Antiferromagnetism in Ni-Based Superconductors

Xiaorong Zhou; Xiaowei Zhang; Jiabao Yi; Peixin Qin; Zexin Feng; Peiheng Jiang; Zhicheng Zhong; Han Yan; Xiaoning Wang; Hongyu Chen; Haojiang Wu; Xin Zhang; Ziang Meng; Xiaojiang Yu; Mark B H Breese; Jiefeng Cao; Jingmin Wang; Chengbao Jiang; Zhiqi Liu

doi:10.1002/adma.202106117

Antiferromagnetism in Ni-Based Superconductors

Adv Mater. 2022 Jan;34(4):e2106117. doi: 10.1002/adma.202106117. Epub 2021 Dec 4.

Authors

Xiaorong Zhou¹, Xiaowei Zhang², Jiabao Yi³, Peixin Qin¹, Zexin Feng¹, Peiheng Jiang⁴, Zhicheng Zhong⁴, Han Yan¹, Xiaoning Wang¹, Hongyu Chen¹, Haojiang Wu¹, Xin Zhang¹, Ziang Meng¹, Xiaojiang Yu⁵, Mark B H Breese^{5

6}, Jiefeng Cao⁷, Jingmin Wang¹, Chengbao Jiang¹, Zhiqi Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China.
² School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China.
³ Global Innovative Centre for Advanced Nanomaterials School of Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices and Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Application Technology, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, 315201, China.
⁵ Singapore Synchrotron Light Source, National University of Singapore, 5 Research Link, Singapore, 117603, Singapore.
⁶ Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117542, Singapore.
⁷ Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201204, China.

PMID: 34706110
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202106117

Abstract

Due to the lack of any magnetic order down to 1.7 K in the parent bulk compound NdNiO₂ , the recently discovered 9-15 K superconductivity in the infinite-layer Nd_0.8 Sr_0.2 NiO₂ thin films has provided an exciting playground for unearthing new superconductivity mechanisms. Herein, the successful synthesis of a series of superconducting Nd_0.8 Sr_0.2 NiO₂ thin films ranging from 8 to 40 nm is reported. The large exchange bias effect is observed between the superconducting Nd_0.8 Sr_0.2 NiO₂ films and a thin ferromagnetic layer, which suggests the existence of the antiferromagnetic order. Furthermore, the existence of the antiferromagnetic order is evidenced by X-ray magnetic linear dichroism measurements. These experimental results are fundamentally critical for the current field.

Keywords: Ni-based superconductors; antiferromagnetism; exchange bias; magnetic order; nickelates.

Abstract

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