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Register a new userAbsence of Superconductivity in Nd$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_x$ Thin Films without Chemical Reduction
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The recently reported superconductivity 9-15 K in Nd0.8Sr0.2NiO2/SrTiO3 heterostructures that were fabricated by a soft-chemical topotactic reduction approach based on precursor Nd0.8Sr0.2NiO3 thin films deposited on SrTiO3 substrates, has excited an immediate surge of research interest. To explore an alternative physical path instead of chemical reduction for realizing superconductivity in this compound, using pulsed laser deposition, we systematically fabricated 63 Nd0.8Sr0.2NiOx (NSNO) thin films at a wide range of oxygen partial pressures on various different oxide substrates. Transport measurements did not find any signature of superconductivity in all the 63 thin-film samples. With reducing the oxygen content in the NSNO films by lowering the deposition oxygen pressure, the NSNO films are getting more resistive and finally become insulating. Furthermore, we tried to cap a 20-nm-thick amorphous LaAlO3 layer on a Nd0.8Sr0.2NiO3 thin film deposited at a high oxygen pressure of 150 mTorr to create oxygen vacancies on its surface and did not succeed in higher conductivity either. Our experimental results together with the recent report on the absence of superconductivity in synthesized bulk Nd0.8Sr0.2NiO2 crystals suggest that the chemical reduction approach could be unique for yielding superconductivity in NSNO/SrTiO3 heterostructures. However, SrTiO3 substrates could be reduced to generate oxygen vacancies during the chemical reduction process as well, which may thus partially contribute to conductivity.
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The newly found superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelate superconducting films has attracted much attention, because their crystalline and electronic structures are similar to high-$T_c$ cuprate superconductors. The upper critical field can provide much information on superconductivity, but detailed experimental data are still lacking in these films. Here we present temperature and angle dependence of resistivity measured under different magnetic fields ($H$) in Nd$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_{2}$ thin films. The onset superconducting transition occurs at about 16.2 K at 0 T. Temperature dependent upper critical fields determined by using a criterion very close to the onset transition show a clear negative curvature near the critical transition temperature, which is explained as the consequence of the paramagnetically limited effect on superconductivity. The temperature dependent anisotropy of the upper critical field is obtained from resistivity data, which yields a value decreasing from 3 to 1.2 with lowering temperature. This can be explained by a variable contribution from the orbital limit effect on upper critical field. The angle dependent resistivity at a fixed temperature and different magnetic fields cannot be scaled to one curve, which deviates from the prediction of the anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau theory. However, at low temperatures, the increased resistivity by magnetic field can be scaled by the parameter $H^beta |costheta|$ ($1<beta<6$) with $theta$ the angle enclosed between $c$-axis and the applied magnetic field. As the first detailed study on the upper critical field of the nickelate thin films, our results clearly indicate a small anisotropy and paramagnetically limited effect of superconductivity in nickelate superconductors.
The recent observation of superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelate Nd$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_{2}$ has received considerable attention. Despite the many efforts to understand the superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates, a consensus on the underlying mechanism for the superconductivity has yet to be reached, partly owing to the challenges with the material synthesis. Here, we report the successful growth of superconducting infinite-layer Nd$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_{2}$ films by pulsed-laser deposition and soft chemical reduction. The details on growth process will be discussed.
The recent discovery of superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates has motivated tremendous efforts to study these materials that are analogous to cuprates. However, superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates has been realized only in thin films grown on SrTiO$_3$ substrates, thus raising the question whether it is interface-induced and the query into the role of SrTiO$_3$ substrate. Here, we report the observation of superconductivity in Pr$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$ films prepared at almost the same conditions except they are grown on different substrates (LaAlO$_3$)$_{0.3}$(Sr$_2$AlTaO$_6$)$_{0.7}$ (LSAT) and SrTiO$_3$ with the corresponding onset of superconductivity maximized at 15 K and 9K, respectively. Our results not only suggest that the superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates is unlikely an interface-induced phenomenon and that the SrTiO$_3$ substrate is not a necessary for the emergence of superconductivity, but also indicate that the compressive strain can possibly increase T$_c$ of Pr$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$.
The structure, morphology, and electrical properties of epitaxial a-axis oriented thin films of Nd(0.2)Sr(0.8)MnO(3) are reported for thicknesses 10 nm <= t <= 150 nm. Films were grown with both tensile and compressive strain on various substrates. It is found that the elongated crystallographic c-axes of the films remain fully strained to the substrates for all thicknesses in both strain states. Relaxation of the a and b axes is observed for t>= 65 nm with films grown under tensile strain developing uniaxial crack arrays (running along the c axis) due to a highly anisotropic thermal expansion. For the latter films, the room-temperature in-plane electrical resistivity anisotropy, rho_b/rho_c, increases approximately exponentially with increasing film thickness to values of ~1000 in the thickest films studied. Films under tension have their Neel temperatures enhanced by ~25 K independent of thickness, consistent with an enhancement of ferromagnetic exchange along their expanded c axes.
The recent observation of superconductivity in thin film infinite-layer nickelates$^{1-3}$ offers a different angle to investigate superconductivity in layered oxides$^{4}$. A wide range of candidate models have been proposed$^{5-10}$, emphasizing single- or multi-orbital electronic structure, Kondo or Hunds coupling, and analogies to cuprates. Clearly, further experimental characterization of the superconducting state is needed to develop a full understanding of the nickelates. Here we use magnetotransport measurements to probe the superconducting anisotropy in Nd$_{0.775}$Sr$_{0.225}$NiO$_{2}$. We find that the upper critical field is surprisingly isotropic at low temperatures despite the layered crystal structure. In a magnetic field the superconductivity is strongly Pauli-limited, such that the paramagnetic effect dominates over orbital de-pairing. Underlying this isotropic response is a substantial anisotropy in the superconducting coherence length, which is at least four times longer in-plane than out-of-plane. A prominent low-temperature upturn in the upper critical field indicates the presence of an unconventional ground state.
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