Hole-doped cuprate high temperature superconductors

•Historical discoveries of hole-doped cuprates and representative milestone work.•Several simple and universal scaling laws of the hole-doped cuprates.•A comprehensive classification list with references for hole-doped cuprates.•Representative physical parameters for selected hole-doped cuprates.

Hole-doped cuprate high temperature superconductors have ushered in the modern era of high temperature superconductivity (HTS) and have continued to be at center stage in the field. Extensive studies have been made, many compounds discovered, voluminous data compiled, numerous models proposed, many review articles written, and various prototype devices made and tested with better performance than their nonsuperconducting counterparts. The field is indeed vast. We have therefore decided to focus on the major cuprate materials systems that have laid the foundation of HTS science and technology and present several simple scaling laws that show the systematic and universal simplicity amid the complexity of these material systems, while referring readers interested in the HTS physics and devices to the review articles. Developments in the field are mostly presented in chronological order, sometimes with anecdotes, in an attempt to share some of the moments of excitement and despair in the history of HTS with readers, especially the younger ones.