Accomplishments of the Quantum Materials Program

• CIFAR researchers produced the world's purest samples of the superconducting material yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO). These researchers’ lab is renowned as the world's leading source for ultra-pure YBCO crystals.
• Dr. Louis Taillefer made a major breakthrough by observing “quantum oscillations” in the high-temperature superconductor YBCO, providing direct insight into the nature of electron behaviour in these materials. This research aims to understand how to make these superconductors useful for practical purposes such as power transmission, levitating trains, magnetic medical imaging, wireless communications, and much more.