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Developing strategies to systematically increase the critical current, the threshold current below which the superconductivity exists, is an important goal of materials science. Here, the concept of quantum phase transition is employed to enhance the critical current of a kagome superconductor CsV$_3$Sb$_5$, which exhibits a charge density wave (CDW) and superconductivity that are both affected by hydrostatic pressure. As the CDW phase is rapidly suppressed under pressure, a large enhancement in the self-field critical current ($I_{\rm c,sf}$) is recorded. The observation of a peak-like enhancement of $I_{\rm c,sf}$ at the zero-temperature limit ($I_{\rm c,sf}(0)$) centred at $p^*\approx 20$~kbar, the same pressure where the CDW phase transition vanishes, further provides strong evidence of a zero-temperature quantum anomaly in this class of pressure-tuned superconductor. Such a peak in $I_{\rm c,sf}(0)$ resembles the findings in other well-established quantum-critical superconductors, hinting at the presence of enhanced quantum fluctuations associated with the CDW phase in CsV$_3$Sb$_5$., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Advanced Science (2024)

The kagome metal CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ is an ideal platform to study the interplay between topology and electron correlation. To understand the fermiology of CsV$_3$Sb$_5$, intensive quantum oscillation (QO) studies at ambient pressure have been conducted. However, due to the Fermi surface reconstruction by the complicated charge density wave (CDW) order, the QO spectrum is exceedingly complex, hindering a complete understanding of the fermiology. Here, we directly map the Fermi surface of the pristine CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ by measuring Shubnikov-de Haas QOs up to 29 T under pressure, where the CDW order is completely suppressed. The QO spectrum of the pristine CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ is significantly simpler than the one in the CDW phase, and the detected oscillation frequencies agree well with our density functional theory calculations. In particular, a frequency as large as 8,200 T is detected. Pressure-dependent QO studies further reveal a weak but noticeable enhancement of the quasiparticle effective masses on approaching the critical pressure where the CDW order disappears, hinting at the presence of quantum fluctuations. Our high-pressure QO results reveal the large, unreconstructed Fermi surface of CsV$_3$Sb$_5$, paving the way to understanding the parent state of this intriguing metal in which the electrons can be organized into different ordered states., Comment: 4 figures, 1 table. This is the preprint of a published paper in PNAS

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have gained increasing prominence not only in fundamental research but also in daily applications. However, to fully harness their potential, it is crucial to optimize their properties with an external parameter and track the electronic structure simultaneously. Magnetotransport over a wide magnetic field range is a powerful method to probe the electronic structure and, for metallic 2D materials, quantum oscillations superimposed on the transport signals encode Fermi surface parameters. In this manuscript, we utilize biaxial strain as an external tuning parameter and investigate the effects of strain on the electronic properties of two quasi-2D superconductors, MoTe$_2$ and RbV$_3$Sb$_5$, by measuring their magnetoresistance in pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 T. With a careful selection of insulating substrates, we demonstrate the possibility of both the compressive and tensile biaxial strain, imposed on MoTe$_2$ and RbV$_3$Sb$_5$, respectively. For both systems, the applied strain has led to superconducting critical temperature enhancement compared to their free-standing counterparts, proving the effectiveness of this biaxial strain method at cryogenic temperatures. Clear quantum oscillations in the magnetoresistance -- the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) effect -- are obtained in both samples. In strained MoTe$_2$, the magnetoresistance exhibits a nearly quadratic dependence on the magnetic field and remains non-saturating even at the highest field. Whereas in strained RbV$_3$Sb$_5$, two SdH frequencies showed a substantial enhancement in effective mass values, hinting at a possible enhancement of charge fluctuations. Our results demonstrate that combining biaxial strain and pulsed magnetic field paves the way for studying 2D materials under unprecedented conditions., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Materials with AV$_3$Sb$_5$ (A=K, Rb, Cs) stoichiometry are recently discovered kagome superconductors with the electronic structure featuring a Dirac band, van Hove singularities and flat bands. These systems undergo anomalous charge-density-wave (CDW) transitions at $T_{\rm CDW}$~80-100 K, resulting in the reconstruction of the Fermi surface from the pristine phase. Although comprehensive investigations of the electronic structure via quantum oscillations (QOs) have been performed on the sister compounds CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ and RbV$_3$Sb$_5$, a detailed QO study of KV$_3$Sb$_5$ is so far absent. Here, we report the Shubnikov-de Haas QO study in KV$_3$Sb$_5$. We resolve a large number of new frequencies with the highest frequency of 2202 T (occupying ~54% of the Brillouin zone area in the $k_x$-$k_y$ plane). The Lifshitz-Kosevich analysis further gives relatively small cyclotron effective masses, and the angular dependence study reveals the two-dimensional nature of the frequencies with a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio. Finally, we compare the QO spectra for all three AV$_3$Sb$_5$ compounds collected under the same conditions, enabling us to point out the similarities and differences across these systems. Our results fill in the gap of the QO study in KV$_3$Sb$_5$ and provide valuable data to understand the band structure of all three members of AV$_3$Sb$_5$., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures

AV$_3$Sb$_5$ (A=Cs, K, Rb) are recently discovered superconducting systems ($T_{\rm c}\sim0.9-2.5$ K) in which the vanadium atoms adopt the kagome structure. Intriguingly, these systems enter a charge-density-wave (CDW) phase ($T_{\rm CDW}\sim80-100$ K), and further evidence shows that the time-reversal symmetry is broken in the CDW phase. Concurrently, the anomalous Hall effect has been observed in KV$_3$Sb$_5$ and CsV$_3$Sb$_5$ inside the novel CDW phase. Here, we report a comprehensive study of a high-quality RbV$_3$Sb$_5$ single crystal with magnetotransport measurements. Our data demonstrate the emergence of anomalous Hall effect in RbV$_3$Sb$_5$ when the charge-density-wave state develops. The magnitude of anomalous Hall resistivity at the low temperature limit is comparable to the reported values in KV$_3$Sb$_5$ and CsV$_3$Sb$_5$. The magnetoresistance channel further reveals a rich spectrum of quantum oscillation frequencies, many of which have not been reported before. In particular, a large quantum oscillation frequency (2235 T), which occupies $\sim$56% of the Brillouin zone area, has been recorded. For the quantum oscillation frequencies with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio, we further perform field-angle dependent measurements and our data indicate two-dimensional Fermi surfaces in RbV$_3$Sb$_5$. Our results provide indispensable information for understanding the anomalous Hall effect and band structure in kagome metals AV$_3$Sb$_5$., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. J. Phys. Mater. (in press)