Abstract
Rare-earth infinite-layer nickelates are emerging unconventional superconductors, with materials synthesis largely limited to early lanthanide compounds. Here, we report phase-pure samarium-based nickelate thin films on (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2TaAlO6)0.7 (001) substrates, including the first demonstration of Sm1-xSrxNiO2. Co-doped compounds achieve a record-small c-axis parameter (3.26 Å) and superconducting transitions up to 32.5 K, revealing a clear correlation between decreasing c-axis parameter and increasing critical temperature across different rare-earth systems. Angle-dependent magnetoresistance shows a hybrid 2D/3D superconductivity with enhanced rare-earth 5d–Ni 3 d orbital coupling, confirmed by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering. In addition, increasing Eu concentration drives a shift toward 3D superconductivity, and Eu-containing samples exhibit distinctive negative magnetoresistance even in the superconducting state. These findings advocate clear materials design principles for higher transition temperatures and exotic physics in infinite-layer nickelate superconductors through structural engineering of the rare-earth site.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available within the article and the Supplementary Information. All data generated in this study are provided in the Source Data file. Source data are provided with this paper (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.31005019).
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Acknowledgements
We thank Ariando and Lin Er Chow for discussions. We acknowledge the funding support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (12174325) and a Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Grant (2023A1515011352). The research was supported by research grants from the Research Grants Council (RGC) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, under Early Career Scheme, General Research Fund and ANR-RGC Joint Researh Scheme (CityU 21301221, CityU 11309622, CityU 11300923, CityU 11313325, A-CityU102/23 and CUHK 24306223). Part of the work utilized the equipment support through a Collaborative Research Equipment Grant from RGC (C1018-22E). Part of this work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2024YFA1408101 and 2022YFA1403101), the Natural Science Foundation of China (92265112, 12374455 and 52388201, 92565303, 12504161, and 12504166), the Guangdong Major Project of Basic Research (2025B0303000004), the Guangdong Provincial Quantum Science Strategic Initiative (GDZX2501001, GDZX2401004, GDZX2201001), the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (KQTD20240729102026004), and the Shenzhen Municipal Funding Co-Construction Program Project (SZZX2301004 and SZZX2401001). The high-magnetic-field work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFA1607701) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (51627901). We thank the staff members of the SMA and HM System (https://cstr.cn/31125.02.SHMFF.SM2.SMA, https://cstr.cn/31125.02.SHMFF.HM) at the Steady High Magnetic Field Facility, Chinese Academy of Sciences (https://cstr.cn/31125.02.SHMFF), for providing technical support and assistance in data collection and analysis. The resonant X-ray scattering experiments were supported by National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Taiwan (Grant No. 113-2112-M-213-016). P.G. acknowledges the support from the New Cornerstone Science Foundation through the XPLORER PRIZE. We acknowledge Electron Microscopy Laboratory of Peking University for the use of electron microscopes. We acknowledge the support from International Station of Quantum Materials.
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M.Y., H.W. and J.T. contributed equally to this work. M.Y., Z.C. and D.L. conceived the research project. M.Y. and J.T. grew the samples with assistance from W.X., Z.D., B.F., L.S. and Z.P. H.W. and X.W. performed the in-situ reduction experiments. H.W., X.W., M.Y. and G.Z. performed the XRD characterizations. H.W. conducted the mutual inductance measurements, H.W. and J.T. performed the transport measurements. J.L., R.M. and P.G. conducted the STEM experiments. A.W., Z.W., M.Y. and H.H. conducted the high field measurements with the help from W.M., C.X., L.P. and Q.L. Y.W. and Q.W. conducted the RIXS measurements with the help from J.O., H.-Y.H. and D.-J.H. H.H., Q.W., P.G., Z.C. and D.L. acquired funding support. M.Y., J.T., W.X. and D.L. wrote the manuscript with contributions from all authors.
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Yang, M., Wang, H., Tang, J. et al. Enhanced superconductivity and mixed-dimensional behaviour in infinite-layer samarium nickelate thin films. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69650-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69650-3
