Disentangling types of lattice disorder impacting superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 by quantitative local probes
The unconventional superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 is infamously susceptible to suppression by small levels of disorder such that it has been most commonly studied in extremely high-purity bulk crystals. Here, we harness local structural and spectroscopic scanning transmission electron microscopy measu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AIP Publishing LLC
2022-04-01
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| Series: | APL Materials |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0085279 |
| _version_ | 1828810338457354240 |
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| author | Berit H. Goodge Hari P. Nair David J. Baek Nathaniel J. Schreiber Ludi Miao Jacob P. Ruf Emily N. Waite Philip M. Carubia Kyle M. Shen Darrell G. Schlom Lena F. Kourkoutis |
| author_facet | Berit H. Goodge Hari P. Nair David J. Baek Nathaniel J. Schreiber Ludi Miao Jacob P. Ruf Emily N. Waite Philip M. Carubia Kyle M. Shen Darrell G. Schlom Lena F. Kourkoutis |
| author_sort | Berit H. Goodge |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The unconventional superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 is infamously susceptible to suppression by small levels of disorder such that it has been most commonly studied in extremely high-purity bulk crystals. Here, we harness local structural and spectroscopic scanning transmission electron microscopy measurements in epitaxial thin films of Sr2RuO4 to disentangle the impact of different types of crystalline disorder on superconductivity. We find that cation off-stoichiometry during growth gives rise to two distinct types of disorder: mixed-phase structural inclusions that accommodate excess ruthenium and ruthenium vacancies when the growth is ruthenium-deficient. Several superconducting films host mixed-phase intergrowths, suggesting this microstructural disorder has relatively little impact on superconductivity. In a non-superconducting film, on the other hand, we measure a high density of ruthenium-vacancies (∼14%) with no significant reduction in the crystallinity of the film. The results suggest that ruthenium vacancy disorder, which is hidden to many structural probes, plays an important role in suppressing superconductivity. We discuss the broader implications of our findings to guide the future synthesis of this and other layered systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T09:10:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0a87a144285d4a6b919f533ef1a3be68 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2166-532X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T09:10:21Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | AIP Publishing LLC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | APL Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-0a87a144285d4a6b919f533ef1a3be682022-12-22T00:29:32ZengAIP Publishing LLCAPL Materials2166-532X2022-04-01104041114041114-1110.1063/5.0085279Disentangling types of lattice disorder impacting superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 by quantitative local probesBerit H. Goodge0Hari P. Nair1David J. Baek2Nathaniel J. Schreiber3Ludi Miao4Jacob P. Ruf5Emily N. Waite6Philip M. Carubia7Kyle M. Shen8Darrell G. Schlom9Lena F. Kourkoutis10School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USASchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USADepartment of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USADepartment of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USASchool of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USADepartment of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USADepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USASchool of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USAThe unconventional superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 is infamously susceptible to suppression by small levels of disorder such that it has been most commonly studied in extremely high-purity bulk crystals. Here, we harness local structural and spectroscopic scanning transmission electron microscopy measurements in epitaxial thin films of Sr2RuO4 to disentangle the impact of different types of crystalline disorder on superconductivity. We find that cation off-stoichiometry during growth gives rise to two distinct types of disorder: mixed-phase structural inclusions that accommodate excess ruthenium and ruthenium vacancies when the growth is ruthenium-deficient. Several superconducting films host mixed-phase intergrowths, suggesting this microstructural disorder has relatively little impact on superconductivity. In a non-superconducting film, on the other hand, we measure a high density of ruthenium-vacancies (∼14%) with no significant reduction in the crystallinity of the film. The results suggest that ruthenium vacancy disorder, which is hidden to many structural probes, plays an important role in suppressing superconductivity. We discuss the broader implications of our findings to guide the future synthesis of this and other layered systems.http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0085279 |
| spellingShingle | Berit H. Goodge Hari P. Nair David J. Baek Nathaniel J. Schreiber Ludi Miao Jacob P. Ruf Emily N. Waite Philip M. Carubia Kyle M. Shen Darrell G. Schlom Lena F. Kourkoutis Disentangling types of lattice disorder impacting superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 by quantitative local probes APL Materials |
| title | Disentangling types of lattice disorder impacting superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 by quantitative local probes |
| title_full | Disentangling types of lattice disorder impacting superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 by quantitative local probes |
| title_fullStr | Disentangling types of lattice disorder impacting superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 by quantitative local probes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disentangling types of lattice disorder impacting superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 by quantitative local probes |
| title_short | Disentangling types of lattice disorder impacting superconductivity in Sr2RuO4 by quantitative local probes |
| title_sort | disentangling types of lattice disorder impacting superconductivity in sr2ruo4 by quantitative local probes |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0085279 |
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