journal article·2013-01Open access

Emergence of superconductivity from the dynamically heterogeneous insulating state in La2−xSrxCuO4

Xiaoyan Shi, G. Logvenov, A. T. Bollinger, I. Božović, C. Panagopoulos, Dragana Popović

Nature Materials· Volume 12· Issue 1

Abstract

A central issue for copper oxides is the nature of the insulating ground state at low carrier densities and the emergence of high-temperature superconductivity from that state with doping. Even though this superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) is a zero-temperature transition, measurements are not usually carried out at low temperatures. Here we use magnetoresistance to probe both the insulating state at very low temperatures and the presence of superconducting fluctuations in La2-xSrxCuO4(LSCO) films, for doping levels that range from the insulator to the superconductor (x=0.03-0.08). We observe that the charge glass behavior, characteristic of the insulating state, is suppressed with doping, but it coexists with superconducting fluctuations that emerge already on the insulating side of the SIT. The unexpected quenching of the superconducting fluctuations by the competing charge order at low temperatures provides a new perspective on the mechanism for the SIT.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism · Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials · Advanced Condensed Matter Physics

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

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