Enhancement of the superconducting critical temperature of Sr2CuO3+d up to 95K by ordering dopant atoms

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that ordering dopant atoms in Sr2CuO3+d significantly increases its superconducting transition temperature to 95K, highlighting a new approach to enhance Tc in cuprates.

Contribution

It reveals that apical oxygen ordering, rather than hole concentration, is responsible for Tc enhancement in Sr2CuO3+d, suggesting a new pathway for high-Tc superconductor development.

Findings

Tc increased to 95K with dopant ordering

Apical oxygen ordering, not hole doping, boosts Tc

Provides a route for further Tc enhancement

Abstract

We address the question of whether the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of high-Tc cuprates is enhanced when randomly distributed dopant atoms form an ordered array in the charge reservoir layers. This study is possible for the Sr2CuO3+d superconductor with K2NiF4-type structure in which oxygen atoms only partially occupy the apical sites next to the CuO2 planes and act as hole-dopants. We show that remarkable Tc enhancement up to 95K in this mono CuO2 layered HTS is associated with the apical oxygen ordering, not to the hole concentration change. The result points a route toward further enhancement of Tc in cuprate superconductors.