title: Using metamaterial nanoengineering to triple the superconducting critical temperature of bulk aluminum.
abstract: Recent experiments have shown the viability of the metamaterial approach to dielectric response engineering for enhancing the transition temperature, Tc, of a superconductor. In this report, we demonstrate the use of Al2O3-coated aluminium nanoparticles to form the recently proposed epsilon near zero (ENZ) core-shell metamaterial superconductor with a Tc that is three times that of pure aluminium. IR reflectivity measurements confirm the predicted metamaterial modification of the dielectric function thus demonstrating the efficacy of the ENZ metamaterial approach to Tc engineering. The developed technology enables efficient nanofabrication of bulk aluminium-based metamaterial superconductors. These results open up numerous new possibilities of considerable Tc increase in other simple superconductors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics Astronomy and Geosciences, Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson, MD 21252, USA.
authors.forename: Vera N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Smolyaninova
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics Astronomy and Geosciences, Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson, MD 21252, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zander
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics Astronomy and Geosciences, Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson, MD 21252, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gresock
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics Astronomy and Geosciences, Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson, MD 21252, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.affiliation: Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Prestigiacomo
authors.affiliation: Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Osofsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Igor I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Smolyaninov