Pressure-enhanced superconductivity and its correlation with suppressed resistance dip in (La,Pr)3Ni2O7 films

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that applying hydrostatic pressure enhances the superconducting transition temperature in (La,Pr)3Ni2O7 thin films and links resistance dips to oxygen vacancies affecting electron localization.

Contribution

It provides the first systematic analysis of pressure effects on Tc in these films and correlates resistance dips with oxygen vacancy concentration.

Findings

Pressure increases Tc from 62 K to 68.5 K at 2.0 GPa.

Pressure suppresses resistance dips associated with oxygen vacancies.

Oxygen vacancies influence electron localization and superconductivity.

Abstract

The discovery of superconductivity with a transition temperature (Tc) exceeding 40 K in La3Ni2O7 and (La,Pr)3Ni2O7 thin films at ambient pressure provides a viable platform for the experiments that can only be conducted under ambient-pressure conditions, and for the theoretical investigations aimed at understanding the commonalities and peculiarities of the behaviors related to the superconductivity between the film and the compressed bulk systems - including the effects of oxygen vacancies and strain. Consequently, it is crucial to determine whether Tc can be further enhanced and to uncover the underlying physics that controls the Tc value in these ambient-pressure superconducting thin films. Here, we report a systematic study of hydrostatic pressure effects on the superconducting properties of (La,Pr)3Ni2O7 thin films. We find that external pressure universally enhances Tc of the film samples regardless of their initial Tc value. The onset Tc of 68.5 K at 2.0 GPa demonstrates a notable increase from 62 K at 0.3 GPa. Furthermore, we observe that the samples without zero resistance show a resistance dip just above the superconducting transition, whereas the samples that exhibit zero resistance do not display this dip. Applying pressure can suppress the dips and drive the system toward zero resistance. Based on our results, we propose that this feature is associated with oxygen vacancies and that the depth of the dip can serve as an indicator of the concentration of the vacancies. It is plausible that the dip is caused by the localization of mobile electrons at the vacancy sites. Applying pressure can delocalize these electrons, which in turn may contribute to the increase in Tc.