Preparation of Superconducting Thin Films of Infinite-Layer Nickelate Nd_(0.8)Sr_(0.2)NiO_(2)

The recent observation of superconductivity in thin films of infinite-layer nickelate Nd_(0.8)Sr_(0.2)NiO_(2) has received considerable attention.Despite the many efforts to understand the superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates,a consensus on the underlying mechanism for the superconductivity has yet to be reached,partly owing to the challenges with the material synthesis.Here,we report the successful growth of superconducting infinite-layer Nd_(0.8)Sr_(0.2)NiO_(2) films by pulsed laser deposition and soft chemical reduction.The details on the growth process are discussed.

Evolution from the Parent Mott Insulator to a Superconductor in Lightly Hole-Doped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ

High temperature superconductivity in cuprates is realized by doping the Mott insulator with charge carriers.A central issue is how such an insulating state can evolve into a conducting or superconducting state when charge carriers are introduced.Here,by in situ vacuum annealing and Rb deposition on the Bi2Sr2Ca0.6Dy0.4Cu2O8+δ(Bi2212)sample surface to push its doping level continuously from deeply underdoped(Tc=25K,doping level p^0.066)to the near-zero doping parent Mott insulator,angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements are carried out to observe the detailed electronic structure evolution in the lightly hole-doped region for the first time.Our results indicate that the chemical potential lies at about l eV above the charge transfer band for the parent state at zero doping,which is quite close to the upper Hubbard band.With increasing hole doping,the chemical potential moves continuously towards the charge transfer band and the band structure evolution exhibits a rigid band shift-like behavior.When the chemical potential approaches the charge transfer band at a doping level of^0.05,the nodal spectral weight near the Fermi level increases,followed by the emergence of the coherent quasiparticle peak and the insulator-superconductor transition.Our observations provide key insights in understanding the insulator-superconductor transition in doping the parent cuprate compound and for establishing related theories.

A Reproducible Approach of Preparing High-Quality Overdoped Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_(8+δ) Single Crystals by Oxygen Annealing and Quenching Method

We report a reproducible approach in preparing high-quality overdoped Bi2 Sr2 CaCu2 08＋δ （Bi2212） single crystals by annealing Bi2212 crystals in high oxygen pressure followed by a fast quenching. In this way, high-quality overdoped and heavily overdoped Bi2212 single crystals are obtained by controlling the annealing oxygen pressure. We find that, beyond a limit of oxygen pressure that can achieve most heavily overdoped Bi2212 with a Tc N63 K, the annealed Bi2212 begins to decompose. This accounts for the existence of the hole-doping limit and thus the Tc limit in the heavily overdoped region of Bi2212 by the oxygen annealing process. These results provide a reliable way in preparing high-quality overdoped and heavily overdoped Bi2212 crystals that are important for studies of the physical properties, electronic structure and superconductivity mechanism of the cuprate superconductors.

Distinct Superconducting Gap on Two Bilayer-Split Fermi Surface Sheets in Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_(8+δ) Superconductor

High resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements are carried out on an overdoped superconductor Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_(8+)with a_(c )of 75 K.Two Fermi surface sheets caused by bilayer splitting are clearly identified with rather different doping levels:the bonding sheet corresponds to a doping level of 0.14,which is slightly underdoped while the antibonding sheet has a doping of 0.27 that is heavily overdoped,giving an overall doping level of 0.20 for the sample.Different superconducting gap sizes on the two Fermi surface sheets are revealed.The superconducting gap on the antibonding Fermi surface sheet follows a standard d-wave form while it deviates from the standard d-wave form for the bonding Fermi surface sheet.The maximum gap difference between the two Fermi surface sheets near the antinodal region is～2 meV.These observations provide important information for studying the relationship between the Fermi surface topology and superconductivity,and the layer-dependent superconductivity in high temperature cuprate superconductors.

Growth,Characterization and Fermi Surface of Heavy Fermion CeCoIn_(5) Superconductor

High quality single crystals of heavy Fermion CeCoIn_(5) superconductor have been grown by flux method with a typical size of(1-2)×(1-2)×(~0.1)mm^(3).The single crystals are characterized by structural analysis from x-ray diffraction and Laue diffraction,as well as compositional analysis.Magnetic and electrical measurements on the single crystals show a sharp superconducting transition with a transition temperature at T_(c,onset)~2.3 K and a transition width of~0.15 K.The resistivity of the CeCoIn_(5) crystal exhibits a hump at~45 K,which is typical of a heavy Fermion system.High resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy(ARPES)measurements of CeCoIn_(5) reveal clear Fermi surface sheets that are consistent with the band structure calculations when assuming itinerant Ce 4f electrons at low temperature.This work provides important information on the electronic structure of heavy Fermion CeCoIn_(5) superconductor.It also lays a foundation for further studies on the physical properties and superconducting mechanism of the heavy Fermion superconductors.