Artificial high-Tc 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, u0Hc2, in samples with superlattice periods 3.3<5.28 nm and L/d ratios close to the magic value 2/3 (where L is the thickness of the superconducting La2CuO4 layer and d is the superlattice period). The data reveal the predicted upward concavity in Hc2(T) and a characteristic kink in the coherence length as a function of temperature, confirming the predicted two-band superconductivity with Fermi velocity ratio ~0.25 and significant pair-exchange term among the two condensates.
Campi, G., Alimenti, A., Logvenov, G., Smith, G.A., Balakirev, F., Lee, S., et al. (2025). Upper critical magnetic field and multiband superconductivity in artificial high-Tc superlattices of nano quantum wells. PHYSICAL REVIEW MATERIALS, 9(7), 074204 [10.1103/k2yd-vpbn].
Upper critical magnetic field and multiband superconductivity in artificial high-Tc superlattices of nano quantum wells
Alimenti, Andrea
;Silva, Enrico
;
2025-01-01
Abstract
Artificial high-Tc 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, u0Hc2, in samples with superlattice periods 3.3<5.28 nm and L/d ratios close to the magic value 2/3 (where L is the thickness of the superconducting La2CuO4 layer and d is the superlattice period). The data reveal the predicted upward concavity in Hc2(T) and a characteristic kink in the coherence length as a function of temperature, confirming the predicted two-band superconductivity with Fermi velocity ratio ~0.25 and significant pair-exchange term among the two condensates.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.


