The cuprate phase diagram is characterized by various intertwinned quantum states. Realization of tuning between these phases is important becuase it may offer insights into the coupling mechanism. In a recent hard X-ray diffraction study, we successfully applied uniaxial strain perpendicular to the copper-oxide planes in La_1.88Sr_0.12CuO₄ and show that c-axis compression enhances stripe order within the superconducting state, while having no impact on the normal state. These results demonstrate c-axis strain as an effective tuning knob of the competing interaction between charge stripe order and superconductivity.

This work has been published in Communications Physics (Küspert, J.^✉, Wang, Q.^✉, Chang J. et al. Engineering phase competition between stripe order and superconductivity in La_1.88Sr_0.12CuO₄. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-024-01699-2). We are grateful to all collaborators from LQMR-UZH, Diamond Light Source, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Technical University of Denmark, Paul Scherrer Institut, ENS Paris-Saclay, and Hokkaido University.