Chinese Physics B
Giant enhancement of superconductivity in few layers MoTe₂
Chinese Physics B · 28, 117401 (2019)
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Introduction
The team exfoliated MoTe₂ into thin flakes and measured transport as a function of temperature, field and gate voltage. The highest superconducting onset temperature reached 5.3 K, above its bulk counterpart. The in-plane upper critical field exceeded the usual Pauli limit, and the gate measurably shifted both the transition temperature and the critical field.
A closer reading
Why does superconductivity in these flakes survive such a strong parallel field? The authors take the excess over the Pauli limit as a clue to Ising-like protection. Resistance and critical-field data establish how robust the superconducting state is, while determining its spin structure would call for a more direct probe.