanowires achieve extensive electric contacts with the metal surfaces. The MgB2 nanowires carry high densities of supercurrents that are comparable to bulk materials. This approach to the electrodeposition of MgB2 nanowires provides a solution to one of the major challenges preventing practical applications of superconducting nanowires.