Enhanced Superconductivity in SrTiO$_3$-based Interfaces via Amorphous Al2O3 Capping

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that depositing amorphous alumina on SrTiO3-based interfaces reduces the critical thickness for conductivity and enhances superconductivity, likely due to epitaxial strain effects observed through microscopy analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a method of using amorphous alumina capping to improve superconducting properties in oxide interfaces, a novel approach in interface engineering.

Findings

Amorphous alumina capping reduces critical thickness for conductivity.

Enhanced superconductivity linked to lattice expansion and strain.

Epitaxial strain increases superconducting critical temperature (Tc).

Abstract

Oxide interfaces feature unique two-dimensional (2D) electronic systems with diverse electronic properties such as tunable spin-orbit interaction and superconductivity. Conductivity emerges in these interfaces when the thickness of an epitaxial polar layer surpasses a critical value, leading to charge transfer to the interface. Here, we show that depositing amorphous alumina on top of the polar oxide can reduce the critical thickness and enhance the superconducting properties for the (111) and the (100) SrTiO$_3$-based interfaces. A detailed transmission electron microscopy analysis reveals that the enhancement of the superconducting properties is linked to the expansion of the LaAlO$_3$ lattice in a direction perpendicular to the interface. We propose that the increase in the superconducting critical temperature, Tc, is a result of epitaxial strain