Enhanced Superconductivity near the Pressure-Tuned Quantum Critical Point of Charge-Density-Wave Order in Cu1-δTe (δ = 0.016)

We have investigated the evolution of CDW states and structural phases in a Cu-deficient Cu_1-δTe (δ = 0.016) by employing high-pressure experiments and first-principles calculations. Raman scattering results reveal that the vulcanite structure at ambient pressure starts to change into the Cu-deficient rickardite (<i>r</i>-CuTe) structure from 6.7 GPa, which then becomes fully stabilized above 8.3 GPa. Resistivity data show that <i>T</i>_CDW1 (≈333 K) is systematically suppressed under high pressure, reaching zero at 5.9 GPa. In the pressure range of 5.2-8.2 GPa, a sharp resistivity drop due to superconductivity occurs at the onset temperature <i>T</i>_C = ~2.0-3.2 K. The maximum <i>T</i>_C = 3.2 K achieved at 5.6 GPa is clearly higher than that of CuTe (2.3 K), suggesting the importance of charge fluctuation in the vicinity of CDW suppression. At 7.5 GPa, another resistivity anomaly appears due to the emergence of a second CDW (CDW2) ordering at <i>T</i>_CDW2 = ~176 K, which exhibits a gradual increase to ~203 K with pressure increase up to 11.3 GPa. First-principles calculations on the Cu-deficient Cu₁₁Te₁₂ with the <i>r</i>-CuTe structure show that including on-site Coulomb repulsion is essential for incurring an unstable phonon mode relevant for stabilizing the CDW2 order. These results point out the important role of charge fluctuation in optimizing the pressure-induced superconductivity and that of Coulomb interaction in creating the competing CDW order in the Cu-deficient CuTe system.