Superconductivity Modulated by Quantum Size Effects

We have fabricated ultrathin lead films on silicon substrates with atomic-scale control of the thickness over a macroscopic area. We observed oscillatory behavior of the superconducting transition temperature when the film thickness was increased by one atomic layer at a time. This oscillating behav...

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Veröffentlicht in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2004-12, Vol.306 (5703), p.1915-1917
Hauptverfasser: Guo, Yang, Zhang, Yan-Feng, Bao, Xin-Yu, Han, Tie-Zhu, Tang, Zhe, Zhang, Li-Xin, Zhu, Wen-Guang, Wang, E. G., Niu, Qian, Qiu, Z. Q., Jia, Jin-Feng, Zhao, Zhong-Xian, Xue, Qi-Kun
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:We have fabricated ultrathin lead films on silicon substrates with atomic-scale control of the thickness over a macroscopic area. We observed oscillatory behavior of the superconducting transition temperature when the film thickness was increased by one atomic layer at a time. This oscillating behavior was shown to be a manifestation of the Fabry-Pérot interference modes of electron de Broglie waves (quantum well states) in the films, which modulate the electron density of states near the Fermi level and the electron-phonon coupling, which are the two factors that control superconductivity transitions. This result suggests the possibility of modifying superconductivity and other physical properties of a thin film by exploiting well-controlled and thickness-dependent quantum size effects.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1105130