Observation of Superconductivity in the LaNiO3/La(0.7)Sro(3)MnO(3) Superlattice

In the pursuit of high-temperature superconductivity like that in cuprates, artificial heterostructures or interfaces have attracted tremendous interest. It has been a long-sought goal to find similar unconventional superconductivity in nickelates. However, as far as we know, this has not yet been experimentally realized. To approach this objective, we synthesized a prototypical superlattice that consists of ultrathin LaNiO3 and La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 layers. Both zero resistance and the Meissner effect are observed using resistive and magnetic measurements of the superlattice. These are experimental indicators for superconductivity in new superconductors. X-ray linear dichroism causes the NiO2 planes to develop electron-occupied x(2)-y(2) orbital order similar to that of cuprate-based superconductors. Our findings demonstrate that artificial interface engineering is suitable for investigating novel physical phenomena, such as superconductivity.