Patent ID: 8415276

Claim:
A method of operating a superconductor in its superconducting state at a temperature T c (i) in the range of T c * to T c , where T c * is greater than the superconductivity temperature Te of the superconductor, the method comprising: initially cooling the superconductor to a temperature of T c or less; applying energy as incoherent light to the superconductor only after the superconductor has entered a superconducting state at T c , the energy corresponding to the quantum energy hν less than E 0 , where E 0 is the ground state of the two-dimensional excitation binding energy of the superconductor; and subsequently raising the temperature of the superconductor to the selected temperature T c (i) above T c , while maintaining superconductivity to the temperature T c (i) in a range greater than the superconductivity temperature T c of the superconductor.