Higher-order epitaxy: A pathway to suppressing structural instability and emergent superconductivity
arXiv:2510.07947 · doi:10.1038/s41467-025-65902-w
Abstract
Molecular beam epitaxy enables the growth of thin film materials with novel properties and functionalities. Typically, the lattice constants of films and substrates are designed to match to minimise disorders and strains. However, significant lattice mismatches can result in higher-order epitaxy, where commensurate growth occurs with a period defined by integer multiples of the lattice constants. Despite its potential, higher-order epitaxy is rarely used to enhance material properties or induce emergent phenomena. Here, we report single-crystalline FeTe films grown via 6:5 commensurate higher-order epitaxy on CdTe(001) substrates. Scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals self-organised periodic interstitials near the interface, arising from higher-order lattice matching. Synchrotron x-ray diffraction shows that the tetragonal-to-monoclinic structural transition in bulk FeTe is strongly suppressed. Remarkably, these films exhibit substrate-selective two-dimensional superconductivity, likely due to suppressed monoclinic distortion. These findings demonstrate the potential of higher-order epitaxy as a tool to control materials and inducing emergent phenomena.
References in corpus (27)
- Magic-angle graphene superlattices: a new platform for unconventional superconductivity
- Interface induced high temperature superconductivity in single unit-cell FeSe films on SrTiO3
- Evidence for Majorana bound state in an iron-based superconductor
- Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor
- Incommensurate magnetic order in the alpha-Fe(Te,Se) superconductor systems
- Topological nature of FeSeTe superconductor
- From (pi, 0) magnetic order to superconductivity with (pi, pi) magnetic resonance in Fe1.02(Te1-xSex)
- Strain-induced partially flat band, helical snake states, and interface superconductivity in topological crystalline insulators
- Superconductivity in iron telluride thin films under tensile stress
- Domain Matching Epitaxy of Ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2(111) on La2/3Sr1/3MnO3(001)
- Strain engineering Dirac surface states in heteroepitaxial topological crystalline insulator thin films
- Low-temperature phase diagram of Fe1+yTe
- Atomically Resolved FeSe/SrTiO3(001) Interface Structure by Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy
- Magnetic, superconducting, and topological surface states on FeTeSe
- Interface-Induced Superconductivity in Magnetic Topological Insulator-Iron Chalcogenide Heterostructures
- Hybrid symmetry epitaxy of superconducting Fe(Te,Se) film on a topological insulator
- Coexistence of Superconductivity and Antiferromagnetism in Topological Magnet MnBi2Te4 Films
- Controlling unconventional superconductivity in artificially engineered -electron Kondo superlattices
- Molecular beam epitaxy of superconducting FeSeTe thin films interfaced with magnetic topological insulators
- Superconducting four-fold Fe(Te,Se) film on six-fold magnetic MnTe via hybrid symmetry epitaxy
- Universal Superconductivity in FeTe and All-Iron-Based Ferromagnetic Superconductor Heterostructures
- Searching for Majorana quasiparticles at vortex cores in iron-based superconductors
- Rotation of the dislocation grid in multilayer FeSe films and visualization of electronic nematic domains via orbital-selective tunneling
- Mystery of superconductivity in FeTe films and the role of neighboring layers
- Moire Superlattice Modulations in Single-Unit-Cell FeTe Films Grown on NbSe2 Single Crystals
- Non-Fermi liquid transport and strong mass enhancement near the nematic quantum critical point in FeSeTe thin films
- Control of nonreciprocal charge transport in topological insulator/superconductor heterostructures with Fermi level tuning and superconducting-layer thickness