Superconductivity In Monolayer Research Articles

Electronic State-Regulated Magnetic Phenomena in Single-Crystal FeSe

In contrast to the observed high-temperature superconductivity in monolayer FeSe/SrTiO3 films, akin to CoSb/SrTiO3, the bulk counterpart, FeSe, does not exhibit superconductivity even under elevated pressure, and its magnetic characteristics remain subject to debate. This investigation delves into the electrical and magnetic attributes, alongside X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, of FeSe mono-crystal. Magnetic and electrical transport assessments indicate that FeSe demonstrates characteristics of a Pauli paramagnetic metal within non-Fermi liquid traits. XPS analysis further reveals that the Fe and Se pair in FeSe exist in a zero-valence state, forming a predominantly metallic-bonded alloy. The Pauli paramagnetism observed in FeSe is ascribed to its itinerant electrons. The comprehension of the electronic states in FeSe mono-crystal not only clarifies its lack of magnetic characteristics but also paves the way for exploring potential high-temperature superconductivity.

Interface-Suppressed Nematicity and Enhanced Superconducting Pairing Strength of FeSe/NdFeO3 in the Low-Doping Regime.

The discovery of interfacial superconductivity in monolayer FeSe/oxides has spurred intensive research interest. Here we not only extend the FeSe/FeOx superconducting interface to FeSe/NdFeO3 but also establish robust interface-enhanced superconductivity at a very low doping level. Specifically, well-annealed FeSe/NdFeO3 exhibits a low doping level of 0.038-0.046 e-/Fe with a larger superconducting pairing gap without a nematic gap, indicating an enhancement of the enhanced superconducting pairing strength and suppression of nematicity by the FeSe/FeOx interface compared with those of thick FeSe films. These results improve our understanding of the roles of the oxide interface in the low-electron-doped regime.

Hydrogenation-induced superconductivity in monolayer

Here, we construct a new two-dimensional hydrogenated transition metal dichalcogenide material, the Janus WSH monolayer, which is created by replacing the top-layer S atoms in the 2H-WS2 monolayer with H atoms. Then we use first-principles calculations to investigate its electronic structure, phonon dispersion, and superconductivity. The results show that hydrogenation breaks the reflection symmetry, which helps orbital hybridization and to flatten the electronic bands. Thus, it leads to a high electronic density of states near the Fermi level. Additionally, the electron-phonon coupling is enhanced by the softening of phonon modes from the in-plane vibrations of W. The strong interactions between electrons and phonons result in phonon-mediated superconductivity in Janus WSH monolayer. The calculated critical temperature (T c ) is approximately 23.1 K at atmospheric pressure. This T c is about twice higher than that of existing WS2-based materials.

Superconductivity in Ca-intercalated bilayer graphene: C2CaC2.

The deposition and intercalation of metal atoms can induce superconductivity in monolayer and bilayer graphenes. For example, it has been experimentally proved that Li-deposited graphene is a superconductor with critical temperature Tc of 5.9 K, Ca-intercalated bilayer graphene C6CaC6 and K-intercalated epitaxial bilayer graphene C8KC8 are superconductors with Tc of 2-4 K and 3.6 K, respectively. However, the Tc of them are relatively low. To obtain higher Tc in graphene-based superconductors, here we predict a new Ca-intercalated bilayer graphene C2CaC2, which shows higher Ca concentration than the C6CaC6. It is proved to be thermodynamically and dynamically stable. The electronic structure, electron-phonon coupling (EPC) and superconductivity of C2CaC2 are investigated based on first-principles calculations. The EPC of C2CaC2 mainly comes from the coupling between the electrons of C-pz orbital and the high- and low-frequency vibration modes of C atoms. The calculated EPC constant λ of C2CaC2 is 0.75, and the superconducting Tc is 18.9 K, which is much higher than other metal-intercalated bilayer graphenes. By further applying -4% biaxial compressive strain to C2CaC2, the Tc can be boosted to 26.6 K. Thus, the predicted C2CaC2 provides a new platform for realizing superconductivity with the highest Tc in bilayer graphenes.

Evidence of Nodal Superconductivity in Monolayer 1H‐TaS2 with Hidden Order Fluctuations (Adv. Mater. 45/2023)

Evidence of Nodal Superconductivity in Monolayer 1H‐TaS₂ with Hidden Order Fluctuations (Adv. Mater. 45/2023)

Superconductivity in monolayer and few-layer graphene. III. Impurity-induced subgap states and quasiparticle interference patterns

Superconductivity in monolayer and few-layer graphene. III. Impurity-induced subgap states and quasiparticle interference patterns

Superconductivity in monolayer and few-layer graphene. I. Review of possible pairing symmetries and basic electronic properties

Superconductivity in monolayer and few-layer graphene. I. Review of possible pairing symmetries and basic electronic properties

Superconductivity in monolayer and few-layer graphene. II. Topological edge states and Chern numbers

Superconductivity in monolayer and few-layer graphene. II. Topological edge states and Chern numbers

Nanoscale studies of electric field effects on monolayer 1T\u2032-WTe2

Monolayer 1 T′-WTe2 is a quantum spin Hall insulator with a gapped 2D-bulk and gapless helical edge states persisting to temperatures ~100 K. Despite the far-ranging interest, the magnitude of the bulk gap, the effect of gating on the 2D-band structure, as well the role interactions are not established. In this work we use STM spectroscopy to measure the intrinsic bulk gap of monolayer 1 T′-WTe2 and show that gate induced electric fields cause large changes of the gap magnitude. Our first-principles DFT-derived tight-binding model reveal that a combination of spatial localization of the conduction and valance bands and Rashba-like spin-orbit coupling leads to a gating induced spin-splitting of the 2D-bulk bands in the tens of meV, thereby reducing the band gap. Our work explains the large sensitivity of the band structure to electric fields and suggests a new avenue for realizing proximity induced non-trivial superconductivity in monolayer 1 T′-WTe2.

High-order replica bands in monolayer FeSe/SrTiO3 revealed by polarization-dependent photoemission spectroscopy

The mechanism of the enhanced superconductivity in monolayer FeSe/SrTiO3 has been enthusiastically studied and debated over the past decade. One specific observation has been taken to be of central importance: the replica bands in the photoemission spectrum. Although suggestive of electron-phonon interaction in the material, the essence of these spectroscopic features remains highly controversial. In this work, we conduct angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements on monolayer FeSe/SrTiO3 using linearly polarized photons. This configuration enables unambiguous characterization of the valence electronic structure with a suppression of the spectral background. We consistently observe high-order replica bands derived from various Fe 3d bands, similar to those observed on bare SrTiO3. The intensity of the replica bands is unexpectedly high and different between dxy and dyz bands. Our results provide new insights on the electronic structure of this high-temperature superconductor and the physical origin of the photoemission replica bands.

Incommensurate smectic phase in close proximity to the high-Tc superconductor FeSe/SrTiO3

Superconductivity is significantly enhanced in monolayer FeSe grown on SrTiO3, but not for multilayer films, in which large strength of nematicity develops. However, the link between the high-transition temperature superconductivity in monolayer and the correlation related nematicity in multilayer FeSe films is not well understood. Here, we use low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy to study few-layer FeSe thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy. We observe an incommensurate long-range smectic phase, which solely appears in bilayer FeSe films. The smectic order still locally exists and gradually fades away with increasing film thickness, while it suddenly vanishes in monolayer FeSe, indicative of an abrupt smectic phase transition. Surface alkali-metal doping can suppress the smectic phase and induce high-Tc superconductivity in bilayer FeSe. Our observations provide evidence that the monolayer FeSe is in close proximity to the smectic phase, and its superconductivity is likely enhanced by this electronic instability as well.

Theoretical prediction of superconductivity in monolayer h-BN doped with alkaline-earth metals (Ca, Sr, Ba)

We investigated the possibility of superconductivity in monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) doped using group-1 (Li, Na, K) and group-2 (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) atoms via ab initio calculations. Consequently, we reveal that Sr- and Ba-doped monolayer h-BN and Ca-doped monolayer h-BN with 3.5% tensile strain are energetically stable and become superconductors with superconducting transition temperature (Tc) values of 5.83, 1.53, and 10.7 K, respectively, which are considerably higher than those of Ca-, Sr-, and Ba-doped graphene. In addition, the momentum-resolved electron–phonon coupling (EPC) constant shows that the scattering among intrinsic π* electrons around the Γ point governs Tc. The scattering process is mediated by the low-energy vibration of the adsorbate. Moreover, compared with graphene, the stronger adsorbate–substrate interaction and lower symmetry in h-BN are critical for enhancing the EPC in doped h-BN.

Gated tuned superconductivity and phonon softening in monolayer and bilayer MoS2

Superconductors at the atomic two-dimensional limit are the focus of an enduring fascination in the condensed matter community. This is because, with reduced dimensions, the effects of disorders, fluctuations, and correlations in superconductors become particularly prominent at the atomic two-dimensional limit; thus such superconductors provide opportunities to tackle tough theoretical and experimental challenges. Here, based on the observation of ultrathin two-dimensional superconductivity in monolayer and bilayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with electric-double-layer gating, we found that the critical sheet carrier density required to achieve superconductivity in a monolayer MoS2 flake can be as low as 0.55 × 1014 cm−2, which is much lower than those values in the bilayer and thicker cases in previous report and also our own observations. Further comparison of the phonon dispersion obtained by ab initio calculations indicated that the phonon softening of the acoustic modes around the M point plays a key role in the gate-induced superconductivity within the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory framework. This result might help enrich the understanding of two-dimensional superconductivity with electric-double-layer gating.

Evolution of multigap superconductivity in the atomically thin limit: Strain-enhanced three-gap superconductivity in monolayer MgB2

Starting from first principles, we show the formation and evolution of superconducting gaps in MgB$_2$ at its ultrathin limit. Atomically thin MgB$_2$ is distinctly different from bulk MgB$_2$ in that surface states become comparable in electronic density to the bulk-like $\sigma$- and $\pi$-bands. Combining the ab initio electron-phonon coupling with the anisotropic Eliashberg equations, we show that monolayer MgB$_2$ develops three distinct superconducting gaps, on completely separate parts of the Fermi surface due to the emergent surface contribution. These gaps hybridize nontrivially with every extra monolayer added to the film, owing to the opening of additional coupling channels. Furthermore, we reveal that the three-gap superconductivity in monolayer MgB$_2$ is robust over the entire temperature range that stretches up to a considerably high critical temperature of 20 K. The latter can be boosted to $>$50 K under biaxial tensile strain of $\sim$ 4\%, which is an enhancement stronger than in any other graphene-related superconductor known to date.

Unconventional superconductivity from magnetism in transition-metal dichalcogenides

We investigate proximity-induced superconductivity in monolayers of transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) in the presence of an externally generated exchange field. A variety of superconducting order parameters is found to emerge from the interplay of magnetism and superconductivity, covering the entire spectrum of possibilities to be symmetric or antisymmetric with respect to the valley and spin degrees of freedom, as well as even or odd in frequency. More specifically, when a conventional $s$-wave superconductor with singlet Cooper pairs is tunnel-coupled to the TMD layer, both spin-singlet and triplet pairings between electrons from the same and opposite valleys arise due to the combined effects of intrinsic spin-orbit coupling and a magnetic-substrate-induced exchange field. As a key finding, we reveal the existence of an exotic even-frequency triplet pairing between equal-spin electrons from different valleys, which arises whenever the spin orientations in the two valleys are noncollinear. All types of superconducting order turn out to be highly tunable via straightforward manipulation of the external exchange field.

Proximity-induced superconductivity in monolayer CuO2 on cuprate substrates

To understand the recently observed high temperature superconductivity in the monolayer ${\mathrm{CuO}}_{2}$ grown on the ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{CaCu}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{8+\ensuremath{\delta}}$ substrates, we propose a two-band model of the hybridized oxygen ${p}_{x}$ and ${p}_{y}$ orbitals with the proximity effect of the substrate. We demonstrate that both the nodal and nodeless superconducting states can be induced by the proximity effect, depending on the strengths of the pairing parameters.

Strongly enhanced superconductivity in doped monolayerMoS2by strain

The effects of strain on the stability, electron-phonon coupling, and superconductivity of doped monolayer ${\mathrm{MoS}}_{2}$ are investigated systematically using first-principles calculations. We find that most of the electron-phonon coupling in doped monolayer ${\mathrm{MoS}}_{2}$ is attributed to the in-plane vibrations of Mo atoms, which can be further tuned by strain. By applying biaxial compressive strain, we find a large enhancement in the superconducting transition temperature $({T}_{c})$ and we obtain a ${T}_{c}$ of $22\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ at the optimal hole doping concentration, while the electron-phonon coupling of electron-doped structure is reduced due to the direct-indirect band-gap insulator transition. Our results reveal that the Fermi surface nesting-driven mechanism is mainly responsible for phonon softening and superconductivity in monolayer ${\mathrm{MoS}}_{2}$, suggesting that doping combined with strain is efficient at tuning electron-phonon coupling and superconductivity.

Kohn-Luttinger superconductivity in monolayer and bilayer semimetals with the Dirac spectrum

The effect of Coulomb interaction in an ensemble of Dirac fermions on the formation of superconducting pairing in monolayer and bilayer doped graphene is studied using the Kohn-Luttinger mechanism disregarding the Van der Waals potential of the substrate and impurities. The electronic structure of graphene is described using the Shubin-Vonsovsky model taking into account the intratomic, interatomic, and interlayer (in the case of bilayer graphene) Coulomb interactions between electrons. The Cooper instability is determined by solving the Bethe-Saltpeter integral equation. The renormalized scattering amplitude is obtained with allowance for the Kohn-Luttinger polarization contributions up to the second order of perturbation theory in the Coulomb interaction. It plays the role of effective interaction in the Bethe-Salpeter integral equation. It is shown that the allowance for the Kohn-Luttinger renormalizations as well as intersite Coulomb interaction noticeably affects the competition between the superconducting phases with the $f-$wave and $d + id-$wave symmetries of the order parameter. It is demonstrated that the superconducting transition temperature for an idealized graphene bilayer with significant interlayer Coulomb interaction between electrons is noticeably higher than in the monolayer case.

Superconductivity in metal‐coated graphene

AbstractIn this work we explore, by first‐principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the possibility of inducing electron–phonon mediated superconductivity in a graphene sheet by doping its surface with alkaline metal adatoms. We demonstrate that, contrary to what could be naively believed, simple exfoliation to one layer of superconducting graphite intercalated compounds (GICs) does not necessarily lead to superconducting graphene, as it is the case in CaC6. On the contrary, it is meaningful to look for superconductivity in monolayers obtained by exfoliating non‐superconducting GICs. In particular, we demonstrate that Li coating and double‐coating of graphene leads to superconductivity in graphene with Tc that could be as large as 18 K.