Optimal Tc for Electron-Doped Cuprate Realized under High Pressure

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that applying high pressure to electron-doped cuprate Sr0.9La0.1CuO2 significantly increases its critical temperature to 45 K, revealing unconventional superconductivity near the antiferromagnetic critical point.

Contribution

It reports the highest Tc achieved in electron-doped cuprates under high pressure and explores the relationship between antiferromagnetism and superconductivity.

Findings

Tc reaches 45 K at 15 GPa

Unconventional superconductivity observed

Electronic phase diagram shows antiferromagnetic-superconducting relation

Abstract

The race to obtain a higher critical temperature (Tc) in the superconducting cuprates has been virtually suspended since it was optimized under high pressure in a hole-doped trilayer cuprate. We report the anomalous increase in Tc under high pressure for the electron-doped infinite-layer cuprate Sr0.9La0.1CuO2 in the vicinity of the antiferromagnetic critical point. By the application of a pressure of 15 GPa, Tc increases to 45 K, which is the highest temperature among the electron-doped cuprates and ensures unconventional superconductivity. We describe the electronic phase diagram of Sr1-xLaxCuO2 to discuss the relation between the antiferromagnetic order and superconductivity.