heterostructures*

The lossless flow of current and the high, stable magnetic fields permitted by superconductor technology have led to advances in fields ranging from transportation to medical imaging. However, the low T_c of conventional superconductors—often below 30 K— has limited their commercial applicability. Previous work has demonstrated high-T_c superconductivity at interfaces between thin films of non-superconducting materials, such as between insulating and metallic La_2-xSr_xCuO₄ [1]. Here, we aim to grow high-quality heterostructures of underdoped and overdoped La_2-xSr_xCuO₄ on SrTiO₃ and LaSrAlO₄ with atomic layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We assess the samples grown with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD). We then perform transport measurements on the La_2-xSr_xCuO₄ heterostructures to examine the possible mechanisms behind T_c enhancement at atomic interfaces.
1. A. Gozar et. al, Nature 455, no. 7214, 782-785 (2008).