High-field magnetotransport in strained (La,Sr)2CuO4 films

Abstract We report high-field magnetotransport properties of strained La 1.85 Sr 0.15 CuO 4 (LSCO) thin films. The measurements were performed on two LSCO films with identical chemical composition but with different epitaxial strain. One film was compressively strained in plane, and had T c ∼44 K. The other film was strained in the opposite way, and had T c ∼26 K. These films show a striking contrast in the normal-state transport: the latter has a prominent low-temperature upturn while the former has not. The low-temperature upturn can be explained on the basis of Kondo scattering due to Cu 2+ local spins. The results suggest the epitaxial strain seems to regulate the strength of the Kondo interaction and thereby to affect the superconducting temperature T c .