No Arabic abstract
We report a systematic study of thickness-dependent superconductivity and carrier transport properties in exfoliated layered 2H-NbS2. Hall-effect measurements reveal 2H-NbS2 in its normal state to be a p-type metal with hole mobility of 1-3 cm2/Vs. The superconducting transition temperature is found to decrease with thickness. We find that the suppression of superconductivity is due to disorder resulting from the incorporation of atmospheric oxygen and a reduced hole density. Cross-section transmission electron microscope (TEM) imaging reveals a chemical change of NbS2 in ambient conditions, resulting in the formation of amorphous oxide layers sandwiching crystalline layered NbS2. Though few-nm-thick 2H-NbS2 completely converts to amorphous oxide in ambient conditions, PMMA encapsulation prevents further chemical change and preserves superconductivity.
Two-dimensional (2D) superconductors supply important platforms for exploring new quantum physics and high-$T_c$ superconductivity. The intrinsic superconducting properties in the 2D iron-arsenic superconductors are still unknown owing to the difficulties in the preparation of ultrathin samples. Here we report the fabrication and physical investigations of the high quality single-crystalline ultrathin films of the iron-arsenic superconductor KCa$_2$Fe$_4$As$_4$F$_2$. For the sample with the thickness of 2.6$sim$5 nm (1$sim$2 unit cells), a sharp superconducting transition at around 30 K (onset point) is observed. Compare with the bulk material, the ultrathin sample reveals a relatively lower $T_c$, wider transition width, and broader flux liquid region under the in-plane field. Moreover, the angle dependent upper critical field follows the Tinkham model, demonstrating the two-dimensional superconductivity in ultrathin KCa$_2$Fe$_4$As$_4$F$_2$.
$mathrm{La_{1.85}Sr_{0.15}CuO_4}$/$mathrm{La_2CuO_4}$ (LSCO15/LCO) bilayers with a precisely controlled thickness of N unit cells (UCs) of the former and M UCs of the latter ([LSCO15_N/LCO_M]) were grown on (001)-oriented {slao} (SLAO) substrates with pulsed laser deposition (PLD). X-ray diffraction and reciprocal space map (RSM) studies confirmed the epitaxial growth of the bilayers and showed that a [LSCO15_2/LCO_2] bilayer is fully strained, whereas a [LSCO15_2/LCO_7] bilayer is already partially relaxed. The textit{in situ} monitoring of the growth with reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) revealed that the gas environment during deposition has a surprisingly strong effect on the growth mode and thus on the amount of disorder in the first UC of LSCO15 (or the first two monolayers of LSCO15 containing one $mathrm{CuO_2}$ plane each). For samples grown in pure $mathrm{N_2O}$ gas (growth type-B), the first LSCO15 UC next to the SLAO substrate is strongly disordered. This disorder is strongly reduced if the growth is performed in a mixture of $mathrm{N_2O}$ and $mathrm{O_2}$ gas (growth type-A). Electric transport measurements confirmed that the first UC of LSCO15 next to the SLAO substrate is highly resistive and shows no sign of superconductivity for growth type-B, whereas it is superconducting for growth type-A. Furthermore, we found, rather surprisingly, that the conductivity of the LSCO15 UC next to the LCO capping layer strongly depends on the thickness of the latter. A LCO capping layer with 7~UCs leads to a strong localization of the charge carriers in the adjacent LSCO15 UC and suppresses superconductivity. The magneto-transport data suggest a similarity with the case of weakly hole doped LSCO single crystals that are in a so-called {{cluster-spin-glass state}}
Simultaneous high pressure x-ray diffraction and electrical resistance measurements have been carried out on a PbO type {alpha}-FeSe0.92 compound to a pressure of 44 GPa and temperatures down to 4 K using designer diamond anvils at synchrotron source. At ambient temperature, a structural phase transition from a tetragonal (P4/nmm) phase to an orthorhombic (Pbnm) phase is observed at 11 GPa and the Pbnm phase persists up to 74 GPa. The superconducting transition temperature (TC) increases rapidly with pressure reaching a maximum of ~28 K at ~ 6 GPa and decreases at higher pressures, disappearing completely at 14.6 GPa. Simultaneous pressure-dependent x-ray diffraction and resistance measurements at low temperatures show superconductivity only in a low pressure orthorhombic (Cmma) phase of the {alpha}-FeSe0.92. Upon increasing pressure at 10 K near TC, crystalline phases change from a mixture of orthorhombic (Cmma) and hexagonal (P63/mmc) to a high pressure orthorhombic (Pbnm) phase near 6.4 GPa where TC is maximum.
The interaction between superconductivity and band topology can lead to various unconventional superconducting (SC) states, and represents a new frontier in condensed matter physics research. Recently, the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) system 2M-WS2 has been identified as a Dirac semimetal exhibiting both superconductivity with the highest Tc = 8.5 K among all the TMD materials and topological surface states with a single Dirac cone. Here we report on muon spin rotation (muSR) and density functional theory studies of microscopic SC properties and the electronic structure in 2M-WS2 at ambient and under hydrostatic pressures (p_max = 1.9 GPa). The SC order parameter in 2M-WS2 is determined to have single-gap s-wave symmetry. We further show a strong negative pressure effect on Tc and on the SC gap. This may be partly caused by the pressure induced reduction of the size of the electron pocket around the Gamma-point, at which a band inversion appears up to the highest applied pressure. We also find that the superfluid density ns is very weakly affected by pressure. The absence of a strong pressure effect on the superfluid density and the absence of a correlation between ns and Tc in 2M-WS2, in contrast to the other SC TMDs Td-MoTe2 and 2H-NbSe2, is explained in terms of its location in the optimal (ambient pressure) and above the optimal (under pressure) superconducting regions of the phase diagram and its large distance to the other possible competing or cooperating orders. These results hint towards a complex nature of the superconductivity in TMDs, despite the observed s-wave order parameter.
We investigate the evolution of superconductivity with decreasing film thickness in ultrathin amorphous MoGe (a-MoGe) films using a combination of sub-Kelvin scanning tunneling spectroscopy, magnetic penetration depth measurements and magneto-transport measurements. We observe that superconductivity is strongly affected by quantum and classical phase fluctuations for thickness below 5 nm. The superfluid density is strongly suppressed by quantum phase fluctuations at low temperatures and evolves towards a linear-T dependence at higher temperatures. This is associated with a rapid decrease in the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, and the emergence of a pronounced pseudogap above Tc. These observations suggest that at strong disorder the destruction of superconductivity follows a Bosonic route where the global superconducting state is destroyed by phase fluctuations even though the pairing amplitude remains finite.