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Zikun Feng

Publications and source records attributed to Zikun Feng.

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Electronic structures across superconductor-insulator transition in Ruddlesden-Popper bilayer nickelate films

High-transition-temperature ($T_{C}$) superconductivity is recently discovered in Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) nickelate films with extraordinarily strong oxidation. While investigating phase diagrams is essential for uncovering the superconducting mechanism, the oxygen-tuned superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) in RP nickelates differs fundamentally from that in cuprates or iron-based systems. Here, we unveil the evolution of electronic structure in RP bilayer nickelate thin films across the SIT, combining angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) for both occupied and unoccupied states. In the superconducting state, a coherent quasiparticle band near Fermi level ($E_{F}$) coexists with an incoherent waterfall feature at high energy, paralleling that in cuprates. Approaching the insulating state with oxygen deficiency, the spectral weight of the occupied coherent quasiparticle band is gradually suppressed, accompanied by pronounced density of states redistribution and orbital reconfiguration in unoccupied states. These results reveal the electronic origin of the SIT in the phase diagram, which transcends carrier doping effects and oxygen vacancy states. Our findings point to a decisive role of oxygen in shaping the essential electronic landscape of RP bilayer nickelates, offering crucial insights into the superconducting mechanism.

cond-mat.supr-con

Nodeless superconducting gap and electron-boson coupling in (La,Pr,Sm)$_{3}$Ni$_2$O$_7$ films

The discovery of superconductivity in Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) bilayer nickelate films under ambient pressure provides an unprecedented opportunity to directly investigate electronic energy scales of the superconducting state and the pairing mechanism. Here, we report angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements of superconducting (La,Pr,Sm)$_{3}$Ni$_2$O$_7$ thin films epitaxially grown on SrLaAlO$_4$ substrates by developing an ultra-high vacuum low-temperature quenching and transfer technique. A finite superconducting gap of ~18 meV with pronounced coherence peak is observed along the Brillouin zone diagonal direction. Remarkably, the finite superconducting gap persists across the entire Brillouin zone of the underlying Fermi surfaces, revealing the absence of gap nodes. An abrupt band renormalization, manifested as a kink in the energy-momentum dispersion at ~70 meV below the Fermi level, indicates an electron-boson coupling in the system. The simultaneous observation of a nodeless superconducting gap and electron-boson coupling provides crucial insights into the pairing symmetry and gluing mechanism in high-T$_c$ RP bilayer nickelates.

cond-mat.supr-con