{"title":"Unveiling high-Tc superconductivity: probing CuO2 planes in infinite-layer cuprates","authors":"Rui-Feng Wang, Can-Li Song, Xu-Cun Ma, Qi-Kun Xue","doi":"10.1007/s43673-025-00152-y","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The quest to unravel the intricacies of high-Tc superconductivity and strongly correlated electrons in cuprates has spurred a novel focus on direct probing of the CuO<sub>2</sub> planes through scanning tunneling microscopy. Infinite-layer (IL) cuprates, featuring a CuO<sub>2</sub>-terminated surface, emerge as optimal systems for this investigation. Leveraging controllable growth via molecular beam epitaxy, both electron- and hole-doped IL cuprates are realized, with surface structure and <i>c</i>-axis length serving as distinctive markers. A consistent pattern in the Mott transition is established, revealing that doping merely shifts the Fermi level without inducing changes in the Mott band structure, thereby suggesting a self-modulation doping scenario. Furthermore, the identification of a nodeless superconducting gap in the CuO<sub>2</sub> planes challenges conventional notions derived from charge reservoir layers, advocating for a quantum well interpretation of cuprate superconductivity. This review sheds light on the distinct roles played by CuO<sub>2</sub> layers and charge reservoir layers, promising a more profound comprehension of cuprate superconductivity through the lens of the CuO<sub>2</sub> surface.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100007,"journal":{"name":"AAPPS Bulletin","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s43673-025-00152-y.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"AAPPS Bulletin","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43673-025-00152-y","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The quest to unravel the intricacies of high-Tc superconductivity and strongly correlated electrons in cuprates has spurred a novel focus on direct probing of the CuO2 planes through scanning tunneling microscopy. Infinite-layer (IL) cuprates, featuring a CuO2-terminated surface, emerge as optimal systems for this investigation. Leveraging controllable growth via molecular beam epitaxy, both electron- and hole-doped IL cuprates are realized, with surface structure and c-axis length serving as distinctive markers. A consistent pattern in the Mott transition is established, revealing that doping merely shifts the Fermi level without inducing changes in the Mott band structure, thereby suggesting a self-modulation doping scenario. Furthermore, the identification of a nodeless superconducting gap in the CuO2 planes challenges conventional notions derived from charge reservoir layers, advocating for a quantum well interpretation of cuprate superconductivity. This review sheds light on the distinct roles played by CuO2 layers and charge reservoir layers, promising a more profound comprehension of cuprate superconductivity through the lens of the CuO2 surface.