Engineering superconducting properties of multiferroic copper oxide heterostructures

TL;DR

This study designs and analyzes oxide heterostructures with cuprates and ferroelectrics to enhance superconductivity, showing potential for near room-temperature superconductivity through interface engineering and carrier injection.

Contribution

It introduces a novel heterostructure design using density-functional theory and cluster dynamical mean-field theory to explore superconductivity in cuprate interfaces with ferroelectrics.

Findings

Formation of a two-dimensional electron gas at the cuprous oxide interface.

Enhanced superconducting order parameter near fully occupied regimes.

Potential pathway toward near room-temperature superconductivity.

Abstract

Oxide heterostructures have repeatedly been shown to display apical properties at the interfaces, some of which favorable to the formation of two-dimensional electron systems, as well as high transition temperature superconductivity. In this study, we propose a novel heterostructure to potentially achieve near room-temperature superconductivity, via the carrier injection in cuprate interfaces with ferro-electrics. Using a digital design approach guided by density-functional theory, the systems of XTiO3/XCuO3/XTiO3 are thoroughly examined, confirming the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas at the cuprous oxide interface. Via the manipulation of lattice parameters, the key ingredients for two-dimensional electron gas formation is explored. We apply cluster dynamical mean-field theory on the cuprous oxide plane and probe the superconducting properties of the system XTiO3/XCuO3/XTiO3 . As a result, we see a marked increase of superconducting ordering parameter near the fully occupied regime, a known marker for the superconducting transition temperature.