Superconductivity emerging from a stripe charge order in IrTe2 nanoflakes

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Superconductivity in the vicinity of a competing electronic order often manifests itself with a superconducting dome, centered at a presumed quantum critical point in the phase diagram. This common feature, found in many unconventional superconductors, has supported a prevalent scenario in which fluctuations or partial melting of a parent order are essential for inducing or enhancing superconductivity. Here we present a contrary example, found in IrTe<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> nanoflakes of which the superconducting dome is identified well inside the parent stripe charge ordering phase in the thickness-dependent phase diagram. The coexisting stripe charge order in IrTe<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> nanoflakes significantly increases the out-of-plane coherence length and the coupling strength of superconductivity, in contrast to the doped bulk IrTe<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>. These findings clarify that the inherent instabilities of the parent stripe phase are sufficient to induce superconductivity in IrTe<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> without its complete or partial melting. Our study highlights the thickness control as an effective means to unveil intrinsic phase diagrams of correlated van der Waals materials.</jats:p>