Abstract
We examine the effect of interface disorder in suppressing superconductivity in coherently grown ultrathin YBa2Cu 3O7 (YBCO) layers on SrTiO3 (STO) in YBCO/STO superlattices. The termination plane of the STO is TiO2 and the CuO chains are missing at the interface. Disorder (steps) at the STO interface cause alterations of the stacking sequence of the intracell YBCO atomic layers. Stacking faults give rise to antiphase boundaries which break the continuity of the CuO2 planes and depress superconductivity. We show that superconductivity is directly controlled by interface disorder outlining the importance of pair breaking and localization by disorder in ultrathin layers.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 245105 |
Journal | Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics |
Volume | 87 |
Issue number | 24 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 11 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |