Quantum mechanics

Magnetic field

Phase (matter)

Oxide

Cuprate

Metallurgy

Materials science

Phase transition

Copper oxide

Physics

Doping

Superconductivity

Condensed matter physics

Transition temperature

Quantum phase transition

Nature Physics

Copper oxide superconductors continue to fascinate the communities of condensed matter physics and material sciences because they host the highest ambient-pressure superconducting transition temperature and unconventional electronic behaviour that are not fully explained 1–3 . Searching for universal links between the superconducting state and its normal metallic state is believed to be an effective approach to elucidate the underlying mechanism of superconductivity. One of the common expectations for copper oxide superconductors is that a metallic phase will appear after the superconductivity is entirely suppressed by chemical doping 4–8 or the application of a magnetic field 9 . Here we report the first observation of a quantum phase transition from a superconducting state to an insulating-like state as a function of pressure in Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8+ δ (Bi2212) superconductors with two CuO 2 planes in a unit cell for doping below, at and above a level that achieves the highest transition temperature. We also find the same phenomenon in related compounds with a single CuO 2 plane as well as three CuO 2 planes in a unit cell. This apparently universal phenomenon poses a challenge for achieving a unified understanding of the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity.

Quantum phase transition from superconducting to insulating-like state in a pressurized cuprate superconductor