Materials Synthesis Approaches to Infinite-Layer Nickelate Thin Films from a High-Crystallinity Precursor Phase

Zhengang Dong¹, Marios Hadjimichael², Bernat Mundet², Jean-Marc Triscone², Danfeng Li<sup>1

1</sup>Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

²Department of Quantum Matter Physics, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

The discovery of superconductivity in infinite-layer nickelates has engendered reviving interest in the study of a cuprate-analog system [1,2]. Notably, superconducting nickelates display signatures of intriguing similarities and distinctions to the cuprates in their phase diagrams, antiferromagnetic interactions, rare-earth dependence, and superconducting anisotropy, among others. Partially owing to the non-trivial challenges in materials synthesis and their thin-film nature, experimental demonstration of the intrinsic properties of this family of materials has still been limited [3,4]. We present our latest developments in alternative synthesis approaches for the high-quality Nd-series of the materials system and probing of their electronic structure/properties, in a broader context of the role that chemical and structural environments can play. Our approach may offer new opportunities to overcoming the difficulties in stabilizing this otherwise thermodynamically unstable family of materials.

 

[1] D. Li et al., Nature 572, 624 (2019).

[2] D. Li et al., Physical Review Letters 125, 27001 (2020).

[3] K. Lee et al., APL Materials 8, 041107 (2020).

[4] K. Lee et al., arXiv:2203.02580 (2022).