Achieving superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelate thin films by aluminum sputtering deposition

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Zhang, Dongxin, Raji, Aravind, Vicente-Arche, Luis M., Gloter, Alexandre, Bibes, Manuel, Iglesias, Lucía
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Zhang, Dongxin
Raji, Aravind
Vicente-Arche, Luis M.
Gloter, Alexandre
Bibes, Manuel
Iglesias, Lucía
author_facet Zhang, Dongxin
Raji, Aravind
Vicente-Arche, Luis M.
Gloter, Alexandre
Bibes, Manuel
Iglesias, Lucía
contents The recent discovery of superconductivity in infinite-layer (IL, ABO$_2$) nickelates has opened a new avenue to deepen the understanding of high-temperature superconductivity. However, progress in this field is slowed by significant challenges in material synthesis and the scarcity of research groups capable of producing high quality superconducting samples. IL nickelates are obtained from a reduction of the perovskite ABO$_3$ phase, typically achieved by annealing using CaH$_2$ as a reducing agent. Here, we present a new method to synthesize superconducting infinite-layer nickelate Pr$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$ thin films using an aluminum overlayer deposited by sputtering as a reducing agent. We systematically optimized the aluminum deposition parameters and obtained superconducting samples reduced either in situ or ex situ (after air exposure of the precursor ABO$_3$ films). A comparison of their crystalline quality and transport properties shows that in situ Al reduction enhances the quality of the superconducting Pr$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$ thin films, achieving a maximum superconducting transition temperature $T_{c}^{onset}$ of 17 K, in agreement with the optimum value reported for this compound. This simple synthesis route, much more accessible than existing methods, offers better control and reproducibility over the topotactic transformation, opening new opportunities to gain insights into the physics of superconductivity in nickelates.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_04896
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Achieving superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelate thin films by aluminum sputtering deposition
Zhang, Dongxin
Raji, Aravind
Vicente-Arche, Luis M.
Gloter, Alexandre
Bibes, Manuel
Iglesias, Lucía
Superconductivity
Materials Science
The recent discovery of superconductivity in infinite-layer (IL, ABO$_2$) nickelates has opened a new avenue to deepen the understanding of high-temperature superconductivity. However, progress in this field is slowed by significant challenges in material synthesis and the scarcity of research groups capable of producing high quality superconducting samples. IL nickelates are obtained from a reduction of the perovskite ABO$_3$ phase, typically achieved by annealing using CaH$_2$ as a reducing agent. Here, we present a new method to synthesize superconducting infinite-layer nickelate Pr$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$ thin films using an aluminum overlayer deposited by sputtering as a reducing agent. We systematically optimized the aluminum deposition parameters and obtained superconducting samples reduced either in situ or ex situ (after air exposure of the precursor ABO$_3$ films). A comparison of their crystalline quality and transport properties shows that in situ Al reduction enhances the quality of the superconducting Pr$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$ thin films, achieving a maximum superconducting transition temperature $T_{c}^{onset}$ of 17 K, in agreement with the optimum value reported for this compound. This simple synthesis route, much more accessible than existing methods, offers better control and reproducibility over the topotactic transformation, opening new opportunities to gain insights into the physics of superconductivity in nickelates.
title Achieving superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelate thin films by aluminum sputtering deposition
topic Superconductivity
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.04896