Enhanced superconducting properties of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x films with sub-50-nm thickness

Bernd Aichner; Sandra Keppert; Johannes D. Pedarnig; Wolfgang Lang

doi:10.1038/s41598-025-95932-9

Enhanced superconducting properties of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x films with sub-50-nm thickness

Bernd Aichner
, Sandra Keppert
, Johannes D. Pedarnig
, Wolfgang Lang (Corresponding author)

Publications: Contribution to journal › Article › Peer Reviewed

Abstract

Few-unit cell thick Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x (Bi-2212) layers have recently attracted much interest due
to their extreme anisotropy and two-dimensional superconductivity, although they are typically
susceptible to ambient conditions. In this study, we report on thin films approximately 13 unit cells thick that are stable in air, exhibit high anisotropy, and demonstrate extraordinarily high critical currents. By examining the superconducting transition under magnetic fields applied in both out-of-plane and in-plane orientations, we estimate key parameters such as pinning potentials, coherence lengths, London penetration depth, anisotropy factor, and the Ginzburg–Landau parameter. The volume pinning force is better described by a model incorporating an exponential decay term attributed to pronounced thermally-assisted flux flow. The Hall effect in the Bi-2212 films exhibits an extensive anomaly with a double sign change that may challenge existing theoretical explanations for this poorly understood phenomenon in copper-oxide superconductors.

Original language	English
Article number	11855
Number of pages	12
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	15
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95932-9
Publication status	Published - 7 Apr 2025

Funding

We are grateful to E. F. Talantsev for illuminating discussions and to W. P. Crump for providing their software code. This research was funded in whole, or in part, by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Grant-DOI: 10.55776/I4865. For the purpose of open access, the authors have applied a CC BY public copyright license to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission. B.A. acknowledges financial support from the Austrian Science Fund, grant I6079. This article is based upon work from COST Actions SuperQuMap CA21144, Hi-SCALE CA19108, and Polytopo CA23134 (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). We are grateful to E.\u00A0F. Talantsev for illuminating discussions and to W.\u00A0P. Crump for providing their software code. This research was funded in whole, or in part, by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Grant-DOI: 10.55776/I4865. For the purpose of open access, the authors have applied a CC BY public copyright license to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission. B.A. acknowledges financial support from the Austrian Science Fund, grant I6079. This article is based upon work from COST Actions SuperQuMap CA21144, Hi-SCALE CA19108, and Polytopo CA23134 (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).

Funders	Funder number
Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF)	I4865

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

103033 Superconductivity
103009 Solid state physics
103042 Electron microscopy

Keywords

Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x
High critical currents
Coherence lengths
High anisotropy
London penetration depth
Hall effect anomaly
BiSrCaCuO

Access to Document

10.1038/s41598-025-95932-9Licence: CC BY 4.0

https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:2156836Licence: CC BY 4.0

Cite this

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title = "Enhanced superconducting properties of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x films with sub-50-nm thickness",

abstract = "Few-unit cell thick Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (Bi-2212) layers have recently attracted much interest due to their extreme anisotropy and two-dimensional superconductivity, although they are typically susceptible to ambient conditions. In this study, we report on thin films approximately 13 unit cells thick that are stable in air, exhibit high anisotropy, and demonstrate extraordinarily high critical currents. By examining the superconducting transition under magnetic fields applied in both out-of-plane and in-plane orientations, we estimate key parameters such as pinning potentials, coherence lengths, London penetration depth, anisotropy factor, and the Ginzburg–Landau parameter. The volume pinning force is better described by a model incorporating an exponential decay term attributed to pronounced thermally-assisted flux flow. The Hall effect in the Bi-2212 films exhibits an extensive anomaly with a double sign change that may challenge existing theoretical explanations for this poorly understood phenomenon in copper-oxide superconductors.",

keywords = "Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x, High critical currents, Coherence lengths, High anisotropy, London penetration depth, Hall effect anomaly, BiSrCaCuO",

author = "Bernd Aichner and Sandra Keppert and Pedarnig, \{Johannes D.\} and Wolfgang Lang",

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AU - Aichner, Bernd

AU - Keppert, Sandra

AU - Pedarnig, Johannes D.

AU - Lang, Wolfgang

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025.

PY - 2025/4/7

Y1 - 2025/4/7

N2 - Few-unit cell thick Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (Bi-2212) layers have recently attracted much interest due to their extreme anisotropy and two-dimensional superconductivity, although they are typically susceptible to ambient conditions. In this study, we report on thin films approximately 13 unit cells thick that are stable in air, exhibit high anisotropy, and demonstrate extraordinarily high critical currents. By examining the superconducting transition under magnetic fields applied in both out-of-plane and in-plane orientations, we estimate key parameters such as pinning potentials, coherence lengths, London penetration depth, anisotropy factor, and the Ginzburg–Landau parameter. The volume pinning force is better described by a model incorporating an exponential decay term attributed to pronounced thermally-assisted flux flow. The Hall effect in the Bi-2212 films exhibits an extensive anomaly with a double sign change that may challenge existing theoretical explanations for this poorly understood phenomenon in copper-oxide superconductors.

AB - Few-unit cell thick Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (Bi-2212) layers have recently attracted much interest due to their extreme anisotropy and two-dimensional superconductivity, although they are typically susceptible to ambient conditions. In this study, we report on thin films approximately 13 unit cells thick that are stable in air, exhibit high anisotropy, and demonstrate extraordinarily high critical currents. By examining the superconducting transition under magnetic fields applied in both out-of-plane and in-plane orientations, we estimate key parameters such as pinning potentials, coherence lengths, London penetration depth, anisotropy factor, and the Ginzburg–Landau parameter. The volume pinning force is better described by a model incorporating an exponential decay term attributed to pronounced thermally-assisted flux flow. The Hall effect in the Bi-2212 films exhibits an extensive anomaly with a double sign change that may challenge existing theoretical explanations for this poorly understood phenomenon in copper-oxide superconductors.

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KW - High anisotropy

KW - London penetration depth

KW - Hall effect anomaly

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Enhanced superconducting properties of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x films with sub-50-nm thickness

Abstract

Funding

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Low-loss current- and flux quanta-controlled magnonics

FLUXPIN: Fluxon manipulation by nanoscale artificial pinning lattices in cuprate superconductors

Tailoring the electrical and high-Tc superconducting properties of cuprate thin films by light-ion irradiation and nano-structuring

Crafting vortex topologies into copper-oxide superconductors by focused helium-ion-beam irradiation and their temporal evolution

High-J_c superconducting Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈₊_δ thin films: Analysis of elemental composition, phase and microstructure

Cite this

Enhanced superconducting properties of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x films with sub-50-nm thickness

Abstract

Funding

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

Low-loss current- and flux quanta-controlled magnonics

FLUXPIN: Fluxon manipulation by nanoscale artificial pinning lattices in cuprate superconductors

Activities

Tailoring the electrical and high-Tc superconducting properties of cuprate thin films by light-ion irradiation and nano-structuring

Crafting vortex topologies into copper-oxide superconductors by focused helium-ion-beam irradiation and their temporal evolution

High-Jc superconducting Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈₊δ thin films: Analysis of elemental composition, phase and microstructure

Cite this

Enhanced superconducting properties of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x films with sub-50-nm thickness

High-J_c superconducting Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈₊_δ thin films: Analysis of elemental composition, phase and microstructure