Layer-cake 2D superconductivity

Materials science historically has had an immense impact on humanity, as entire periods of time, such as the Bronze or Iron ages, have been named after materials (1). In the modern era, a new class of materials called quantum materials has started to affect people's lives. Quantum materials are broadly defined as materials whose electronic or magnetic behavior cannot be explained by classical physics (2). Discoveries of quantum materials with distinct or improved properties are often followed by a surge of research, resulting in either the discovery of new physics, or in applications, such as in low–power consumption electronics, sensing, photodetection, high-speed electronics, or quantum information science (3). On page 231 in this issue, Devarakonda et al. report the synthesis of a highly interesting quantum material (4), which may facilitate the study of quantum effects that so far have been obscured.