Incoherent Cooper Pairing and Pseudogap Behavior in Single-Layer FeSe/SrTiO_{3}

• Published in: Physical review. X Vol. 11; no. 2; p. 021054
• Main Authors: B. D. Faeth, S.-L. Yang, J. K. Kawasaki, J. N. Nelson, P. Mishra, C. T. Parzyck, C. Li, D. G. Schlom, K. M. Shen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Physical Society 01.06.2021
• ISSN: 2160-3308
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevX.11.021054

In many unconventional superconductors, the presence of a pseudogap—a suppression in the electronic density of states extending above the critical temperature—has been a long-standing mystery. Here, we employ combined in situ electrical transport and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements to reveal an unprecedentedly large pseudogap regime in single-layer FeSe/SrTiO_{3}, an interfacial superconductor where incoherent Cooper pairs are initially formed above T_{Δ}≈60  K but where a zero-resistance state is achieved only below T_{0}<30  K. We show that this behavior is accompanied by distinct transport signatures of two-dimensional phase fluctuating superconductivity, suggesting a mixed vortex state hosting incoherent Cooper pairs which persist well above the maximum clean limit T_{c} of approximately 40 K. Our work establishes the critical role of reduced dimensionality in driving the complex interplay between Cooper pairing and phase coherence in two-dimensional high-T_{c} superconductors, providing a paradigm for understanding and engineering higher-T_{c} interfacial superconductors.