Robust anomalous metallic states and vestiges of self-duality in two-dimensional granular In-InOx composites
Abstract

Many experiments investigating magnetic-field tuned superconductor-insulator transition (H-SIT) often exhibit low-temperature resistance saturation, which is interpreted as an anomalous metallic phase emerging from a ‘failed superconductor’, thus challenging conventional theory. Here we study a random granular array of indium islands grown on a gateable layer of indium-oxide. By tuning the intergrain couplings, we reveal a wide range of magnetic fields where resistance saturation is observed, under conditions of careful electromagnetic filtering and within a wide range of linear response. Exposure to external broadband noise or microwave radiation is shown to strengthen the tendency of superconductivity, where at low field a global superconducting phase is restored. Increasing magnetic field unveils an ‘avoided H-SIT’ that exhibits granularity-induced logarithmic divergence of the resistance/conductance above/below that transition, pointing to possible vestiges of the original emergent duality observed in a true H-SIT. We conclude that anomalous metallic phase is intimately associated with inherent inhomogeneities, exhibiting robust behavior at attainable temperatures for strongly granular two-dimensional systems.

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Publication Date:
NSF-PAR ID:
10218024
Journal Name:
npj Quantum Materials
Volume:
6
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2397-4648
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
CeOs4Sb12, a member of the skutterudite family, has an unusual semimetallic low-temperature$L$-phase that inhabits a wedge-like area of the fieldH—temperatureTphase diagram. We have conducted measurements of electrical transport and megahertz conductivity on CeOs4Sb12single crystals under pressures of up to 3 GPa and in high magnetic fields of up to 41 T to investigate the influence of pressure on the differentHTphase boundaries. While the high-temperature valence transition between the metallic$H$-phase and the$L$-phase is shifted to higherTby pressures of the order of 1 GPa, we observed only a marginal suppression of the$S$-phase that is found below 1 K for pressures of up to 1.91 GPa. High-field quantum oscillations have been observed for pressures up to 3.0 GPa and the Fermi surface of the high-field side of the$H$-phase is found to show a surprising decrease in size with increasing pressure, implying a change in electronic structure rather than a mere contraction of lattice parameters. We evaluate the field-dependence of the effective masses for different pressures and also reflect on the sample dependence of some of the properties of CeOs4Sb12which appears to be limitedmore »