Destruction of Superconductivity in Disordered Near-Monolayer Films

Abstract

Severe decreases are observed in the superconducting transition temperatures of metallic films as they are made thinner and more disordered. Explanations for these decreases in the transition temperature are discussed. These include changes in the phonon spectrum, the effect of the metal-insulator boundary, size quantization in small particles, the effect of an activated conduction mechanism in the normal state, and, finally, the effect of order-parameter fluctuations.