Upper critical magnetic field and multiband superconductivity in artificial <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mtext>high-</mml:mtext> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>T</mml:mi> <mml:mi>c</mml:mi> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> superlattices of nano quantum wells

Publication date: 22 Lug 2025

JournalSource: OPENALEXOpenAlex type: articleOpen Access
Authors: Gaetano Campi, Andrea Alimenti, Г. Логвенов, G. Alexander Smith, Fedor Balakirev, Sang‐Eon Lee, Luis Balicas, Enrico Silva, G. A. Ummarino, Giovanni Midei, Andrea Perali, Antonio Valletta, A. Bianconi

Artificial $\text{high-}{T}_{c}$ superlattices (AHTS) composed of quantum building blocks with tunable superconducting critical temperature have been synthesized by engineering their nanoscale geometry using the Bianconi-Perali-Valletta (BPV) two-gap superconductivity theory. These quantum heterostructures consist of quantum wells made of superconducting, modulation-doped Mott insulators (S), confined by a metallic (N) potential barrier. The lattice geometry has been carefully engineered to induce the predicted Fano-Feshbach shape resonance between the gaps, near a topological Lifshitz transition. Here, we validate the BPV theory by providing compelling experimental evidence that AHTS samples, at the peak of the superconducting dome, exhibit resonant two-band, two-gap superconductivity. This is demonstrated by measuring the temperature dependence of the upper critical magnetic field, ${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{0}{H}_{\mathrm{c}2}$, in samples with superlattice periods $3.3<d<5.28$ nm and L/d ratios close to the magic value 2/3 (where L is the thickness of the superconducting ${\mathrm{La}}_{2}{\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$ layer and $d$ is the superlattice period). The data reveal the predicted upward concavity in ${H}_{\mathrm{c}2}(T)$ and a characteristic kink in the coherence length as a function of temperature, confirming the predicted two-band superconductivity with Fermi velocity ratio $\ensuremath{\approx}0.25$ and significant pair-exchange term among the two condensates.

Origin
Physical Review Materials
Volume
9
Issue
7
Cited by
7