Reversible shift in the superconducting transition for La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 and BaFe1.8Co0.2As2 using piezoelectric substrates

Abstract

The use of piezoelectric substrates enables dynamic observation of the strain-dependent properties of functional materials. Based on studies with La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 (LSCO), we extended this approach to the iron arsenic superconductors represented by BaFe2− xCoxAs2 to investigate strain-driven changes in detail. We demonstrate that epitaxial thin films can be prepared on (001) Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.72Ti0.28O3 substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The structural and electric properties of grown films were characterized in detail. A reversible shift of the superconducting transition of 0.4 K for LSCO and 0.2 K for BaFe1.8Co0.2As2 was observed on applying biaxial strains of 0.022 and 0.017%, respectively.