Boosting superconductivity in ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7−δ films via nanofaceted substrates
Journal article, 2026
In cuprate high-temperature superconductors the doping level is fixed during synthesis, hence the charge carrier density per CuO2 plane cannot be easily tuned by conventional gating, unlike in 2D materials. Strain engineering has recently emerged as a powerful tuning knob for manipulating the properties of cuprates, in particular charge and spin orders, and their delicate interplay with superconductivity. In thin films, additional tunability can be introduced by the substrate surface morphology, particularly nanofacets formed by substrate surface reconstruction. Here we show a remarkable enhancement of the superconducting onset temperature Tcon and the upper critical magnetic field Hc,2 in nanometer-thin YBa2Cu3O7−δ films grown on a substrate with a nanofaceted surface. We theoretically show that the enhancement is driven by electronic nematicity and unidirectional charge density waves, where both elements are captured by an additional effective potential at the interface between the film and the uniquely textured substrate. Our findings show a new paradigm in which substrate engineering can effectively enhance the superconducting properties of cuprates. This approach opens an exciting frontier in the design and optimization of high-performance superconducting materials.
Author
Eric Wahlberg
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Riccardo Arpaia
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
Universita Ca' Foscari Venezia
Debmalya Chakraborty
Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani
Indian Institute of Science
Uppsala University
Alexei Kalaboukhov
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
David Vignolles
Laboratory National Des Champs Magnétiques Intenses (LNCMI)
Cyril Proust
Laboratory National Des Champs Magnétiques Intenses (LNCMI)
Annica M. Black-Schaffer
Uppsala University
Thilo Bauch
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
Götz Seibold
Brandenburg University of Technology
Floriana Lombardi
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
Nature Communications
2041-1723 (ISSN) 20411723 (eISSN)
Vol. 17 1 285Revealing strongly entangled quantum matter in High-Tc superconductor devices
Swedish Research Council (VR) (2022-04334), 2023-01-01 -- 2026-12-31.
Quantum Fluctuations and Entanglement in High-Tc Superconductors
Swedish Research Council (VR) (2020-05184), 2021-01-01 -- 2024-12-31.
HIGH-TC Josephson neurons and synapses: Towards ultrafast and energy efficient superconducting neomorphic computing (JOSEPHINE)
European Commission (EC) (EC/HE/101130224), 2024-05-01 -- 2028-04-30.
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Swedish Research Council (VR) (2020-04945), 2021-01-01 -- 2024-12-31.
Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Materials Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry
Condensed Matter Physics
Infrastructure
Myfab (incl. Nanofabrication Laboratory)
DOI
10.1038/s41467-025-67500-2
PubMed
41501025
Related datasets
Boosting superconductivity in ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7−δ films via nanofaceted substrates [dataset]
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17578632.