Superconductivity in pressurized trilayer La<sub>4</sub>Ni<sub>3</sub>O<sub>10-δ</sub> single crystals.

Zhu, Yinghao; Peng, Di; Zhang, Enkang; Pan, Bingying; Chen, Xu; Chen, Lixing; Ren, Huifen; Liu, Feiyang et al. · Nature · 2024

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The pursuit of discovering new high-temperature superconductors that diverge from the copper-based model<sup>1-3</sup> has profound implications for explaining mechanisms behind superconductivity and may also enable new applications<sup>4-8</sup>. Here our investigation shows that the application of pressure effectively suppresses the spin-charge order in trilayer nickelate La<sub>4</sub>Ni<sub>3</sub>O<sub>10-δ</sub> single crystals, leading to the emergence of superconductivity with a maximum critical temperature (T<sub>c</sub>) of around 30 K at 69.0 GPa. The d.c. susceptibility measurements confirm a substantial diamagnetic response below T<sub>c</sub>, indicating the presence of bulk superconductivity with a volume fraction exceeding 80%. In the normal state, we observe a strange metal behaviour, characterized by a linear temperature-dependent resistance extending up to 300 K. Furthermore, the layer-dependent superconductivity observed hints at a unique interlayer coupling mechanism specific to nickelates, setting them apart from cuprates in this regard. Our findings provide crucial insights into the fundamental mechanisms underpinning superconductivity, while also introducing a new material platform to explore the intricate interplay between the spin-charge order, flat band structures, interlayer coupling, strange metal behaviour and high-temperature superconductivity.