Evidence for two-dimensional Ising superconductivity in gated MoS 2

Locking the spins in a superconductor In Cooper pairs—pairs of electrons responsible for the exotic properties of superconductors—the two electrons' spins typically point in opposite directions. A strong-enough external magnetic field will destroy superconductivity by making the spins point in the same direction. Lu et al. observed a two-dimensional superconducting state in the material MoS 2 that was surprisingly immune to a magnetic field applied in the plane of the sample (see the Perspective by Suderow). The band structure of MoS 2 and its spin-orbit coupling conspired to create an effective magnetic field that reinforced the electron pairing, with spins aligned perpendicular to the sample. Science , this issue p. 1353 ; see also p. 1316