Superconductivity and local stacking polymorphism in LaNiGa2 thin films

Abstract

LaNiGa2 has attracted considerable interest as a candidate unconventional superconductor, particularly due to its reported time-reversal symmetry breaking and nonsymmorphic crystal structure hosting symmetry-protected electronic band degeneracies. Here, we report the growth and characterization of superconducting LaNiGa2 thin films on MgO substrates by magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction reveals highly crystalline, (010)-oriented films with well-defined in-plane alignment and rotational twinning. Electrical transport measurements establish superconductivity with a transition temperature of approximately 1 K. Atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals local variations in crystallographic orientation and interlayer stacking, with a predominantly Cmcm structure containing minority Cmmm regions. The coexistence of these closely related structures reveals local stacking polymorphism that is difficult to distinguish using conventional X-ray diffraction. These findings establish a superconducting LaNiGa2 thin-film platform and provide new insight into the local crystal structure of a material whose electronic properties and superconducting pairing remain under active investigation.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{wang2026superconductivity,
  title = {{Superconductivity and local stacking polymorphism in LaNiGa2 thin films}},
  author = {Pengcheng Wang and Qingxiao Wang and Yameng Wu and Zixuan Huang and C. T. Lam and Zheyu Wang and Swee K. Goh and Xiaoying Xu and Yufan Li},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.37366},
  eprint = {2610.37366},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.37366},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Superconductivity and local stacking polymorphism in LaNiGa2 thin films
AU  - Pengcheng Wang
AU  - Qingxiao Wang
AU  - Yameng Wu
AU  - Zixuan Huang
AU  - C. T. Lam
AU  - Zheyu Wang
AU  - Swee K. Goh
AU  - Xiaoying Xu
AU  - Yufan Li
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/27
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.37366
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.37366
AB  - LaNiGa2 has attracted considerable interest as a candidate unconventional superconductor, particularly due to its reported time-reversal symmetry breaking and nonsymmorphic crystal structure hosting symmetry-protected electronic band degeneracies. Here, we report the growth and characterization of superconducting LaNiGa2 thin films on MgO substrates by magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction reveals highly crystalline, (010)-oriented films with well-defined in-plane alignment and rotational twinning. Electrical transport measurements establish superconductivity with a transition temperature of approximately 1 K. Atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals local variations in crystallographic orientation and interlayer stacking, with a predominantly Cmcm structure containing minority Cmmm regions. The coexistence of these closely related structures reveals local stacking polymorphism that is difficult to distinguish using conventional X-ray diffraction. These findings establish a superconducting LaNiGa2 thin-film platform and provide new insight into the local crystal structure of a material whose electronic properties and superconducting pairing remain under active investigation.
ER  -

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