Higher superconducting transition temperature by breaking the universal pressure relation.

Abstract

By investigating the bulk superconducting state via dc magnetization measurements, we have discovered a common resurgence of the superconducting transition temperatures (T_cs) of the monolayer Bi₂Sr₂CuO_6+δ (Bi2201) and bilayer Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ (Bi2212) to beyond the maximum T_cs (T_c-maxs) predicted by the universal relation between T_c and doping (<i>p</i>) or pressure (P) at higher pressures. The T_c of underdoped Bi2201 initially increases from 9.6 K at ambient to a peak at 23 K at 26 GPa and then drops as expected from the universal T_c-P relation. However, at pressures above 40 GPa, T_c rises rapidly without any sign of saturation up to 30 K at 51 GPa. Similarly, the T_c for the slightly overdoped Bi2212 increases after passing a broad valley between 20 and 36 GPa and reaches 90 K without any sign of saturation at 56 GPa. We have, therefore, attributed this T_c resurgence to a possible pressure-induced electronic transition in the cuprate compounds due to a charge transfer between the Cu 3[Formula: see text] and the O 2<i>p</i> bands projected from a hybrid bonding state, leading to an increase of the density of states at the Fermi level, in agreement with our density functional theory calculations. Similar T_c-P behavior has also been reported in the trilayer Br₂Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O_10+δ (Bi2223). These observations suggest that higher T_cs than those previously reported for the layered cuprate high-temperature superconductors can be achieved by breaking away from the universal T_c-P relation through the application of higher pressures.