Induced flaws in quantum materials could enhance superconducting properties

Science Daily  October 4, 2021
The properties of quantum materials are commonly tuned using experimental variables such as pressure, magnetic field, and doping. An international team of researchers (USA – University of Minnesota, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Croatia, China) has shown that compressive plastic deformation induces low-dimensional superconductivity well above the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of undeformed SrTiO3, with evidence of possible superconducting correlations at temperatures two orders of magnitude above the bulk Tc. The enhanced superconductivity is correlated with the appearance of self-organized dislocation structures. They observed deformation-induced signatures of quantum-critical ferroelectric fluctuations and inhomogeneous ferroelectric order using Raman scattering. The work has demonstrated the potential of plastic deformation and dislocation engineering for the manipulation of electronic properties of quantum materials…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE 

Structure of plastically deformed SrTiO3. Credit: Nature Materials (2021)