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Title: Ferroelectricity and superconductivity in strained Eu x Sr 1 x TiO 3 films

Abstract

The superconducting transition of SrTiO3 can be influenced by tuning its ferroelectric transition, but the underlying reasons remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate compressively strained, Sm-doped films of EuxSr1-xTiO3 that were grown by molecular beam epitaxy to determine the effect of alloying with Eu on both superconductivity and ferroelectricity, both of which are present in strained SrTiO3 films. Remarkably, superconductivity survives up to x = 0.14. Films at the lowest alloy concentration studied here, x = 0.09, exhibit no suppression of their superconducting transition temperature, but a strong reduction of the upper critical field (Hc2), compared to non-alloyed, strained SrTiO3 films. In addition, these films lack the sharp ferroelectric transition that appears in films without Eu in second harmonic generation measurements. Here, we postulate that Eu-alloying causes a crossover from a globally ordered ferroelectric state to one with only short-range polar order. We discuss the connection between the loss of global polar order and the change in the superconducting properties.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1960040
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1960053; OSTI ID: 1960077
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0020305; W911NF-16-1-0361; FG02-02ER45994; DEFG02-02ER45994
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physical Review. B
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 107; Journal Issue: 9; Journal ID: ISSN 2469-9950
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; Ferroelectricity; Quantum phase transitions; Superconductivity

Citation Formats

Combs, Nicholas G., Jeong, Hanbyeol, Russell, Ryan, Kautzsch, Linus, Pardue, Tyler N., Mates, Thomas E., Wilson, Stephen D., Harter, John W., and Stemmer, Susanne. Ferroelectricity and superconductivity in strained EuxSr1–xTiO3 films. United States: N. p., 2023. Web. doi:10.1103/physrevb.107.094504.
Combs, Nicholas G., Jeong, Hanbyeol, Russell, Ryan, Kautzsch, Linus, Pardue, Tyler N., Mates, Thomas E., Wilson, Stephen D., Harter, John W., & Stemmer, Susanne. Ferroelectricity and superconductivity in strained EuxSr1–xTiO3 films. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.107.094504
Combs, Nicholas G., Jeong, Hanbyeol, Russell, Ryan, Kautzsch, Linus, Pardue, Tyler N., Mates, Thomas E., Wilson, Stephen D., Harter, John W., and Stemmer, Susanne. Mon . "Ferroelectricity and superconductivity in strained EuxSr1–xTiO3 films". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.107.094504. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1960040.
@article{osti_1960040,
title = {Ferroelectricity and superconductivity in strained EuxSr1–xTiO3 films},
author = {Combs, Nicholas G. and Jeong, Hanbyeol and Russell, Ryan and Kautzsch, Linus and Pardue, Tyler N. and Mates, Thomas E. and Wilson, Stephen D. and Harter, John W. and Stemmer, Susanne},
abstractNote = {The superconducting transition of SrTiO3 can be influenced by tuning its ferroelectric transition, but the underlying reasons remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate compressively strained, Sm-doped films of EuxSr1-xTiO3 that were grown by molecular beam epitaxy to determine the effect of alloying with Eu on both superconductivity and ferroelectricity, both of which are present in strained SrTiO3 films. Remarkably, superconductivity survives up to x = 0.14. Films at the lowest alloy concentration studied here, x = 0.09, exhibit no suppression of their superconducting transition temperature, but a strong reduction of the upper critical field (Hc2), compared to non-alloyed, strained SrTiO3 films. In addition, these films lack the sharp ferroelectric transition that appears in films without Eu in second harmonic generation measurements. Here, we postulate that Eu-alloying causes a crossover from a globally ordered ferroelectric state to one with only short-range polar order. We discuss the connection between the loss of global polar order and the change in the superconducting properties.},
doi = {10.1103/physrevb.107.094504},
journal = {Physical Review. B},
number = 9,
volume = 107,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Mar 06 00:00:00 EST 2023},
month = {Mon Mar 06 00:00:00 EST 2023}
}

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