Ultrathin Limit on the Anisotropic Superconductivity of Single-Layered Cuprate Films

Abstract

Exploring dimensionality effects on cuprates is important for understanding the nature of high-temperature superconductivity. By atomically layer-by-layer growth with oxide molecular beam epitaxy, we demonstrate that La2-x Sr x CuO4 (x = 0.15) thin films remain superconducting down to 2 unit cells of thickness but quickly reach the maximum superconducting transition temperature at and above 4 unit cells. By fitting the critical magnetic field (μ 0 H c2), we show that the anisotropy of the film's superconductivity increases with decreasing film thickness, indicating that the superconductivity of the film gradually evolves from weak three- to two-dimensional character. These results help to gain more insight into the nature of high-temperature superconductivity with dimensionality.