Prominent Josephson tunneling between twisted single copper oxide planes of Bi2Sr2-xLaxCuO6+y.

Josephson tunneling in twisted cuprate junctions provides a litmus test for the pairing symmetry, which is fundamental for understanding the microscopic mechanism of high temperature superconductivity. This issue is rekindled by experimental advances in van der Waals stacking and the proposal of an emergent d+id-wave. So far, all experiments have been carried out on Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x (Bi-2212) with double CuO₂ planes but show controversial results. Here, we investigate junctions made of Bi₂Sr_2-xLa_xCuO_6+y (Bi-2201) with single CuO₂ planes. Our on-site cold stacking technique ensures uncompromised crystalline quality and stoichiometry at the interface. Junctions with carefully calibrated twist angles around 45° show strong Josephson tunneling and conventional temperature dependence. Furthermore, we observe standard Fraunhofer diffraction patterns and integer Fiske steps in a junction with a twist angle of 45.0±0.2°. Together, these results pose strong constraints on the d or d+id-wave pairing and suggest an indispensable isotropic pairing component. The authors investigate junctions made of two flakes of the cuprate superconductor Bi₂Sr_2-xLa_xCuO_6+y (Bi2201) twisted by 45 degrees. They find evidence for an isotropic pairing component, and call into question theoretical predictions of d+id superconductivity in this system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]