Ambient-pressure superconductivity onset above 40 K in (La,Pr)3Ni2O7 films

Guangdi Zhou, Wei Lv, Heng Wang, Zihao Nie, Yaqi Chen, Yueying Li, Haoliang Huang, Wei-Qiang Chen, Yu-Jie Sun, Qi-Kun Xue () and Zhuoyu Chen ()
Additional contact information
Guangdi Zhou: Southern University of Science and Technology
Wei Lv: Southern University of Science and Technology
Heng Wang: Southern University of Science and Technology
Zihao Nie: Southern University of Science and Technology
Yaqi Chen: Southern University of Science and Technology
Yueying Li: Southern University of Science and Technology
Haoliang Huang: Southern University of Science and Technology
Wei-Qiang Chen: Southern University of Science and Technology
Yu-Jie Sun: Southern University of Science and Technology
Qi-Kun Xue: Southern University of Science and Technology
Zhuoyu Chen: Southern University of Science and Technology

Nature, 2025, vol. 640, issue 8059, 641-646

Abstract: Abstract The discovery of Ruddlesden–Popper (RP) bilayer nickelate superconductors under high pressure has opened a new chapter in high-transition-temperature superconductivity1–8. However, the high-pressure conditions and presence of impurity phases have hindered comprehensive investigations into their superconducting properties and potential applications. Here we report ambient-pressure superconductivity onset above the McMillan limit (40 K) in RP bilayer nickelate epitaxial thin films. Three-unit-cell-thick La2.85Pr0.15Ni2O7 pure-phase single-crystal films are grown using the gigantic-oxidative atomic layer-by-layer epitaxy on SrLaAlO4 substrates9. Resistivity measurements and magnetic field responses indicate onset transition temperature of 45 K. The transition to zero resistance shows characteristics consistent with a Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) behaviour, with TBKT = 9 K. The Meissner diamagnetic effect is observed at 8 K by using a mutual inductance setup, in agreement with the BKT-like transition. In- and out-of-plane critical magnetic fields show anisotropy. Scanning transmission electron microscopy images and X-ray reciprocal space mappings reveal that the RP bilayer nickelate films adopt a tetragonal phase under roughly 2% coherent epitaxial compressive strain in the NiO2 planes relative to the bulk. Our findings pave the way for comprehensive investigations of nickelate superconductors under ambient pressure conditions and for exploring superconductivity at higher transition temperatures through strain engineering in heterostructures.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08755-z Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:640:y:2025:i:8059:d:10.1038_s41586-025-08755-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08755-z

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().