Ising pairing in atomically thin superconductors

Enhanced Critical Field of Superconductivity at an Oxide Interface

The nature of superconductivity and its interplay with strong spin-orbit coupling at the KTaO3(111) interfaces remain a subject of debate. To address this problem, we grew epitaxial LaMnO3/KTaO3(111) heterostructures. We show that superconductivity is robust against the in-plane magnetic field, with the critical field of superconductivity reaching ∼25 T in optimally doped heterostructures. The superconducting order parameter is highly sensitive to the carrier density. We argue that spin-orbit coupling drives the formation of anomalous quasiparticles with vanishing magnetic moment, providing significant condensate immunity against magnetic fields beyond the Pauli paramagnetic limit. These results offer design opportunities for superconductors with extreme resilience against the applied magnetic fields.

Anisotropic superconductivity at KTaO3(111) interfaces

A two-dimensional, anisotropic superconductivity was recently found at the KTaO₃(111) interfaces. The nature of the anisotropic superconducting transition remains a subject of debate. To investigate the origins of the observed behavior, we grew epitaxial KTaO₃(111)-based heterostructures. We show that the superconductivity is robust against the in-plane magnetic field and violates the Pauli limit. We also show that the Cooper pairs are more resilient when the bias is along [11[Formula: see text]] (I ∥ [11[Formula: see text]]) and the magnetic field is along [1[Formula: see text]0] (B ∥ [1[Formula: see text]0]). We discuss the anisotropic nature of superconductivity in the context of electronic structure, orbital character, and spin texture at the KTaO₃(111) interfaces. The results point to future opportunities to enhance superconducting transition temperatures and critical fields in crystalline, two-dimensional superconductors with strong spin-orbit coupling.

Isospin magnetism and spin-polarized superconductivity in Bernal bilayer graphene

In conventional superconductors, Cooper pairing occurs between electrons of opposite spin. We observe spin-polarized superconductivity in Bernal bilayer graphene when doped to a saddle-point van Hove singularity generated by a large applied perpendicular electric field. We observe a cascade of electrostatic gate-tuned transitions between electronic phases distinguished by their polarization within the isospin space defined by the combination of the spin and momentum-space valley degrees of freedom. Although all of these phases are metallic at zero magnetic field, we observe a transition to a superconducting state at finite magnetic field B_‖ ≈ 150 milliteslas applied parallel to the two-dimensional sheet. Superconductivity occurs near a symmetry-breaking transition and exists exclusively above the B_‖ limit expected of a paramagnetic superconductor with the observed transition critical temperature T_C ≈ 30 millikelvins, consistent with a spin-triplet order parameter.