Tuning the ground state of cuprate superconducting thin films by nanofaceted substrates
Journal article, 2024

Anisotropic transport properties have been assessed in a number of cuprate superconductors, providing evidence for a nematic state. We have recently shown that in ultra-thin YBa2Cu3O7−δ films, where nematicity is induced via strain engineering, there is a suppression of charge density wave scattering along the orthorhombic a-axis and a concomitant enhancement of strange metal behavior along the b-axis. Here we develop a microscopic model, that is based on the strong interaction between the substrate facets and the thin film, to account for the unconventional phenomenology. Based on the atomic force microscopy imaging of the substrates’ surface, the model is able to predict the absence (presence) of nematicity and the resulting transport properties in films grown on SrTiO3 (MgO) substrates. Our result paves the way to new tuning capabilities of the ground state of high-temperature superconductors by substrate engineering.
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Published in

Communications Materials

26624443 (eISSN)

Vol. 5 Issue 1 art. no 146

Research Project(s)

Quantum Fluctuations and Entanglement in High-Tc Superconductors

Swedish Research Council (VR) (2020-05184), 2021-01-01 -- 2024-12-31.

Categorizing

Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)

Inorganic Chemistry

Other Materials Engineering

Condensed Matter Physics

Identifiers

DOI

10.1038/s43246-024-00582-5

More information

Latest update

8/16/2024