Fabrication of noncentrosymmetric Nb/V/Ta superlattice and its superconductivity

Nb, V, and Ta are all well-known superconducting elements in a simple substance. We report the superconductivity of Nb/V/Ta superlattices sputtered onto MgO(100) substrates, in which global inversion symmetry was broken along the stacking direction. It was found that the superlattices had long-range crystalline coherence with the well-defined periodicity of the constituent layers, and they exhibited superconducting transition despite the thicknesses of the layers. (author)