İkili Katman Nikelatları: Yüksek Sıcaklık Süperiletkenlerinin Yeni Bir Sınıfı

Süperiletkenlik Sınırlamaları

Electricity has been one of the most transformative technologies in history, allowing for the transmission of a very useful form of energy over long distances. But every “normal” electric system faces electric resistance, which results in the generation of heat when an electric current is applied.

Alternatif bir seçenek vardır: sözde süperiletken malzemeler. Süperiletken malzemeler sıfır elektrik direncine sahiptir, bu da ısı üretmeden son derece güçlü akımların kullanılabilmesini sağlar.

Süperiletkenlik olmadan, parçacık hızlandırıcıları (örneğin CERN), MRI ve manyetik levitasyon trenleri gibi birçok modern teknoloji mümkün olmazdı.

Süperiletkenlik, ITER ve nükleer füzyon, kütle sürücüleri, kuantum bilgisayarlar gibi en umut vaat eden mega projeler ve teknolojik yeniliklerin kritik bir bileşeni olacaktır.

Sıfır kayıplı elektrik hatları, yenilenebilir enerjinin üretimini hava koşulları ve zaman dilimleri arasında dengelemek için ultra uzun şebeke bağlantılarının geliştirilmesinde de hayati öneme sahip olabilir, güneş ve rüzgar enerjisinin bazı sınırlamalarını çözer.

Kaynak: XOT Metals

Ancak, süperiletkenlik şu ana kadar yalnızca mutlak sıfırın birkaç derece üzerindeki ultra düşük sıcaklıklarda veya aşırı yüksek basınçta gösteren malzemeler için hâlâ ustalaşılmıştır.

Bu durum, sadece en talepkar uygulamalar (manyetik levitasyon, MRI vb.) için bile çok karmaşık olmasının yanı sıra çok maliyetli olmasına da yol açar; bu da süperiletken malzemelerden faydalanabilecek birçok uygulama için ekonomik olmamasına neden olur.

Süperiletkenliğe Birçok Yol

It now seems that the material produced in high pressure might be able to retain some of its superconductivity at lower pressure, basınç-aniş protokolü (PQP) adlı deneysel bir yöntemle.

Recently, WSe₂’nin bükülmüş çift katmanı (tungsten selenyum) da daha yüksek sıcaklıkta süperiletkenler için iyi bir malzeme adayı gibi görünüyor.

Dolayısıyla yıllarca süren yavaş ilerlemenin ardından, fizikçilerin tamamen yeni süperiletken malzemeler yaratma yollarını keşfetmeye başladığı görülüyor. Ve şimdi, nikel içeren yeni bir süperiletken ailesi listeye eklendi.

Shenzhen’deki Southern University of Science and Technology ve Tsinghua University’den Çinli araştırmacılar, çift katman nikelat süperiletkenlerinin mutlak sıfırın çok üzerindeki ve ortam basıncında elektrik akımını direnciz ilettiğini keşfettiler.¹

They published their results in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, under the title “40 K üzerindeki ortam basıncında süperiletkenlik başlangıcı (La,Pr)3Ni2O7 filmlerinde”.

Çok Soğuk Olmayan Süperiletkenler

High-temperature superconductivity might one day become an option, notably with the puzzling case of LK-99 (a form of copper-substituted lead apatite – CSLA), a new type of ambient-pressure, room-temperature superconductor.

The claim was immediately contested and criticized as a hoax or a measurement error, but daha sonra diğer araştırmacılar bir şeylerin gerçekleştiğini keşfetti.

But this is not the only class of superconductors that could work at warmer temperatures.

It has been recently discovered that two groups of ceramics (copper-based cuprates and iron-based pnictides) worked as unconventional superconductors that operate at room pressure and at temperatures as high as 150°K (–123°C / -189°F).

Kaynak: Materials Today

Now, it appears that nickelates are joining these ceramics to create a material that works as superconductors at higher temperatures.

While not so warm, it is much easier to reach a temperature than with current superconductors. For example, the ITER’in süperiletken manyetikleri will need to be cooled close to absolute zero with liquid helium, a very energy-intensive and expensive procedure.

Overall, this indicates that superconductors are likely to become much more common in the medium term, as many more forms of them are being discovered and experimented with.

Süperiletken Nikelatları

Nickelate was discovered to have potential superconductivity properties in 2019 by Danfeng Li, a physicist at the City University of Hong Kong, and his colleague. In 2023, another team demonstrated nickelates’ superconductivity at higher temperatures, but under high pressure.

Kaynak: Nature

But it was in Aralık 2024 that nickelates were detected for the first time to lose resistance at a critical temperature and expelled magnetic fields, both strong indications of superconductivity.

To achieve this result, single-crystal films of La2.85Pr0.15Ni2O7 (lanthanum-praseodymium-nickel) were grown using a technique called devasa-oksidatif atomik tabaka katman epitaksisi (GOALL-Epitaxy). This technique was developed by the same team of researchers and provides several orders of magnitude stronger oxidation and precision in producing layers of material at the atomic level.

Kaynak: Research Gate

Advanced analytical methods were used to study the nickel-based compound, including Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images and X-ray reciprocal space mappings (RSMs).

They revealed the appearance of a tetragonal phase in the nickel oxide layer, which might be responsible for the free flow of electrons in the right conditions.

Süperiletken Malzemeleri İyileştirme

The method used as a preliminary test to improve the nickelate properties can be further improved. This should lead to multiple tests to further raise the temperature of these superconductors.

“There’s a huge hope that we could eventually raise the critical temperature and make such materials more useful for applications.”

Danfeng Li – Physicist at the City University of Hong Kong.

The analysis indicates that the process that gives nickelates superconductivity is similar to the one affecting the cuprates (made from copper).

”Increasing this is a priority. The team is trying various tricks to tweak how the material is grown and its precise composition.”

Zhuoyu Chen – Physicist at SUSTech

Teoriden Önce Deneyler

It should be remarked that the recent results regarding higher-temperature superconductors, or even potential room-temperature superconductors, are running ahead of theoretical physics in the field.

So, why it works is still quite a mystery. There is not yet a complete explanation of why these materials are superconductors, and even less of a predictive method to forecast what material might be displaying these features.

Until now, the need for high-pressure or hyper-cold conditions had severely impaired the study of these materials, as it was hard to test anything when superconductivity only happens in a diamond anvil or liquid helium.

Easier to maintain conditions should give a lot more leeway for the scientists to study these materials and modify them.

So this leaves plenty of room for improvement, and a better understanding of these materials, including with the help of AI, should help go further.

It should also get more researchers working in the field and more companies pouring R&D budgets on these projects, speeding up the pace of progress.

Gelecek Uygulamaları

High-temperature superconductors would be an immediate wonder-material if understood well enough for manufacturing them at scale.

The first immediate effect would be to decrease the cost of equipment already leveraging superconductivity, like MRI, maglev trains, advanced turbines and generators, particle accelerators, experimental fusion reactors, etc.

It would also make possible technology that until now could never either be done at all or was prohibitively expensive due to the technical constraints of low-temperature superconductors.

This includes hyperloop trenleri, kütle sürücüleriyle yörüngeye ulaşma, ticari nükleer füzyon, intercontinental grid connections, etc. Each of these is a technology that would forever alter the path of human civilization.

Süperiletkenlik Çözümlerinde Liderler

AMSC is a company providing energy solutions for the power grid, ships, and wind energy. In general, the more power-hungry or massive a system is, the more it requires superconducting technology to avoid overheating.

Despite its name, ASMC provides not only superconductor systems but also, for example, gear drivetrains for wind turbines.

The company is riding multiple growth drivers, from the trend of electrification, and digitalization (including AI datacenters), but also the reshoring of US manufacturing capacities and the need for Navies of the Anglosphere to modernize in response to growing geopolitical risks.

Kaynak: American Superconductor Corporation [securities_stock_price_tag symbol="AMSC" exchange="NASDAQ"]

In the power supply segment, AMSC has seen a steady rise in orders. This was driven by semiconductor fabs looking to be protected from power grid fluctuations, helping the grid deal with the intermittent nature of renewables, and power supply & controls at industrial sites.

Kaynak: American Superconductor Corporation

In the wind turbine segment, AMSC is mostly active with Electrical Control System (ECS). Historically, ESC was a strong segment for the company with the 2MW wind turbines, but it has progressively declined. AMSC aims for a rebound thanks to the new 3MW turbine design, with a special focus on the Indian market.

Kaynak: American Superconductor Corporation

For military ships, ASMC provides the “AMSC’s High Temperature Superconductor Magnetic Mine Countermeasure,” a system to alter the magnetic signature of the ships to protect them from sea mines. This is sold to the US, Canadian, and UK navies, with $75M worth of orders so far.

Overall, ASMC is doing best with leveraging superconductor technology in niche applications viable today, while likely being ready to deploy further advances in the future. It should also be noted by investors that the stock has experienced extreme volatility in the past, and to calculate the risks accordingly.

American Superconductor Corporation Hakkında Son Haberler

Çalışma Referansı:

^{1.Zhou, G., Lv, W., Wang, H. et al.(2025) 40 K üzerindeki ortam basıncında süperiletkenlik başlangıcı (La,Pr)3Ni2O7 Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08755-z}