Tyler A. Merz

Variation in superconducting transition temperature due to tetragonal domains in two-dimensionally doped SrTiO3

Strontium titanate is a low-temperature, non-Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductor that superconducts to carrier concentrations lower than in any other system and exhibits avoided ferroelectricity at low temperatures. Neither the mechanism of superconductivity in strontium titanate nor the importance of the structure and dielectric properties for the superconductivity are well understood. We studied the effects of twin structure on superconductivity in a 5.5-nm-thick layer of niobium-doped SrTiO3 embedded in undoped SrTiO3. We used a scanning superconducting quantum interference device susceptometer to image the local diamagnetic response of the sample as a function of temperature. We observed regions that exhibited a superconducting transition temperature T-c greater than or similar to 10% higher than the temperature at which the sample was fully superconducting. The pattern of these regions varied spatially in a manner characteristic of structural twin domains. Some regions are too wide to originate on twin boundaries; therefore, we propose that the orientation of the tetragonal unit cell with respect to the doped plane affects T-c. Our results suggest that the anisotropic dielectric properties of SrTiO3 are important for its superconductivity and need to be considered in any theory of the mechanism of the superconductivity.

Polaronic behavior in a weak-coupling superconductor

Significance The perovskite oxide SrTiO3 is an n-type semiconductor, which exhibits superconductivity at low temperatures even though there are extraordinarily few electrons. In most materials, with so few electrons it becomes difficult to pair them into a macroscopic superconducting ground state. This regime is also unusual in that most theories of superconductivity rely on electrons that are much faster than their coupling (typically lattice vibrations or phonons). By using techniques in which tunneling junctions are engineered with atomic recision, we are able to probe the electronic structure of this material. The experiments indicate a large discrepancy between the electron–phonon coupling strength and the superconducting properties. This places SrTiO3, a host material for a variety of exotic quantum phases (i.e., in FeSe/SrTiO3, LaAlO3/SrTiO3), in a unique regime of superconductivity. The nature of superconductivity in the dilute semiconductor SrTiO3 has remained an open question for more than 50 y. The extremely low carrier densities (1018–1020 cm−3) at which superconductivity occurs suggest an unconventional origin of superconductivity outside of the adiabatic limit on which the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer (BCS) and Migdal–Eliashberg (ME) theories are based. We take advantage of a newly developed method for engineering band alignments at oxide interfaces and access the electronic structure of Nb-doped SrTiO3, using high-resolution tunneling spectroscopy. We observe strong coupling to the highest-energy longitudinal optic (LO) phonon branch and estimate the doping evolution of the dimensionless electron–phonon interaction strength (𝝀). Upon cooling below the superconducting transition temperature (𝑻𝐜), we observe a single superconducting gap corresponding to the weak-coupling limit of BCS theory, indicating an order of magnitude smaller coupling (𝝀𝐁𝐂𝐒≈0.1). These results suggest that despite the strong normal state interaction with electrons, the highest LO phonon does not provide a dominant contribution to pairing. They further demonstrate that SrTiO3 is an ideal system to probe superconductivity over a wide range of carrier density, adiabatic parameter, and electron–phonon coupling strength.

Depth resolved domain mapping in tetragonal SrTiO3 by micro-Laue diffraction

We present depth resolved X-ray micro-Laue diffraction experiments on the low temperature domain structure of SrTiO3. At 80 K, monochromatic X-ray diffraction shows an elongated out-of-plane unit cell axis within a matrix of in-plane oriented tetragonal unit cells. Full deviatoric strain mappings from white beam diffraction show a dominance of two tetragonal domain orientations (x- and z-axes) over a large area of sample surface. This information sets an upper bound on domain wall widths and offers a method for studying 3D domain structure at low temperatures.

Measurement of elastoresistivity at finite frequency by amplitude demodulation

Elastoresistivity, the relation between resistivity and strain, can elucidate the subtle properties of the electronic structure of a material and is an increasingly important tool for the study of strongly correlated materials. To date, elastoresistivity measurements have predominantly been performed with quasi-static (DC) strain. In this work, we demonstrate a method using AC strain in elastoresistivity measurements. A sample experiencing AC strain has a time-dependent resistivity, which modulates the voltage produced by an AC current; this effect produces time-dependent variations in resistivity that are directly proportional to the elastoresistivity, and which can be measured more quickly, with less strain on the sample, and with less stringent requirements for temperature stability than the previous DC technique. Example measurements between 10 Hz and 3 kHz are performed on a material with a large, well-characterized and temperature dependent elastoresistivity: the representative iron-based superconductor Ba(Fe0.975Co0.025)2As2. These measurements yield a frequency independent elastoresistivity and reproduce results from previous DC elastoresistivity methods to within experimental accuracy. We emphasize that the dynamic (AC) elastoresistivity is a distinct material-specific property that has not previously been considered.

Publisher Correction: Carrier density and disorder tuned superconductor-metal transition in a two-dimensional electron system

The original HTML version of this Article omitted to list Harold Y. Hwang as a corresponding author and incorrectly listed Adrian G. Swartz as a corresponding author. This has been corrected in the HTML version of the Article. The PDF version was correct from the time of publication.

Carrier density and disorder tuned superconductor-metal transition in a two-dimensional electron system

Quantum ground states that arise at atomically controlled oxide interfaces provide an opportunity to address key questions in condensed matter physics, including the nature of two-dimensional metallic behaviour often observed adjacent to superconductivity. At the superconducting LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface, a metallic ground state emerges upon the collapse of superconductivity with field-effect gating and is accompanied with a pseudogap. Here we utilize independent control of carrier density and disorder of the interfacial superconductor using dual electrostatic gates, which enables the comprehensive examination of the electronic phase diagram approaching zero temperature. We find that the pseudogap corresponds to precursor pairing, and the onset of long-range phase coherence forms a two-dimensional superconducting dome as a function of the dual-gate voltages. The gate-tuned superconductor–metal transitions are driven by macroscopic phase fluctuations of Josephson coupled superconducting puddles.Studying quantum phase transitions at oxide interfaces provide a key to understand emergent two-dimensional (2D) superconductivity. Here, Chen et al. report comprehensive electronic phase diagram of the 2D electron system at the superconducting LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface with independent control of carrier density and disorder.