Research Groups

RESEARCH UNIT: Superconducting Materials and Large Scale Nanostructures

Superconducting Materials and Large Scale Nanostructures

Nanostructured superconductors and oxide materials understanding provide a path towards an energy sustainable world.

The Superconducting Materials and Large Scale Nanostructures (SUMAN) group has been active in the field of superconducting materials since the discovery of High Temperature superconductors, and it has widely contributed to the field of vortex pinning analysis and materials development for more than 20 years. More recently it has shifted its interests towards the chemical solution approaches to superconducting thin films and coated conductors, due to its high potential in terms of cost-effectiveness for practical applications. Moreover, the department is contributing to develop chemical processing methods to oxide nanostructures for electronics and photovoltaics. Overall, the research approach of the department is based on vast scientific and technological interests which try to combine the generation of new knowledge in several fields at effective costs for a strategic sector with one of the highest social and environmental concerns: the development of a sustainable energy paradigm.

Members

Prof. Teresa Puig - Research Professor
Prof. Xavier Obradors - Research Professor
Dr. Narcís Mestres - Research Scientist
Dr. Xavier Granados - Tenured Scientist
Dr. Anna Palau - Tenured Scientist
Dr. Susagna Ricart - Tenured Scientist
Dr. Mariona Coll - Tenured Scientist
Dr. Joffre Gutiérrez - Tenured Scientist
Dr. Jaume Gázquez - Tenured Researcher
Dr. Cornelia Pop - Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Max Sieger - Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Albert Queraltó - Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Kapil Gupta - Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Flavio Pino - Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Roxana Vlad - Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Silvia Rasi - Postdoctoral Researcher
Prof. Marcelo Azevedes - Sabatical Professor
Mariona de Palau - Lab Engineer
Joshua Bailo - Lab Technician
Dr. Mar Tristany - Project Manager
Júlia Jareño - PhD Researcher
Juri Banchewski - PhD Researcher
Alejandro Fernández - PhD Researcher
Pengmei Yu - PhD Researcher
Hailin Wang - PhD Researcher
Artur Romanov - PhD Researcher
Pedro Barusco - PhD Researcher
Adrià Pacheco - PhD Researcher
Pamela Machado - PhD Researcher
Jordi Alcalà - PhD Researcher
Diana García - PhD Researcher
Lavinia Saltarelli - PhD Researcher
Guilherme Telles - PhD Researcher
Natalia Chamorro - PhD Researcher
Pol Sallès - PhD Researcher
Aleix Barrera - PhD Researcher

Ultrafast transient liquid assisted growth of nanonegineered YBCO films and coated conductors. Hybrid REBa₂Cu₃O_7-x coating in CERN FCC-hh beam-screen. Coated conductors with a Current Flow Diverter architecture for DC-grid protection. Direct visualization of current stimulated oxygen migration. Chemical engineering of complex oxides with atomic precision.

Achievements

The entangled correlation between growth mechanism, its (nano)microstructure and the physical properties is at the origin of many novel phenomena and opportunities of oxide materials. At SUMAN group, we investigate several oxide materials, mostly in the form of films, relying on chemical growth methods and defects analysis at atomic scale, for the understanding and engineering of superconducting, ferromagnetic, photovoltaic and electronic properties.

Chemical solution deposition (CSD) has enabled to demonstrate a novel high throughput TLAG-CSD method for high temperature superconducting nanocomposite films and coated conductors (CC) based on growth from transient liquids with ultrafast growth rates, where in-situ XRD synchrotron experiments are used to elucidate the kinetic growth mechanisms. Furthermore, in combination with compositional gradient inkjet printing, TLAG is being used for fast materials design using machine learning algorithms. Preformed nanoparticles, oxygen vacancies and electromigration have been activated as very reliable sources to control the strong electronic correlations of high temperature superconductors for vortex pinning also in resistive switching effects.

Direct evidence of current-stimulated oxygen migration has been obtained though optical microscopy. In addition, we have placed superconducting CC at the scene of future high energy circular accelerators and dark mater detectors for their low surface impedance properties at microwave frequencies, and nanocoated CC with current flow diverter architectures are now seriously considered also to protect high voltage dc grids. In addition, CSD has demonstrated its versatility in co-substituted BiFeO3 ferroelectric perovskites films to tune the band gap, and in La1-xSrxMnO3 complex oxide films to engineer the oxygen migration in the novel phenomena of homogeneous volume resistive switching. Furthermore, we have continued studying other chemical methods like atomic layer deposition (ALD) for metastable GdxFeyOz magnetic films, and polymer assisted deposition (PAD) for La0.92MnO3 thin films growth with dynamic magnetic and spin pumping properties, and for La2AMnO6 (A=Co, Ni) double perovskites with full cationic ordering and optimized magnetic properties.

Publications

Micro/Nanostructure Engineering of Epitaxial Piezoelectric α-Quartz Thin Films on Silicon
Q. Zhang, D. Sánchez-Fuentes, R. Desgarceaux, P. Escofet-Majoral, J. Oró, J. Gàzquez, G. Larrieu, B. Charlot, A. Gómez, M. Gich and A. Carretero-Genevirer
ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020 12, 4732–4740, 10.1021/acsami.9b18555

Thermal decomposition of cerium triethanolamine complexes
I. Zghal, J. Farjas, J. Camps, M. Dammak and P. Roura
Thermochimica Acta 2020 683, 1-7, 10.1016/j.tca.2019.178430

Homogeneous Fe2O3 coatings on carbon nanotube structures for electrochemical energy storage devices
P. Yu, M. Coll, R. Amade, I. Alshaikh, F. Pantoja-Suarez, E. Pascual, J.L. Andújar and E. Bertran Serra
Dalton Transactions 2020 49, 4136-4145, 10.1039/C9DT04908H

Rapid Thermal Annealing of Double Perovskite Thin Films Formed by Polymer Assisted Deposition
H. Wang, C. Frontera, B. Martinez and N. Mestres
Materials 2020 13, 4966, 10.3390/ma13214966

Aqueous Chemical Solution Deposition of Functional Double Perovskite Epitaxial Thin Films
H. Wang, C. Frontera, J. Herrero-Martín, A. Pomar, P. Roura, B. Martinez and N. Mestres
Journal of Material Chemistry C 2020 26, 9338-9347, 10.1002/chem.202000129

Pyrolysis study of solution-derived superconducting YBa2Cu3O7 films: disentangling the physico-chemical transformations
B. Villarejo, C. Pop, S. Ricart, B. Mundet, A. Palau, P. Roura, J. Farjas, T. Puig and X. Obradors
J. Mater. Chem. C 2020, 8, 10266-10282, 10.1039/D0TC01846E

Low-Fluorine Ba-Deficient Solutions for High-Performance Superconducting YBCO Films
P. Ternero, J. Alcala, C. Pop, S. Ricart, N. Mestres, X. Obradors , T. Puig, G. Sotgiu, G. Celentano and A. Palau
Coatings 2020 11, 199, 10.3390/coatings11020199

Blocking of Conducting Channels Widens Window for Ferroelectric Resistive Switching in Interface Engineered Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 Tunnel Devices
M.C. Sulzbach, S. Estandia, J. Gazquez, F. Sanchez, I. Fina and J. Fontcuberta
Adv. Funct. Mater. 2020, 30, 2002638, 10.1002/adfm.202002638

Ultrafast transient liquid assisted growth of high current density superconducting films
L. Soler, J. Jareño, J. Banchewski, S. Rasi, N. Chamorro, R. Guzman, R. Yáñez, C. Mocuta, S. Ricart, J. Farjas, P. Roura-Grabulosa, X. Obradors and T. Puig
Nature Communications 2020, 11, 344, 10.1038/s41467-019-13791-1

Advance in the conceptual design of the European DEMO magnet system
K. Sedlak, V A. Anvar, N Bagrets, M E Biancolini, R Bonifetto, F Bonne, D Boso, A Brighenti, P Bruzzone, G Celentano, A Chiappa, V R D'Auria, M Dan, P Decool, A della Corte, A Dembkowska, O Dicuonzo, I Duran, M Eisterer, A Ferro, C Fiamozzi Zignani, W H Fietz, C Frittitta, E Gaio, L Giannini, F Giorgetti, F Gömöry, X Granados, R Guarino, R Heller, C Hoa, I Ivashov, G Jiolat, M Jirsa, 10 Jose, R Kembleton, M Kumar, B Lacroix, Q Le Coz, M Lewandowska, A Maistrello, N Misiara, L Morici, L Muzzi, S Nicollet, A Nijhuis, F Nunio, C Portafaix, G Romanelli, X Sarasola, L Savoldi, B Stepanov, I Tiseanu, G Tomassetti, A Torre, S Turtù, D Uglietti, R Vallcorba, L Viererbl, M Vojenciak, C Vorpahl, K-P Weiss, R Wesche, M J Wolf, L Zani, R Zanino, A Zappatore and V Corato
Superconductor Science and Technology 2020, 33, 044013, 10.1088/1361-6668/ab75a9

High frequency response of thick REBCO coated conductors in the framework of the FCC study
A. Romanov, P. Krkotic, G. Telles, J. O’Callaghan, M. Pont, F. Perez, X. Granados, S. Calatroni, T. Puig and J. Gutierrez
Scientific reports 2020, 10, 12325, 10.1038/s41598-020-69004-z

Magneto-ionic control of magnetism in two-oxide nanocomposite thin films comprising mesoporous cobalt ferrite conformally nanocoated with HfO2
S. Robbennolt, P. Yu, A. Nicolenco, P. Mercier Fernandez, M. Coll and J. Sort
Nanoscale 2020, 12, 5987-5994, 10.1039/C9NR10868H

Enhancement in Thermally Generated Spin Voltage at the Interfaces between Pd and NiFe2O4 Films Grown on Lattice-Matched Substrates
A. Rastogi, Z. Li, A.V. Singh, S. Regmi, T. Peters, P. Bougiatioti, D. Carsten né Meier, J.B. Mohammadi, B. Khodadadi, T Mewes, R Mishra, J. Gazquez, A.Y. Borisevich, Z. Galazka, R. Uecker, G. Reiss, T. Kuschel and A. Gupta
Physical Review Applied 2020, 14, 14014, 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.14.014014

Relevance of the Formation of Intermediate Non-Equilibrium Phases in YBa2Cu3O7-x Film Growth by Transient Liquid-Assisted Growth
S. Rasi, L. Soler, J. Jareño, J. Banchewski, R. Guzman, C. Mocuta, M. Kreuzer, S. Ricart, P. Roura-Grabulosa, J. Farjas, X. Obradors and T. Puig
Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2020, 124 15574-15584, 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c03859

Application of thermal analysis and kinetic predictions to YBCO films prepared by Chemical Solution Deposition methods
S. Rasi, J. Farjas and P. Roura J.
Term.Anal.Calorim. 2020, 142, 2077-2086, 10.1007/s10973-020-10103-4

Intrinsic anisotropy and pinning anisotropy in nanostructured YBa2Cu3O7-delta from microwave measurements
N. Pompeo, A. Alimenti, K. Torokhtii, E. Bartolomé, A. Palau, T. Puig, A. Augueri, V. Galluzzi, A. Mancini, G. Celentano, X. Obradors and E. Silva
Supercond. Science & Technology 2020, 33, 044017, 10.1088/1361-6668/ab773b

Elucidation of the decomposition reactions of low-fluorine YBa2Cu3O7-x precursors during film pyrolysis
L. Piperno, S. Rasi, De Santis S., A. Masi, A. Santoni, A. Mancini, A. Angrisani Armenio, V. Pinto, J. Farjas, G. Sotgiu and G. Celentano
J.Anal.Appl.Pyrol. 2020,148, 104777, 10.1016/j.jaap.2020.104777

Engineering Polar Oxynitrides: Hexagonal Perovskite
BaWON2 J. Oro-Sole, I. Fina, C. Frontera, J. Gazquez, C. Ritter, M. Cunquero, P. Loza-Alvarez, S. Conejeros, P. Alemany, E. Canadell, J. Fontcuberta and A. Fuertes
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 18395 – 18399, 10.1002/ange.202006519

Enhancing magneto-ionic effects in magnetic mesoporous films via conformal deposition of nanolayers with oxygen getter/donor capabilities
C. Navarro-Senent, A. Quintana, E. Isarain-Chávez, E. Weschke, P. Yu, M. Coll, E. Pellicer, E. Menéndez and J. Sort
ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 14484-14494, 10.1021/acsami.9b19363

Local strain-driven migration of oxygen vacancies to apical sites in YBa2Cu3O7-x
B. Mundet, S. Hartmam, R. Guzmán, J. C. Idrobo, X. Obradors , T. Puig, R. Mishra and J. Gazquez
Nanoscale 2020, 12, 5922-5931, 10.1039/D0NR00666A

Spectroscopic study of partially oxidized BN nanoscrolls induced by low frequency ultrasonic irradiation
R. Miranti, M.S. Qayyum, A. Sharma, M.-A. Einarsrud, N. Mestres and M. Benelmekki
Applied Surface Science 2020, 515, 146055, 10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.146055

Direct Visualization of Current-Stimulated Oxygen Migration in YBa2Cu3O7−δ Thin Films
S. Marinković, A. Fernández-Rodríguez, S. Collienne, S. Blanco Alvarez, S. Melinte, B. Maiorov, G. Rius, X. Granados, N. Mestres, A. Palau and A. V. Silhanek
ACS Nano 2020, 14, 9, 11765–11774, 10.1021/acsnano.0c04492

Suppression of superconductivity at the nanoscale in chemical solution derived YBa2Cu3O7-delta thin films with defective Y2Ba4Cu8O16 intergrowths
Z. Li, M. Coll, B. Mundet, A. Palau, T. Puig and X. Obradors
NANOSCALE ADVANCES 2020, 2, 3384-3393, 10.1039/D0NA00456A

Artificial pinning centers in (Y, RE)-Ba-Cu-O superconductors: recent progress and future perspective Preface
T. J. Haugan, T. Puig, K. Matsumoto and J. Wu
Supercond. Sci. Technol. 2020, 33, 040301, 10.1088/1361-6668/ab4ccd

Nanoscale Correlations between Metal–Insulator Transition and Resistive Switching Effect in Metallic Perovskite Oxides
J. C. Gonzalez-Rosillo, S. Catalano, I. Maggio-Aprile, M. Gibert, X. Obradors, A. Palau and T. Puig
Small 2020, 2001307, 10.1002/smll.202001307

Multi-Terminal Transistor-Like Devices Based on Strongly Correlated Metallic Oxides for Neuromorphic Applications
A. Fernandez-Rodriguez, J. Alcala, J. Suñe, N. Mestres and A. Palau
Materials 2020, 13, 281, 10.3390/ma13020281

Heavy-mineral provenance signatures during the infill and uplift of a foreland basin: An example from the Jaca basin (Southern Pyrenees, Spain)
X. Coll, D. Gómez-Gras, M. Roigé, A. Teixell, S. Boya and N. Mestres
Journal of Sedimentary Research 2020 90, 1747-1769, 10.2110/jsr.2020.084

Photoinduced Persistent Electron Accumulation and Depletion in LAO/STO Quantum Wells
Y. Chen, Y. Lechaux, B. Casals, B. Guillet, A. Minj, J. Gazquez, L. Mechin and G. Herranz
Phys. Rev. Lett. 2020, 124, 246804, 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.246804

Hybrid approach to obtain high-quality BaMO(3)perovskite nanocrystals
N. Chamorro, J. Martínez-Esain, T. Puig, X. Obradors, J. Ros, R. Yanez and S. Ricart
RSC Advances 2020 10, 28872-28878, 10.1039/D0RA03861J

Preparation of GdBa2Cu3O6+x (GdBCO) precursor powder by spray-drying a nitrate solution containing PEG
J. Camps, J. Farjas, P. Roura-Grabulosa and A. Calleja
Int.J.Appl.Ceram.Technol. 2020, 17, 1752-1760, 10.1111/ijac.13495

Atomic scale growth of GdFeO3 perovskite thin films
C. Bohr, PM. Yu, M. Scigaj, C. Hegemann, T. Fischer, M. Coll and S. Mathur
Thin Solid Films 2020, 698, 137848, 10.1016/j.tsf.2020.137848

Embedded Magnetism in YBa2Cu3O7 Associated with Cu–O Vacancies within Nanoscale Intergrowths: Implications for Superconducting Current Performance
E. Bartolomé, B. Mundet, R. Guzman, J. Gazquez, M. Valvidares, J. Herrero Martin, E. ‐ Pellegrin, T. Puig and X.Obradors
ACS Applied Nano Materials 2020, 3, 3050-3059, 10.1021/acsanm.0c00505

Vortex pinning properties at dc and microwave frequencies of YBa2Cu3O7-x films with nanorods and nanoparticles
E. Bartolomé, J. Alcala, F. Valles, T. Puig, X. Obradors, N. Pompeo, A. Alimenti, K. Torokhtii, F. Rizzo, A. Augueri, G. Celentano, E. Silva and A. Palau
Supercond. Science & Technology 2020, 33, 074006, 10.1088/1361-6668/ab8f18

Awards&Recognitgions

Iván Caño recieves second prize on the SCN2 Dresselhaus Awards for his study on “Compositional nanoengineering in ferroelectric perovskites for photovoltaic applications”
Artur Romanov recieves the third prize at the Best Student Paper in Materias and the Alexander Shikov award for the Best Student Paper in Materias on design and manufacturing of LTS and HTS Conductors, for his presentation entitled "REBa2Cu3O7-x coated conductors as promising candidates for the FCC-hh collider beam screan coating".