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.
Author
Giovanni Mirarchi
Sapienza University of Rome
Riccardo Arpaia
Universita Ca' Foscari Venezia
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
Eric Wahlberg
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Thilo Bauch
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
Alexei Kalaboukhov
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
S. Caprara
Sapienza University of Rome
C. Di Castro
Sapienza University of Rome
M. Grilli
Sapienza University of Rome
Floriana Lombardi
Chalmers, Microtechnology and Nanoscience (MC2), Quantum Device Physics
Götz Seibold
Brandenburg University of Technology
Communications Materials
26624443 (eISSN)
Vol. 5 1 146Quantum Fluctuations and Entanglement in High-Tc Superconductors
Swedish Research Council (VR) (2020-05184), 2021-01-01 -- 2024-12-31.
Subject Categories
Inorganic Chemistry
Other Materials Engineering
Condensed Matter Physics
DOI
10.1038/s43246-024-00582-5