Reversible tuning of magnetic order and intrinsic superconductivity in strained FeTe films via stoichiometry control

Abstract

FeTe is a prototypical parent compound of iron-based superconductors. While bulk FeTe is non-superconducting with a long-range bicollinear antiferromagnetic order, superconductivity has been achieved in thin films. However, the approaches usually involve complex oxygen incorporation or interfacial effects, the microscopic mechanisms of which remain elusive. Here, we prepare high-purity, bare FeTe thin films on SrTiO3 and investigate their magnetic and superconducting states combining both microscopic and macroscopic characterizations. By reducing the interstitial Fe impurities, we successfully suppress the long-range antiferromagnetic order, enhance the quasiparticle coherence and induce superconductivity at ~10 K. Moreover, this process is readily reversible by tuning the Fe concentration. Our findings reveal that precise stoichiometric control is sufficient to induce intrinsic superconductivity in strained FeTe thin films. This work provides insights into the competition between magnetism and superconductivity in iron chalcogenides, and supplies methods for developing stable, high-purity superconducting FeTe films.

arXiv comment5 figures,1 table

References in corpus (34)

• Interface induced high temperature superconductivity in single unit-cell FeSe films on SrTiO3
• Two Dimensional Ising Superconductivity in Gated MoS${}_2$
• Thorium-doping induced superconductivity up to 56 K in Gd1-xThxFeAsO
• Gate-induced superconductivity in a monolayer topological insulator
• Metallic ground state in an ion-gated two-dimensional superconductor
• Bi-collinear antiferromagnetic order in the tetragonal $\alpha$-FeTe
• Direct observation of high temperature superconductivity in one-unit-cell FeSe films
• Ironing out the details of unconventional superconductivity
• Charge carrier localization induced by excess Fe in the Fe1+y(Te,Se) superconductor system
• Iron based high transition temperature superconductors
• Fermi surface topology and low-lying quasiparticle dynamics of parent Fe${}_{1+x}$Te/Se Superconductor by orbital-polarization resolved ARPES
• Fermi surface topology and low-lying quasiparticle structure of magnetically ordered Fe1+xTe
• Superconductivity in iron telluride thin films under tensile stress
• Density Functional Study of Excess Fe in Fe${}_{1+x}$Te: Magnetism and Doping
• Two-dimensional superconductivity at the interface of a Bi2Te3/FeTe heterostructure
• Topological Characters in Fe(Te${}_{1-x}$Se${}_x$) thin films
• Magnetic-crystallographic phase diagram of superconducting parent compound Fe${}_{1+x}$Te
• Visualizing the Energy-gap Modulations of the Cuprate Pair Density Wave State
• Discovery of a pair density wave state in a monolayer high-Tc iron-based superconductor
• Evidence for interfacial superconductivity in a bi-collinear antiferromagnetically ordered FeTe monolayer on a topological insulator
• Antiferromagnetic ground state with pair-checkboard order in FeSe
• Low-temperature phase diagram of Fe1+yTe
• Non-Thermal Emergence of an Orbital-Selective Mott Phase in FeTe${}_{1-x}$Se${}_x$
• Correlation-Driven Electronic Reconstruction in FeTe${}_{1-x}$Se${}_x$
• Interface-Induced Superconductivity in Magnetic Topological Insulator-Iron Chalcogenide Heterostructures
• Superconductivity Induced in Iron Telluride Films by Low Temperature Oxygen Incorporation
• Nematic antiferromagnetic states in bulk FeSe
• Electronic structure of Bi2Te3/FeTe heterostructure: implications for unconventional superconductivity
• Electronic Structure of Fe${}_{1.08}$Te bulk crystals and epitaxial FeTe thin films on Bi${}_2$Te${}_3$
• Universal Superconductivity in FeTe and All-Iron-Based Ferromagnetic Superconductor Heterostructures
• Nanoscale visualization of the thermally-driven evolution of antiferromagnetic domains in FeTe thin films
• Stoichiometric FeTe is a Superconductor
• Mystery of superconductivity in FeTe films and the role of neighboring layers
• Higher-order epitaxy: A pathway to suppressing structural instability and emergent superconductivity