Pressure-Boosted Superconductivity in Tantalum Disulfide

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) led by Zurab Guguchia showed that high pressure raises the superconducting transition temperature (T_c) of tantalum disulfide (TaS2) by roughly threefold. Muon spin spectroscopy at the Swiss Muon Source (SuS) confirmed full three-dimensional superconductivity at pressures several hundred times a car tyre.

Tantalum Disulphide Becomes Superconducting at 3× Higher Temperatures Under Pressure

TaS2 has alternating atomic planes; one becomes superconducting on cooling while the neighbor remains insulating, limiting current to a single layer. High pressure compresses the lattice, reduces the insulating effect and releases electrons, enabling the whole crystal to become three-dimensional superconducting.

Quantum material under pressure

PSI’s muon-spin-rotation group, operating the world’s most powerful muon source, conducted the study. Guguchia, the 2026 International Career Achievement Award laureate on Superconductivity, combined muon implantation—offering microscopic magnetic sensitivity—with transport measurements to track the pressure-driven evolution.

Quantum material under pressure

Under high pressure, the superconducting transition temperature rises by about threefold, the number of electrons in the condensate increases roughly sevenfold, and the applied pressure reaches several hundred times that of a typical car tyre.

Tantalum Disulphide Becomes Superconducting at 3× Higher Temperatures Under Pressure

Elevating T_c reduces the extreme cooling required for current superconducting applications, such as the Large Hadron Collider, and supports global efforts to develop unconventional superconductors that operate at higher temperatures or in strong magnetic fields—critical steps toward energy-efficient technologies.

Tantalum Disulphide Becomes Superconducting at 3× Higher Temperatures Under Pressure

PSI noted that the Swiss Muon Source provides unique insight into magnetic and superconducting properties of quantum materials. An upgrade under the IMPACT project will deliver beams hundreds of times more intense, broadening experimental possibilities for superconducting quantum materials and supporting PSI’s mission in future technologies, energy, and climate research.

Tantalum Disulphide Becomes Superconducting at 3× Higher Temperatures Under Pressure

• “Currently, research is being conducted worldwide on novel, unconventional superconductors that exhibit robust superconductivity even at higher temperatures or in strong external magnetic fields.” — Zurab Guguchia, Research Group Leader, PSI

Tantalum Disulphide Becomes Superconducting at 3× Higher Temperatures Under Pressure

• “Its chemical formula sounds very simple: for every tantalum atom there are two sulfur atoms.” — Zurab Guguchia

Tantalum Disulphide Becomes Superconducting at 3× Higher Temperatures Under Pressure

• “Due to these effects, high pressure causes tantalum disulfide to become superconducting in all three dimensions at temperatures approximately three times higher.” — Zurab Guguchia

Quantum material under pressure

• “It alters the way electrons pair up and move together through the material, resulting in a more robust form of superconductivity.” — Zurab Guguchia

Quantum material under pressure

All sources agree on the quantitative enhancements, but the microscopic mechanism by which pressure releases electrons from the insulating layer remains unresolved.

Tantalum Disulphide Becomes Superconducting at 3× Higher Temperatures Under Pressure

After the IMPACT upgrade, PSI will have muon beams orders of magnitude more powerful, enabling deeper study of pressure-tuned quantum phases. The team will conduct further high-pressure experiments on TaS2 and related layered compounds to pursue room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductivity.

Quantum material under pressure