Speaker
Description
Superconductivity in two-dimensional (2D) materials has sparked great interest due to the emergence of various novel quantum phenomena [1]. Recent experimental studies of 2D superconductivity in anisotropic layered materials propose both conventional and unconventional electron pairing. In this series, layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are an intriguing class of materials which are the potential candidates to realise Ising superconductivity, spin-valley coupling, quantum spin hall effect, and non-trivial topologically protected band structure [2]. Chemical doping or intercalation in such materials provides a suitable way to tune the interlayer coupling and thereby tune dimensionality.
Here, I will present my work on the enhanced superconductivity in 2H-TaS2 by Li intercalation and demonstrate modified superconducting properties of parent compound 2H-TaS2 after intercalation [3]. The magnetisation, resistivity, and specific heat measurement of single crystals confirmed weakly coupled bulk anisotropic superconductivity having transition temperature at Tc ~ 3.3(1) K. Moreover, the cusp-like feature in angle-dependent magnetotransport measurement and the appearance of Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase transition in bulk crystal LixTaS2 suggested the quasi-2D nature of superconductivity. These findings suggest the weakening of interlayer coupling by Li intercalation. There are very few studies in intercalated materials where BKT transition is observed, which makes LixTaS2 a valuable candidate for understanding the superconductivity with BKT mechanism and provide a new insight towards the intercalated materials.
References:
- Y. Saito et al., Nat. Rev. Mater. 2(1), 1 (2016).
- R. A. Klemm, Physica C: Superconductivity and its Applications, 514, 86 (2015).
- T. Agarwal et al., Phys. Rev. B 107, 174509 (2023).
