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Title: Variation in superconducting transition temperature due to tetragonal domains in two-dimensionally doped SrTiO 3

Journal Article · · Physical Review B
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [4];  [3];  [5];  [5];  [2];  [1];  [1]
  1. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States)
  2. Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States)
  3. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
  4. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Univ. of Bristol, Bristol (United Kingdom)
  5. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

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 Tc ≳ 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 Tc. Finally, 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.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515; AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1328993
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1333608
Report Number(s):
SLAC-PUB-16840; PRBMDO
Journal Information:
Physical Review B, Vol. 94, Issue 17; ISSN 2469-9950
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 26 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (4)

Inhomogeneous energy landscape in LaAlO 3 /SrTiO 3 nanostructures journal January 2019
Physics of SrTiO 3 -based heterostructures and nanostructures: a review journal February 2018
Correlation between superconductivity, band filling, and electron confinement at the LaAlO 3 / SrTiO 3 interface journal June 2018
Physics of SrTiO$_3$-based heterostructures and nanostructures: a review text January 2017

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