Revealing superconducting gap in La3Ni2O7-δ by Andreev reflection spectroscopy under high pressure
The recent discovery of compressed superconductivity at 80 K in La<sub>3</sub>Ni<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7-δ</sub> has brought nickelates into the family of unconventional high-temperature superconductors. However, due to the challenges of directly probing the superconducting pairing mechanism under high-pressure, the pairing symmetry and gap structures of nickelate superconductors remain under intense debate. In this work, we successfully determine the microscopic information on the superconducting gap structure of La<sub>3</sub>Ni<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7-δ</sub> samples subjected to pressures exceeding 20 GPa, by constructing different conductance junctions within diamond anvil cells. By analyzing the temperature-dependent differential conductance spectra within the Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk (BTK) model, we have determined the superconducting energy gap at high pressure. The differential conductance curves reveal a two-gap structure with Δ<sub>s1</sub> = 23 meV and Δ<sub>s2</sub> = 6 meV, while the BTK fitting consistent with an s-like, two-gap spectrum. The gap ratio 2Δ<sub>s1</sub>(0)/k<sub>B</sub>T<sub>c</sub> is found to be 7.41, belonging to a family of strongly coupled superconductors. Our findings provide valuable insights into the superconducting gap structures of the pressure-induced superconducting nickelates.
Authors
- Xiaoli Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9628-5618)
- Yuzhi Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5975-3053)
- Jianning Guo
- De‐Yuan Hu
- Tian Cui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9664-848X)
- Meng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8232-2331)
- Yulong Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8578-4681)
- Hualei Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5929-9022)
Institutions
- Ningbo University (CN)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Jilin University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-12-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65865-y
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.85
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province