On-demand local modification of high-$T_\text{c}$ superconductivity in few unit-cell thick Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}

• Main Authors: Ghosh, Sanat, Vaidya, Jaykumar, Datta, Sawani, Pandeya, Ram Prakash, Jangade, Digambar A, Kulkarni, Ruta N, Maiti, Kalobaran, Thamizhavel, A, Deshmukh, Mandar M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 05-04-2020
• Subjects: Physics - Materials Science; Physics - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics; Physics - Strongly Correlated Electrons; Physics - Superconductivity
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2004.02157

Advanced Materials 32, 2002220 (2020) High-temperature superconductors (HTS) are important for potential
applications and for understanding the origin of strong correlations.
Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ (BSCCO), a van der Waals material, offers a
platform to probe the physics down to a unit-cell. Guiding the flow of
electrons by patterning 2DEGS and oxide heterostructures has brought new
functionality and access to new science. Similarly, modifying superconductivity
in HTS locally, on a small length scale, will be of immense interest for
superconducting electronics. Here we report transport studies on few unit-cell
thick BSCCO and modify its superconductivity locally by depositing metal on the
surface. Deposition of chromium (Cr) on the surface over a selected area of
BSCCO results in insulating behavior of the patterned region. Cr locally
depletes oxygen in CuO$_2$ planes and disrupts the superconductivity in the
layers below. Our technique of modifying superconductivity is suitable for
making sub-micron superconducting wires and more complex superconducting
electronic devices.