Superconductivity in SrCuO 2 -BaCuO 2 Superlattices: Formation of Artificially Layered Superconducting Materials

Abstract
Pulsed-laser deposition was used to synthesize artificially layered high-temperature superconductors. Thin-film compounds were formed when the constraint of epitaxy was used to stabilize SrCuO 2 -BaCuO 2 superlattices in the infinite layer structure. Using this approach, two new structural families, Ba 2 Sr n –1 ,Cu n +1 O 2 n +2+δ and Ba 4 Sr n –1 Cu n +3 O 2 n +6+δ , have been synthesized; these families superconduct at temperatures as high as 70 kelvin.