Publication Date:
2019
Description:
〈p〉A long-term goal for superconductors is to increase the superconducting transition temperature, 〈i〉T〈/i〉〈sub〉C〈/sub〉. In cuprates, 〈i〉T〈/i〉〈sub〉C〈/sub〉 depends strongly on the out-of-plane Cu-apical oxygen distance and the in-plane Cu-O distance, but there has been little attention paid to tuning them independently. Here, in simply grown, self-assembled, vertically aligned nanocomposite thin films of La〈sub〉2〈/sub〉CuO〈sub〉4+〈/sub〉 + LaCuO〈sub〉3〈/sub〉, by strongly increasing out-of-plane distances without reducing in-plane distances (three-dimensional strain engineering), we achieve superconductivity up to 50 K in the vertical interface regions, spaced ~50 nm apart. No additional process to supply excess oxygen, e.g., by ozone or high-pressure oxygen annealing, was required, as is normally the case for plain La〈sub〉2〈/sub〉CuO〈sub〉4+〈/sub〉 films. Our proof-of-concept work represents an entirely new approach to increasing 〈i〉T〈/i〉〈sub〉C〈/sub〉 in cuprates or other superconductors.〈/p〉
Electronic ISSN:
2375-2548
Topics:
Natural Sciences in General
Permalink