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Superconductor–insulator transition in La2 − xSr x CuO4 at the pair quantum resistance

Nature volume 472, pages 458–460 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

High-temperature superconductivity in copper oxides arises when a parent insulator compound is doped beyond some critical concentration; what exactly happens at this superconductor–insulator transition is a key open question1. The cleanest approach is to tune the carrier density using the electric field effect2,3,4,5,6,7; for example, it was learned in this way5 that weak electron localization transforms superconducting SrTiO3 into a Fermi-glass insulator. But in the copper oxides this has been a long-standing technical challenge3, because perfect ultrathin films and huge local fields (>109 V m−1) are needed. Recently, such fields have been obtained using electrolytes or ionic liquids in the electric double-layer transistor configuration8,9,10. Here we report synthesis of epitaxial films of La2− xSr x CuO4 that are one unit cell thick, and fabrication of double-layer transistors. Very large fields and induced changes in surface carrier density enable shifts in the critical temperature by up to 30 K. Hundreds of resistance versus temperature and carrier density curves were recorded and shown to collapse onto a single function, as predicted for a two-dimensional superconductor–insulator transition11,12,13,14. The observed critical resistance is precisely the quantum resistance for pairs, RQ = h/(2e)2 = 6.45 kΩ, suggestive of a phase transition driven by quantum phase fluctuations, and Cooper pair (de)localization.

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Figure 1: Response of superconducting field effect devices to the gate voltage.
Figure 2: Superconductor–insulator transition driven by electric field.

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Acknowledgements

The work at BNL was supported by the US Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. A.T.B. was supported by the US DOE, Energy Frontier Research Center. D.P. and G.D. were supported by the Laboratory for Physics of Complex Matter (EPFL) and the Swiss National Science Foundation. We are grateful to A. Tsvelik, J. C. Davis, A. Balatsky, P. N. Armitage, A. Goldman, V. Gantmakher, I. Herbut, Z. Tes̆anović, A. Chubukov, J. Mannhart, J.-M. Triscone, N. Marković, N. Mason and M. Norman for comments and suggestions and to R. Adzić, G. Logvenov, J. Pereiro, J. Sadovsky and R. Sundling for technical help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, 11973-5000, New York, USA

    A. T. Bollinger, G. Dubuis, J. Yoon, J. Misewich & I. Božović

  2. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

    G. Dubuis & D. Pavuna

Authors
  1. A. T. Bollinger
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  2. G. Dubuis
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  6. I. Božović
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Contributions

I.B. and A.T.B. conceived and designed the experiments. I.B. synthesized the films. A.T.B. fabricated the devices. A.T.B., G.D. and J.Y. carried out the transport measurements. All authors analysed the results and contributed to writing the manuscript.

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Correspondence to I. Božović.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Bollinger, A., Dubuis, G., Yoon, J. et al. Superconductor–insulator transition in La2 − xSr x CuO4 at the pair quantum resistance. Nature 472, 458–460 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09998

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