arXiv subjects

Y. Dagan

Publications and source records attributed to Y. Dagan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Observation of Berry curvature fluctuations from incipient polar order in an oxide interface

Diagnosing hidden local orders at buried interfaces remains a central challenge in the design and characterization of quantum materials. Second-order electrical responses, such as the nonlinear Hall effect, probe inversion-symmetry-breaking terms invisible to linear transport, offering a direct window into these nanoscale environments via the quantum geometry of Bloch electrons. Here, we utilize $\text{KTaO}_3$, a complex oxide driven by strong tantalum $5d$ spin-orbit coupling and interfacial inversion symmetry breaking, to demonstrate that second-harmonic resistivities exhibit large, reproducible mesoscopic fluctuations. Remarkably, these fluctuations persist in macroscopically large ($200\,\mu\text{m}$) devices and are ubiquitous across all studied surface orientations, even where macroscopic conductivity strictly adheres to underlying crystal symmetries. We propose that these robust, magnetic-field-driven interference patterns arise from local structural symmetry breaking, driven by incipient ferroelectric polarization pinned to the interfacial impurity landscape. This defect-pinned polar mechanism is firmly supported by the signal's suppression above $10\text{ K}$ due to phase decoherence, and a complete loss of mesoscopic memory upon thermal cycling above $40\text{ K}$. By linking quantum geometry to dynamic lattice ordering, our findings establish nonlinear mesoscopic transport as a powerful new characterization tool, capable of revealing local polar tendencies and hidden structural orders in complex materials that remain fundamentally invisible to conventional probes.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Reentrant superconductivity and superconductor-to-insulator transition in a naturally occurring Josephson junction array tuned by RF power

Superconductivity, characterized by dissipationless current flow with flux expulsion or quantization, is usually muted when the magnetic field or the temperature is sufficiently high. However, in rare instances, superconductivity can reappear upon increasing the temperature or magnetic field, a phenomenon known as reentrant superconductivity. It usually emerges from competing orders in strongly correlated materials. Here we demonstrate reentrant superconductivity as a function of both temperature and magnetic field, tuned by radio frequency (RF) power in a relatively simple system: granular aluminum (grAl), which exhibits the properties of a naturally occurring Josephson junction array. At low temperatures, giant Shapiro steps emerge, exhibiting characteristics of a single Josephson junction. Coherent phase locking across the array's multiple junctions amplifies the quantized voltage, enabling tunability at radio frequencies, as observed in artificially designed Josephson arrays. We show that our system can be tuned from a coherent superconducting (stiff-phase) to an insulating (phase-fluctuating) state using RF power. We propose that the RF power modulates the Josephson coupling energy, $E_J$. Remarkably, at elevated temperatures, the screening of the electron charge suppresses the charging energy, causing superconductivity to reappear. This many-body effect cannot be described within a single junction framework and involves many-body correlations. Our system can therefore be tuned to observe both the single-junction regime and many-body correlation effects, serving as a quantum simulator for complex phenomena in condensed matter physics.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Enhanced Superconductivity in SrTiO$_3$-based Interfaces via Amorphous Al2O3 Capping

Oxide interfaces feature unique two-dimensional (2D) electronic systems with diverse electronic properties such as tunable spin-orbit interaction and superconductivity. Conductivity emerges in these interfaces when the thickness of an epitaxial polar layer surpasses a critical value, leading to charge transfer to the interface. Here, we show that depositing amorphous alumina on top of the polar oxide can reduce the critical thickness and enhance the superconducting properties for the (111) and the (100) SrTiO$_3$-based interfaces. A detailed transmission electron microscopy analysis reveals that the enhancement of the superconducting properties is linked to the expansion of the LaAlO$_3$ lattice in a direction perpendicular to the interface. We propose that the increase in the superconducting critical temperature, Tc, is a result of epitaxial strain

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Enhanced Non-linear Response by Manipulating the Dirac Point in the (111) LaTiO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ Interface

Tunable spin-orbit interaction (SOI) is an important feature for future spin-based devices. In the presence of a magnetic field, SOI induces an asymmetry in the energy bands, which can produce non-linear transport effects ($V\sim I^2$). Here, we focus on such effects to study the role of SOI in the (111) LaTiO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interface. This system is a convenient platform for understanding the role of SOI since it exhibits a single-band Hall-response through the entire gate-voltage range studied. We report a pronounced rise in the non-linear resistance at a critical in-plane field $H_{cr}$. This rise disappears with a small out-of-plane field. We explain these results by considering the location of the Dirac point formed at the crossing of the spin-split energy bands. An in-plane magnetic field pushes this point outside of the Fermi surface, and consequently changes the symmetry of the Fermi contours and intensifies the non-linear transport. An out-of-plane magnetic field opens a gap at the Dirac point, thereby significantly diminishing the non-linear effects. We propose that magnetoresistance effects previously reported in interfaces with SOI could be comprehended within our suggested scenario.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Chiral to Nematic Crossover in the Superconducting State of 4Hb-TaS$_2$

Most superconductors have an isotropic, single component order parameter, and are well described by the BCS theory for superconductivity. Unconventional, multiple components superconductors are exceptionally rare and are much less understood. Here, we combine scanning tunneling microscopy and angle-resolved macroscopic transport to study the candidate chiral superconductor, 4Hb-TaS$_2$. We reveal quasi-periodic one-dimensional modulations in the tunneling conductance accompanied by two-fold symmetric superconducting critical field. The strong modulation of the in-plane critical field, points to a nematic, unconventional order parameter. However, the imaged vortex core is nearly circular symmetric, suggesting an isotropic order parameter. We reconcile this apparent discrepancy by modeling a competition between a dominating chiral superconducting order parameter and a nematic one, the latter emerges close to the normal phase. Our results strongly support the existence of two-component superconductivity in 4Hb-TaS$_2$ and can provide useful insights to other systems with coexistent charge order and superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Concomitant appearance of conductivity and superconductivity in (111)LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface with metal capping

In polar-oxide interfaces, a certain number of monolayers (ML) is needed for conductivity to appear. This threshold for conductivity is explained by accumulating sufficient electric potential to initiate charge transfer to the interface. Here we study experimentally and theoretically the (111) SrTiO3/LaAlO3 interface where a critical thickness, tc, of nine epitaxial LaAlO3 ML is required to turn the interface from insulating to conducting and even superconducting. We show that tc decreases to 3ML when depositing a cobalt over-layer (capping) and 6ML for platinum capping. The latter result contrasts with the (100) interface, where platinum capping increases tc beyond the bare interface. The observed threshold for conductivity for the bare and the metal-capped interfaces is confirmed by our density functional theory calculations. Interestingly, for (111) SrTiO3/LaAlO3/Metal interfaces, conductivity appears concomitantly with superconductivity in contrast with the (100) SrTiO3/LaAlO3/Metal interfaces where tc is smaller than the critical thickness for superconductivity. We attribute this dissimilarity to the different orbital polarization of e'g for the (111) versus dxy for the (001) interface.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Link between superconductivity and a Lifshitz transition in intercalated Bi$_2$Se$_3$

Topological superconductivity is an exotic phase of matter in which the fully gapped superconducting bulk hosts gapless Majorana surface states protected by topology. Intercalation of copper, strontium or niobium between the quintuple layers of the topological insulator Bi$_2$Se$_3$ increases the carrier density and leads to superconductivity that is suggested to be topological. Here we study the electronic structure of strontium-intercalated Bi$_2$Se$_3$ using angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations. Despite the apparent low Hall number of $\sim2 \times 10 ^{19}$cm$^{-3}$, we show that the Fermi surface is shaped as an open cylinder with a larger carrier density of $\sim 10 ^{20}$cm$^{-3}$. We suggest that superconductivity in intercalated Bi$_2$Se$_3$ emerges with the appearance of a quasi-2D open Fermi surface.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Chiral superconductivity in the alternate stacking compound 4Hb-TaS$_2$

Layered van der Waals (vdW) materials are emerging as one of the most versatile directions in the field of quantum condensed matter physics. They allow an unprecedented control of electronic properties via stacking of different types of two-dimensional (2D) materials. A fascinating frontier, largely unexplored, is the stacking of strongly-correlated phases of matter in vdW materials. Here, we study 4Hb-TaS$_2$, which naturally realizes an alternating stacking of a Mott insulator, recently reported as a gapless spin-liquid candidate(1T-TaS$_2$), and a 2D superconductor (1H-TaS$_2$). This raises the question of how these two components affect each other. We find a superconducting ground state with a transition temperature of 2.7K, which is significantly elevated compared to the 2H polytype (Tc=0.7K). Strikingly, the superconducting state exhibits signatures of time-reversal-symmetry breaking abruptly appearing at the superconducting transition, which can be naturally explained by a chiral superconducting state.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Vortex excitations in the Insulating State of an Oxide Interface

In two-dimensional (2D) superconductors an insulating state can be induced either by applying a magnetic field, $H$, or by increasing disorder. Many scenarios have been put forth to explain the superconductor to insulator transition (SIT): dominating fermionic physics after the breaking of Cooper pairs, loss of phase coherence between superconducting islands embedded in a metallic or insulating matrix and localization of Cooper pairs with concomitant condensation of vortex-type excitations. The difficulty in characterizing the insulating state and its origin stems from the lack of a continuous mapping of the superconducting to insulating phase diagram in a single sample. Here we use the two-dimensional (2D) electron liquid formed at the interface between the two insulators (111) SrTiO$_3$ and LaAlO$_3$ to study the superconductor to insulator transition. This crystalline interface surprisingly exhibits very strong features previously observed only in amorphous systems. By use of electrostatic gating and magnetic fields, the sample is tuned from the metallic region, where supeconductivity is fully manifested, deep into the insulating state. Through examination of the field dependence of the sheet resistance and comparison of the response to fields in different orientations we identify a new magnetic field scale, H$_{pairing}$, where superconducting fluctuations are muted. Our findings show that vortex fluctuations excitations and Cooper pair localization are responsible for the observed SIT and that these excitations surprisingly persist deep into the insulating state.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Link between the Superconducting Dome and Spin-Orbit Interaction in the (111) LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ Interface

We measure the gate voltage ($V_g$) dependence of the superconducting properties and the spin-orbit interaction in the (111)-oriented LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interface. Superconductivity is observed in a dome-shaped region in the carrier density-temperature phase diagram with the maxima of superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ and the upper critical fields lying at the same $V_g$. The spin-orbit interaction determined from the superconducting parameters and confirmed by weak-antilocalization measurements follows the same gate voltage dependence as $T_c$. The correlation between the superconductivity and spin-orbit interaction as well as the enhancement of the parallel upper critical field, well beyond the Chandrasekhar-Clogston limit suggest that superconductivity and the spin-orbit interaction are linked in a nontrivial fashion. We propose possible scenarios to explain this unconventional behavior.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Solution Monolayer Epitaxy for Tunable Atomically Sharp Oxide Interfaces

Epitaxial growth of atomically-sharp interfaces serves as one of the main building blocks of nanofabrication. Such interfaces are crucial for the operation of various devices including transistors, photo-voltaic cells, and memory components. In order to avoid charge traps that may hamper the operation of such devices, it is critical for the layers to be atomically-sharp. Fabrication of atomically sharp interfaces normally requires ultra-high vacuum techniques and high substrate temperatures. We present here a new self-limiting wet chemical process for deposition of epitaxial layers from alkoxide precursors. This method is fast, cheap, and yields perfect interfaces as we validate by various analysis techniques. It allows the design of heterostructures with half-unit cell resolution. We demonstrate our method by designing hole-type oxide interfaces SrTiO3/BaO/LaAlO3. We show that transport through this interface exhibits properties of mixed electron-hole contributions with hole mobility exceeding that of electrons. Our method and results are an important step forward towards a controllable design of a p-type oxide interface.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Gapless excitations in the ground state of 1T-TaS$_2$

1T-TaS$_2$ is a layered transition metal dichalgeonide with a very rich phase diagram. At T=180K it undergoes a metal to Mott insulator transition. Mott insulators usually display anti-ferromagnetic ordering in the insulating phase but 1T-TaS$_2$ was never shown to order magnetically. In this letter we show that 1T-TaS$_2$ has a large paramagnetic contribution to the magnetic susceptibility but it does not show any sign of magnetic ordering or freezing down to 20mK, as probed by $μ$SR, possibly indicating a quantum spin liquid ground state. Although 1T-TaS$_2$ exhibits a strong resistive behavior both in and out-of plane at low temperatures we find a linear term in the heat capacity suggesting the existence of a Fermi-surface, which has an anomalously strong magnetic field dependence.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Six-fold crystalline anisotropic magnetoresistance in the (111) LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ oxide interface

We measured the magnetoresistance of the 2D electron liquid formed at the (111) LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interface. The hexagonal symmetry of the interface is manifested in a six-fold crystalline component appearing in the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and planar Hall data, which agree well with symmetry analysis we performed. The six-fold component increases with carrier concentration, reaching 15% of the total AMR signal. Our results suggest the coupling between higher itinerant electronic bands and the crystal as the origin of this effect and demonstrate that the (111) oxide interface is a unique hexagonal system with tunable magnetocrystalline effects.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Signature of surface state coupling in thin films of the topological Kondo insulator SmB$_6$ from anisotropic magnetoresistance

The temperature and thickness dependencies of the in-plane anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) of SmB$_6$ thin films are reported. We find that the AMR changes sign from negative ($ρ_{||}<ρ_{\perp}$) at high temperatures to positive ($ρ_{||}>ρ_{\perp}$) at low temperatures. The temperature, T$_s$, at which this sign change occurs, decreases with increasing film thickness $t$ and T$_s$ vanishes for $t$ $>$ 30 nm. We interpret our results in the framework of a competition between two components: a negative bulk contribution and a positive surface AMR.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Tunneling into a quantum confinement created by a single-step nano-lithography of conducting oxide interfaces

A new nano-lithography technique compatible with conducting oxide interfaces, which requires a single lithographic step with no additional amorphous layer deposition or etching, is presented. It is demonstrated on SrTiO3/LaAlO3 interface where a constriction is patterned in the electron liquid. We find that an additional back-gating can further confine the electron liquid into an isolated island. Conductance and differential conductance measurements show resonant tunneling through the island. The data at various temperatures and magnetic fields are analyzed and the effective island size is found to be of the order of 10nm. The magnetic field dependence suggests absence of spin degeneracy in the island. Our method is suitable for creating superconducting and oxide-interface based electronic devices.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Superconductivity in multiple phases of compressed GeSb2Te4

Here we report the discovery of superconductivity in multiple phases of the compressed GeSb2Te4 (GST) phase change memory alloy, which has attracted considerable attention for the last decade due to its unusual physical properties with many potential applications. Superconductivity is observed through electrical transport measurements, both for the amorphous (a-GST) and for the crystalline (c-GST) phases. The superconducting critical temperature, TC, continuously increases with the applied pressure reaching a maximum Tc =6K at P=20 GPa for a-GST, whereas the critical temperature of the cubic phase reaches a maximum Tc =8 K at 30 GPa. This new material system, exhibiting a superconductor-insulator quantum phase transition (SIT) has an advantage over disordered metals since it has a continuous control of the crystal structure and the electronic properties using pressure as an external stimulus, which was lacking in SIT studies until today.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Melting the Superconducting State in the Electron Doped Cuprate Pr$_{1.85}% $Ce$_{0.15}$CuO$_{4-δ}$ with Intense near-infrared and Terahertz Pulses

We studied the superconducting (SC) state depletion process in an electron doped cuprate Pr$_{1.85}$Ce$_{0.15}$CuO$_{4-δ}$ by pumping with near-infrared (NIR) and narrow-band THz pulses. When pumping with THz pulses tuned just above the SC gap, we find the absorbed energy density required to deplete superconductivity, $A_{dep}$, matches the thermodynamic condensation energy. Contrary, by NIR pumping $A_{dep}$ is an order of magnitude higher, despite the fact that the SC gap is much smaller than the energy of relevant bosonic excitations. The result implies that only a small subset of bosons contribute to pairing.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Strong correlations elucidate the electronic structure and phase-diagram of LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface

The interface between the two band insulators SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 unexpectedly has the properties of a two dimensional electron gas. It is even superconducting with a transition temperature, Tc, that can be tuned using gate bias Vg, which controls the number of electrons added or removed from the interface. The gate bias - temperature (Vg, T) phase diagram is characterized by a dome-shaped region where superconductivity occurs, i.e., Tc has a non-monotonic dependence on Vg, similar to many unconventional superconductors. In this communication the frequency of the quantum resistance-oscillations versus inverse magnetic field is reported for various Vg. This frequency follows the same nonmonotonic behavior as Tc; similar trend is seen in the low field limit of the Hall coefficient. We theoretically show that electronic correlations result in a non-monotonic population of the mobile band, which can account for the experimental behavior of the normal transport properties and the superconducting dome.

cond-mat.str-el↗