Zeeman-limited Superconductivity in Crystalline Al Films

We report the evolution of the Zeeman-limited superconducting phase diagram (PD) in ultra-thin crystalline Al films. Parallel critical field measurements, down to 50 mK, were made across the superconducting tricritical point of epitaxially-grown Al films ranging in thickness from 7 monolayers (ML) to 30 ML. The resulting phase boundaries were compared with the quasi-classical theory of a Zeeman-mediated transition between a homogeneous BCS condensate and a spin polarized Fermi liquid. Films thicker than $\sim~20$ ML showed good agreement with theory, but thinner films exhibited an anomalous PD that cannot be reconciled within a homogeneous BCS framework.