1D goes 2D: A Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in superconducting arrays of 4-Angstrom carbon nanotubes

Abstract

We report superconducting resistive transition characteristics for array(s) of coupled 4-Angstrom single wall carbon nanotubes embedded in aluminophosphate-five zeolite. The transition was observed to initiate at 15 K with a slow resistance decrease switching to a sharp, order of magnitude drop between 7.5 and 6.0 K with strong (anisotropic) magnetic field dependence. Both the sharp resistance drop and its attendant nonlinear IV characteristics are consistent with the manifestations of a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition that establishes quasi long range order in the plane transverse to the c-axis of the nanotubes, leading to an inhomogeneous system comprising 3D superconducting regions connected by weak links. Global coherence is established at below 5 K with the appearance of a well-defined supercurrent gap/low resistance region at 2 K. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.