The present invention relates to a superlattice structure and a method for fabricating the same.
Cuprate high-temperature superconductors are a group of substances that exhibit a superconducting transition temperature higher than the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77 K=about −196° C.) under normal pressure. Since nitrogen is abundantly contained in the atmosphere and is inexpensive, cuprate high-temperature superconductors are expected to be materials for (1) lossless supply and distribution, (2) a strong magnetic field magnet, and (3) next-generation ultrahigh-sensitivity sensors, which can be used by cooling with liquid nitrogen.
All the cuprate high-temperature superconductors have a layered structure in which a plurality of types of single layers composed of cationic metal elements and anionic elements (mainly oxygen) are regularly stacked. The configuration and coordination of elements in each layer vary depending on the crystal structure, but at least one or more of the layers include a layer called a CuO2 plane composed of copper and oxygen, and superconductivity is exhibited in this layer.
In the related art, studies on novel substances exhibiting superconductivity (metallicity) in cuprates have been conducted by comprehensively conducting studies under various conditions as described below. First, under thermodynamic equilibrium conditions, the combination of elements other than copper and oxygen is changed under synthesis conditions allowing a layered structure (spontaneous superlattice structure) in which layers composed of cationic elements and anionic elements are regularly stacked as described above, and conditions such as raw materials, their composition, a reaction temperature, and a reaction atmosphere are systematically changed.
Cuprate high-temperature superconductors having a superconducting transition temperature equal to or higher than the temperature of liquid nitrogen found so far are oxides containing four or more elements. Therefore, in order to synthesize a new substance having a spontaneous superlattice structure in which impurity phases are not mixed in under the thermodynamic equilibrium conditions as described above, it is necessary to control the composition ratio of the raw materials, the synthesis temperature, and the like extremely precisely. Therefore, there are limits when searching for new substances by the approach of fabricating a spontaneous superlattice.
Incidentally, in order to fabricate a superconducting wire material or a device that can be used by being cooled with liquid nitrogen (77 K), it is desirable that the superconducting transition temperature of the material be sufficiently higher than 77 K and have a sufficient margin. As described above, cuprate superconductors include a layer called a CuO2 plane. More specifically, among the cuprate superconductors found so far, those having a superconducting transition temperature exceeding 100 K commonly include a CaCuO2 layer (containing calcium and copper as cationic metal elements and oxygen as anionic elements).
The CaCuO2 layer has a special crystal structure called an “infinite layer structure”, and a substance called CaCuO2 having this crystal structure cannot be synthesized under synthesis conditions under normal pressure (Non Patent Literature 1). However, the CaCuO2 layer can be synthesized as a single oxide “infinite layer structure CaCuO2” by high-pressure synthesis or thin film synthesis using epitaxy. In particular, in thin film synthesis using epitaxy, it is possible to form a single crystal thin film in which an impurity phase is not mixed in and crystal directions are aligned (Non Patent Literature 2). As shown in
CaCuO2 itself is an insulator through which no electricity flows, but in a previous research example, there has been a report that superconductivity is exhibited by fabricating a heterostructure of a CaCuO2 thin film layer which is an insulator and a SrTiO3 thin film layer which is also an insulator, or an artificial superlattice structure (Non Patent Literature 4).
A crystal structure of an existing cuprate high-temperature superconductor having a superconducting transition temperature of 100 K or higher is a spontaneous superlattice structure of a CaCuO2 layer and a heterogeneous oxide layer. On the other hand, a structure in which CaCuO2 layers and SrTiO3 layers are alternately stacked can be regarded as an artificial superlattice structure. However, in an artificial superlattice structure of a CaCuO2 layer and a copper-free oxide layer, the metallicity and superconductivity have been found only when the copper-free oxide layer is ATiO3 (A=Sr, Ca).
As described above, in the related art, there has been a problem that there are few types of artificial superlattice structures from which superconductivity is obtained by the CaCuO2 layer and the copper-free oxide layer, and there are few options for artificial superlattice structures from which superconductivity is obtained.
Embodiments of the present invention have been made to solve the above problems, and an object of embodiments of the present invention is to increase the number of options for an artificial superlattice structure in which superconductivity by a CaCuO2 layer and a copper-free oxide layer can be obtained.
According to embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a superlattice structure in which a first crystal layer having a unit lattice of Ca2Fe2O5 with a brownmillerite structure and a second crystal layer having a unit lattice of CaCuO2 with an infinite layer structure are alternately stacked.
In addition, according to embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method for fabricating a superlattice structure, including alternately growing, on a single crystal substrate, a first crystal layer having a unit lattice of Ca2Fe2O5 with a brownmillerite structure and a second crystal layer having a unit lattice of CaCuO2 with an infinite layer structure to fabricate a superlattice structure.
As described above, according to embodiments of the present invention, the first crystal layer having a unit lattice of Ca2Fe2O5 with a brownmillerite structure and the second crystal layer having a unit lattice of CaCuO2 with an infinite layer structure are alternately stacked. Therefore, it is possible to increase the number of options for an artificial superlattice structure capable of obtaining superconductivity by a CaCuO2layer and a copper-free oxide layer.
A superlattice structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
Here, it is important that the thickness of the first crystal layer 101 is a critical film thickness at which the first crystal layer 101 is able to coherently grow on the second crystal layer 102. In this superlattice structure, the first crystal layer 101 as the lowermost layer is formed on and in contact with a single crystal substrate in, and the second crystal layer 102 and the first crystal layer 101 are alternately stacked on the first crystal layer 101 formed on and in contact with the single crystal substrate in. The single crystal substrate 111 can be composed of (LaAlO3)0.3(SrAl0.5Ta0.503)0.7.
Next, a method for fabricating a superlattice structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this fabrication method, the first crystal layer 101 having a unit lattice of Ca2Fe2O5 with a brownmillerite structure and the second crystal layer 102 having a unit lattice of CaCuO2 with an infinite layer structure are alternately grown on the single crystal substrate 11 to fabricate a superlattice structure. Here, it is important to form the first crystal layer 101 grown on the second crystal layer 102 to have a critical film thickness at which the first crystal layer 101 is able to coherently grow. Note that “being able to coherently grow” means that the second crystal layer 102 can grow while adjusting its own lattice constant to the lattice constant of the first crystal layer 101.
Furthermore, the first crystal layer 101 and the second crystal layer 102 are alternately grown on the single crystal substrate 11 under a predetermined substrate temperature condition to form a superlattice structure, and then oxygen deficiency of CaCuO2 responsible for superconductivity in the superlattice structure can be reduced by lowering the temperature while supplying oxygen, and a superconducting transition can be achieved by cooling the obtained superlattice structure to a predetermined temperature.
As a result of intensive studies by the inventors, embodiments of the present invention has been made by finding that superconductivity is exhibited by fabricating the first crystal layer 101 having a unit lattice of Ca2Fe2O5 with a brownmillerite structure as a copper-free oxide layer, and fabricating an artificial superlattice structure by the first crystal layer 101 and the second crystal layer 102 having a unit lattice of infinite layer structure CaCuO2. The inventors have found exhibition of the above-described superconductivity while intensively carrying out the fabrication of the heterostructure/artificial superlattice structure by alternately stacking the first crystal layer 101 having the brownmillerite structure Ca2Fe2O5 and the second crystal layer 102 having the infinite layer structure CaCuO2 each with a certain thickness (t1, t2) and repeating the stacking N times.
As described above, by setting the thickness t1 of the first crystal layer 101 to about the critical film thickness at which the first crystal layer 101 is able to coherently grow on the second crystal layer 102, the [(CaCuO2)n/(Ca2Fe2O5)m]N superlattice becomes superconducting. Under this condition, it is also essential to reduce (suppress) oxygen deficiency in the superlattice structure by continuously supplying oxygen (irradiating with atomic oxygen) from a temperature (about 590° C.) at which the superlattice is fabricated in the ultra-high vacuum device to a temperature lower than 200° C. after the superlattice is fabricated (grown), for achieving superconductivity.
The superlattice structure in which oxygen deficiency is reduced (suppressed) by being fabricated as described above is obtained through a step of alternately growing the first crystal layer 101 and the second crystal layer 102 on the single crystal substrate 111 under a predetermined substrate temperature condition to form a superlattice structure, and then lowering the temperature while supplying oxygen. With this superlattice structure, for example, a superconducting transition is obtained at 50 K or less.
In the superlattice structure of embodiments of the present invention, when Ca2Fe2O5 constituting the first crystal layer 101 and CaCuO2 constituting the second crystal layer 102 have a stoichiometric composition, a superconducting transition is obtained at a predetermined low temperature state. However, it is considered that even when Ca2Fe2O5 constituting the first crystal layer 101 deviates slightly from the stoichiometric composition due to a very slight excessive oxygen uptake or oxygen deficiency, and CaCuO2 constituting the second crystal layer 102 deviates slightly from the stoichiometric composition due to a very slight oxygen deficiency, a superconducting transition is obtained. In other words, when excessive oxygen uptake or oxygen deficiency (oxygen vacancy) is in a very small range, a superconducting transition is obtained, and when oxygen vacancy occurs beyond a certain value, a superconducting transition cannot be obtained.
On the other hand, it is known that when copper (Cu), instead of oxygen (O), in a CuO2 plane which is contained in a layer of CaCuO2 and is known to be responsible for superconductivity in a cuprate superconductor, as described in the background art, is replaced with a trace amount of nonmagnetic zinc (Zn) which does not destroy superconductivity by magnetic interaction, superconductivity disappears by substitution of about 3% to 4% (Reference Literature 1 and Reference Literature 2). From this, it is reasonably estimated that the oxygen deficiency amount at which superconductivity disappears is about the same (about 3% to 4%).
However, it can be said that it is impossible to specify the state in which the oxygen deficiency in the superlattice structure is suppressed by analysis based on measurement from the analysis technology at the time of filing of the present application. Therefore, for the superlattice structure of embodiments of the present invention, it is considered to be rather impractical to directly specify the superlattice structure by its structure or characteristics, for example, by clearly specifying the degree of oxygen deficiency contributing to the effect of embodiments of the present invention.
More detailed description will be given below using examples. The [(CaCuO2)n/(Ca2Fe2O5)m]N superlattice was formed using a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) method. Ca, Cu, and Fe as metal raw materials were disposed in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber of an MBE apparatus, and an electron beam accelerated to about 10 kV was heated by colliding with each raw material and evaporated, and supplied onto a single crystal substrate disposed at a position facing each other.
In order to oxidize the metal atoms supplied onto the single crystal substrate even under a high vacuum, atomic oxygen (O) having higher activity than molecular oxygen (O2) and strong oxidizing power was generated and supplied by separating molecular oxygen using a high-frequency plasma source. The generated atomic oxygen is irradiated from the high-frequency plasma source toward the substrate.
In the example, on the single crystal substrate 111 made of (LaAlO3)0.3(SrAl0.5Ta0.5O3)0.7(LSAT), the first crystal layer 101 made of Ca2Fe2O5 and the second crystal layer 102 made of CaCuO2 were alternately stacked with the thickness t1 and the thickness t2, respectively, to form (grow) a [(CaCuO2)n/(Ca2Fe2O5)m]N superlattice. The substrate temperature during film formation was 590° C.
In the stacking order of the [(CaCuO2)n/(Ca2Fe2O5)m]N superlattice, first, the first crystal layer 101 made of Ca2Fe2O5 was stacked on a substrate, the second crystal layer 102 made of CaCuO2 was stacked thereon, and further, the first crystal layer 101, the second crystal layer 102, the first crystal layer 101, . . . were alternately repeated 15 times.
After 15 times of stacking were repeated, only the supply of metal atoms was stopped, and the temperature was lowered while the superlattice surface was irradiated (supplied) with atomic oxygen. The irradiation with atomic oxygen was continued until the substrate temperature decreased to (reached) Tox=140° C.
(b) of
The electrical resistivity of a sample obtained by fabricating a [(CaCuO2)n/(Ca2Fe2O5)m]N artificial superlattice, stacking the artificial superlattice N times, and then cooling (lowering the temperature of) the artificial superlattice in high vacuum without supplying oxygen using the same conditions [(t1, t2)=(1.4 nm, 4 nm)] as (t1, t2) of the artificial superlattice showing the superconducting transition shows a high resistivity exceeding several tens of Ωcm at 300 K and the temperature dependence of the insulator-like resistivity as illustrated in FIG. (b) of 4.
In a state where oxygen (atomic oxygen) is supplied in the temperature lowering process, as illustrated in (b) of
By appropriately selecting the thickness t1 of the first crystal layer 101 made of Ca2Fe2O5 and the lowering temperature Tox in atomic oxygen, metallicity, superconductivity, and insulating properties exhibited by the [(CaCuO2)n/(Ca2Fe2O5)m]N artificial superlattice can be controlled.
As described above, according to embodiments of the present invention, the first crystal layer having a unit lattice of Ca2Fe2O5 with a brownmillerite structure and the second crystal layer having a unit lattice of CaCuO2 with an infinite layer structure are alternately stacked. Therefore, it is possible to increase the number of options for an artificial superlattice structure capable of obtaining superconductivity by a CaCuO2 layer and a copper-free oxide layer. According to embodiments of the present invention, it has been shown that the first crystal layer and the second crystal layer are alternately stacked to achieve superconductivity. Therefore, it is easily estimated that an artificial superlattice structure exhibiting superconductivity can be fabricated by alternately stacking a copper-free oxide other than Ca2Fe2O5 and a CaCuO2 layer, for example.
According to embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to fabricate a superconductor (metal) of an artificial crystal that does not exist in nature, and a new possibility is presented for practical use of a high-temperature superconducting material. In addition, it is possible to fabricate a new stacked structure material exhibiting metallic and superconductivity in various combinations only by changing oxides to be stacked on the basis of a layer of CaCuO2, and material selectivity is remarkably improved. In addition, control of the superconducting transition temperature can be expected by selecting a combination of oxides, and further, improvement of the superconducting transition temperature can be expected by optimizing the combination. Therefore, embodiments of the present invention can also be applied to a superconducting device capable of operating at a desired temperature. According to embodiments of the present invention, it can be a breakthrough in designing and actually fabricating a novel high-temperature superconductor more suitable for application.
Note that embodiments of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and it is obvious that many modifications and combinations can be implemented by a person having ordinary knowledge in the art within the technical idea of the present invention.
Reference Literature 1 J. Sugiyama et al., “Comparison of paramagnetic- and nonmagnetic-impurity effects on superconductivity in Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4”, Physical Review B, vol. 43, pp. 10489-10495, 1991.
Reference Literature 2 J. M. Tarascon et al., “Magnetic versus nonmagnetic ion substitution effects on Tc in the La—Sr—Cu-o and Nd—Ce—Cu-o systems”, Physical Review B, vol. 42, pp. 218-222, 1990.
This application is a national phase entry of PCT Application No. PCT/JP2021/042760, filed on Nov. 22, 2021, which application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2021/042760 | 11/22/2021 | WO |