Reproducible Growth of Superconducting Sr<sub>2</sub>RuO<sub>4</sub> Films by Molecular-Beam Epitaxy

ORAL

Abstract

The unconventional, likely chiral p-wave, superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 has been studied extensively in bulk single crystals since its discovery over 20 years ago. The superconducting state in Sr2RuO4 is extremely sensitive to defects and non-magnetic impurities, and therefore superconductivity has only been observed in very pure crystals with a midpoint Tc of up to ~1.5 K [1]. Thin films of Sr2RuO4 have only recently been realized, and this advancement is important for both the study of the unconventional superconducting properties and for the implementation of Sr2RuO4 in any future practical applications. In this talk, we report a thermodynamic growth window, in which we can reproducibly grow superconducting Sr2RuO4 thin films by molecular-beam epitaxy with transition temperatures of up to 1.8 K on (110) NdGaO3 substrates [2].
1) T. Akima, S. Nishizaki, and Y. Maeno, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 68, 694 (1999).
2) H.P. Nair, J.P. Ruf, N.J. Schreiber, L. Miao, M.L. Grandon, D.J. Baek, B.H. Goodge, J.P.C. Ruff, L.F. Kourkoutis, K.M. Shen, and D.G. Schlom, “Demystifying the Growth of Superconducting Sr2RuO4 Thin Films,” APL Mater. (in press, 2018).

*N.J.S. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-1650441.

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Presenters

  • Nathaniel Schreiber

    • Cornell University

Authors

  • Nathaniel Schreiber

    • Cornell University

  • Hari Nair

    • Cornell University
    • Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science, Cornell University

  • Jacob P Ruf

    • Cornell University
    • Department of Physics, Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science, Cornell University

  • Ludi Miao

    • Cornell University

  • Yingfei Li

    • Cornell University

  • Morgan Grandon

    • Cornell University

  • David Baek

    • Cornell University

  • Berit Goodge

    • Cornell University

  • Lena Fitting Kourkoutis

    • Cornell University

  • Kyle M Shen

    • Cornell University
    • Department of Physics, Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science, Cornell University

  • Darrell G. Schlom

    • Cornell University
    • Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
    • Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University
    • Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science, Cornell University
    • Materials Science & Engineering, Cornell University
    • Department of Materials Science and Engineering,, Cornell University
    • Materials Science and Engineering, University of Cornell