Strain-Engineered Electronic Structure and Superconductivity in La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ Thin Films

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cao, Yu-Han, Jiang, Kai-Yue, Lu, Hong-Yan, Wang, Da, Wang, Qiang-Hua
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866914444011896832
author Cao, Yu-Han
Jiang, Kai-Yue
Lu, Hong-Yan
Wang, Da
Wang, Qiang-Hua
author_facet Cao, Yu-Han
Jiang, Kai-Yue
Lu, Hong-Yan
Wang, Da
Wang, Qiang-Hua
contents Recently, the films of the Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) nickelate superconductors, in which the (La,Pr)$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ system exhibits a remarkable transition temperature $T_c$ exceeding 40 K, were synthesized at ambient pressure. We systematically investigate the band structures and electronic correlation effect to identify the key factors controlling superconductivity and pathways to enhance $T_c$. Based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we construct a bilayer two-orbital ($3d_{3z^2-r^2}$ and $3d_{x^2-y^2}$) tight-binding model for a series of in-plane compression mimicking the substrate effect. We find the band energy at the $M$ point drops with the compression, leading to increase of the density of states at the Fermi level, in stark contrast to the behavior of the bulk under pressure. We then apply functional renormalization group (FRG) method to study the electronic correlation effect on the superconductivity. We find the $s_\pm$-wave pairing symmetry remains robust in the films, the same as the bulk. But somewhat surprisingly, for the films, we find $T_c$ can be enhanced by reducing the in-plane lattice constant, increasing the out-of-plane lattice constant, or further electron-doping. These findings are consistent with the itinerant picture of the superconductivity induced by spin-fluctuations and provide theoretical support for further boosting $T_c$ in future experiments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_13694
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Strain-Engineered Electronic Structure and Superconductivity in La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ Thin Films
Cao, Yu-Han
Jiang, Kai-Yue
Lu, Hong-Yan
Wang, Da
Wang, Qiang-Hua
Superconductivity
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Recently, the films of the Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) nickelate superconductors, in which the (La,Pr)$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ system exhibits a remarkable transition temperature $T_c$ exceeding 40 K, were synthesized at ambient pressure. We systematically investigate the band structures and electronic correlation effect to identify the key factors controlling superconductivity and pathways to enhance $T_c$. Based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we construct a bilayer two-orbital ($3d_{3z^2-r^2}$ and $3d_{x^2-y^2}$) tight-binding model for a series of in-plane compression mimicking the substrate effect. We find the band energy at the $M$ point drops with the compression, leading to increase of the density of states at the Fermi level, in stark contrast to the behavior of the bulk under pressure. We then apply functional renormalization group (FRG) method to study the electronic correlation effect on the superconductivity. We find the $s_\pm$-wave pairing symmetry remains robust in the films, the same as the bulk. But somewhat surprisingly, for the films, we find $T_c$ can be enhanced by reducing the in-plane lattice constant, increasing the out-of-plane lattice constant, or further electron-doping. These findings are consistent with the itinerant picture of the superconductivity induced by spin-fluctuations and provide theoretical support for further boosting $T_c$ in future experiments.
title Strain-Engineered Electronic Structure and Superconductivity in La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_7$ Thin Films
topic Superconductivity
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.13694