The Discovery of Tunable Universality Class in Superconducting $\beta$-W Thin Films

Abstract

The interplay between quenched disorder and critical behavior in quantum phase transitions is conceptually fascinating and of fundamental importance for understanding phase transitions. However, it is still unclear whether or not the quenched disorder influences the universality class of quantum phase transitions. More crucially, the absence of superconducting-metal transitions under in-plane magnetic fields in 2D superconductors imposes constraints on the universality of quantum criticality. Here, we discover the tunable universality class of superconductor-metal transition by changing the disorder strength in $\beta$-W films with varying thickness. The finite-size scaling uncovers the switch of universality class: quantum Griffiths singularity to multiple quantum criticality at a critical thickness of $t_{c \perp 1}\sim 8 nm$ and then from multiple quantum criticality to single criticality at $t_{c\perp 2}\sim 16 nm$. Moreover, the superconducting-metal transition is observed for the first time under in-plane magnetic fields and the universality class is changed at $t_{c \parallel }\sim 8 nm$. The discovery of tunable universality class under both out-of-plane and in-plane magnetic fields provides broad information for the disorder effect on superconducting-metal transitions and quantum criticality.