Enhanced superconductivity in tin-based hyperbolic metamaterials

The search for superconductors with higher Tc is one of the most important problems in condensed matter physics. Recent experiments have demonstrated the enhancement of the critical temperature of a superconductor via the metamaterial approach [1, 2]. Electron-electron interaction in tin/dielectric epsilon near zero (ENZ) metamaterials was enhanced through dielectric response engineering. Here, we extended this approach to a hyperbolic configuration (tin/dielectric multilayers). We have also demonstrated that an aluminum/aluminum oxide hyperbolic metamaterial geometry is capable of Tc enhancement [1]. The dependence of Tc enhancement on metal volume fraction was studied. Polarization reflectometry was used to correlate anisotropy of dielectric function with superconducting properties. [1]. Vera N. Smolyaninova et.al, Scientific Reports 6, 34140 (2016) [2]. Vera N. Smolyaninova et.al, Scientific Reports 5, 15777 (2015).