Field-induced superconductivity in a spin-ladder cuprate

We report on the modulation of the transport properties of thin films, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, of the spin-ladder compound CaCu2O3]4, using the field effect in a gated structure. At high hole-doping levels, superconductivity is induced in the nominally insulating ladder material without the use of high-pressure or chemical substitution. The observation of superconductivity is in agreement with the theoretical prediction that holes doped into spin ladders could pair and possibly superconduct.