Single crystals of the oxypnictide superconductor SmFeAsO_(0.8)F_(0.2) with T_c=45(1) K were investigated by torque magnetometry. The crystals of mass~0.1 mug were grown by a high-pressure cubic anvil technique. The use of a high-sensitive piezoresistive torque sensor made it possible to study the anisotropic magnetic properties of these tiny crystals. The anisotropy parameter was found to be field independent, but varies strongly with temperature ranging from 8 at T=T_c to 23 at T=0.4T_c. This unusual behavior signals unconventional superconductivity.
To probe manifestations of multiband superconductivity in oxypnictides, we measured the angular dependence of magnetic torque $τ(θ)$ in the mixed state of SmO$_{0.8}$F$_{0.2}$FeAs single crystals as functions of temperature $T$ and high magnetic field $H$ up to 30 T. We show that the effective mass anisotropy parameter $γ$ extracted from $τ(θ)$, can be greatly overestimated if the strong paramagnetism of Sm or Fe ions is not properly taken into account. The correctly extracted $γ$ depends on both $T$ and $H$, saturating at $γ\simeq 9$ at lower temperatures. Neither the London penetration depth…
The magnetic field dependence of the in-plane magnetic penetration depth for optimally doped SmFeAsO_(1-x)F_y was investigated by combining torque magnetometry, SQUID magnetometry, and muon-spin rotation. The results obtained from these techniques show all a pronounced decrease of the superfluid density as the field is increased up to 1.4 T. This behavior is analysed within a two-band model with self-consistently derived coupled gaps, where the superfluid density related to the larger gap is field independent and the superfluid density related to the smaller gap is strongly suppressed with inc…
The low-temperature antiferromagnetic state of the Sm-ions in both nonsuperconducting SmFeAsO and superconducting SmFeAsO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1}$ single crystals was studied by magnetic torque, magnetization, and magnetoresistance measurements in magnetic fields up to 60~T and temperatures down to 0.6~K. We uncover in both compounds a distinct rearrangement of the antiferromagnetically ordered Sm-moments near $35-40$~T. This is seen in both, static and pulsed magnetic fields, as a sharp change in the sign of the magnetic torque, which is sensitive to the magnetic anisotropy and hence to the magnetic …
Single crystals of the oxypnictide superconductors SmFeAsO_(0.8)F_(0.2) and NdFeAsO_(0.8)F_(0.2) with T_c in the range of 44 K to 48 K were investigated by torque magnetometry. An analysis of the data in terms of a recently proposed model for the anisotropic magnetization in the superconducting state, treating the penetration depth anisotropy differently than the upper critical field anisotropy, provides evidence that in the oxypnictide superconductors two distinct anisotropies are present. As a result the penetration depth anisotropy differs significantly in magnitude and in temperature depen…
Anisotropic properties of superconducting MgB2 obtained by torque magnetometry are compared to theoretical predictions, concentrating on two issues. Firstly, the angular dependence of Hc2 is shown to deviate close to Tc from the dependence assumed by anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau theory. Secondly, from the evaluation of torque vs angle curves it is concluded that the anisotropy of the penetration depth gamma_lambda has to be substantially higher at low temperature than theoretical estimates, at least in fields higher than 0.2 T.
We investigated the superconducting fluctuation in FeSe, which is assumed to be located in the BCS--BEC crossover region, via magnetic torque measurements. In our method, the absolute cantilever displacement is measured by detecting the interference intensity of the Fabry--Perot cavity formed between the cantilever and optical fiber. Our findings are totally different from the results of the previous torque magnetometry using a piezoresistive cantilever; the "giant" fluctuation diamagnetism related to the BCS--BEC crossover does not exist. Instead, a considerably smaller fluctuation signal ori…
The angular and temperature dependence of the upper critical field Hc2 in MgB2 was determined from torque magnetometry measurements on single crystals. The Hc2 anisotropy gamma_H was found to decrease with increasing temperature, in disagreement with the anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau theory, which predicts that the gamma_H is temperature independent. This behaviour can be explained by the two band nature of superconductivity in MgB2. An analysis of measurements of the reversible torque in the mixed state yields a field dependent effective anisotropy gamma_eff, which can be at least partially exp…
Angular-dependent magnetic torque measurements performed near the critical temperature on single crystals of HgBa_{2}CuO_{4+y}, La_{2-x}Sr{x}CuO_{4}, and YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6.93} are scaled, following the 3D XY model, in order to determine the scaling function dG^{\pm}(z)/dz which describes the universal critical properties near T_{c}. A systematic shift of the scaling function with increasing effective mass anisotropy γ= (m_{ab}*/m_{c}*)^{1/2} is observed, which may be understood in terms of a 3D-2D crossover. Further evidence for a 3D-2D crossover is found from temperature-dependent torque meas…
Electronic nematics, an electron orientational order which breaks the underlying rotational symmetry, have been observed in iron pnictide superconductors several years after their discovery. However, the universality of the doping dependence of this phase and its relation to other symmetry-breaking orders (such as superconductivity) in distinct families of iron pnictides, remain outstanding questions. Here we use torque magnetometry as a probe to study the rotational symmetry breaking in EuFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$ without introducing external pressure. The nematic phase is found to prolifer…
To probe manifestations of multiband superconductivity in oxypnictides, we measured the angular dependence of the magnetic torque $τ(θ)$ in the mixed state of LaO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1}$FeAs single crystals as a function of temperature $T$ and magnetic fields $H$ up to 18 T. The paramagnetic contribution of the Fe ions is properly treated in order to extract the effective mass anisotropy parameter $γ=(m_c/m_{ab})^{1/2}$ from $τ(θ)$. We show that $γ$ depends strongly on both $T$ and $H$, reaching a maximum value of $\sim$ 10 followed by a decrease towards values close to 1 as $T$ is lowered. The obser…
Metamagnetic transitions in single-crystal rare-earth nickel borocarbide HoNi$_2$B$_2$C have been studied at T\approx 1.9 K with a Quantum Design torque magnetometer. This compound is highly anisotropic with a variety of metamagnetic states at low temperature which includes antiferromagnetic, ferrimagnetic, non-collinear and ferromagnetic-like (saturated paramagnet) states. The critical fields of the transitions depend crucially on the angle $θ$ between applied field and the easy axis [110]. Measurements of torque along the c-axis have been made while changing the angular direction of the magn…
The metamagnetic transitions in single-crystal rare-earth nickel borocarbide HoNi_{2}B_{2}C and ErNi_{2}B_{2}C have been studied at 1.9 K with a Quantum Design torque magnetometer. The critical fields of the transitions depend crucially on the angle between applied field and the easy axis [110] for HoNi_2B_2C and [100] for ErNi_2B_2C. Torque measurements have been made while changing angular direction of the magnetic field (parallel to basal tetragonal ab-planes) in a wide angular range (more than two quadrants). The results are used not only to check and refine the angular diagram for metamag…
An overdoped YBa2Cu3O7 single crystal was studied by SQUID and torque magnetometry in order to investigate the temperature dependence of the anisotropy parameter close to the transition temperature T_c (0.87 T_c < T < T_c). Angle dependent torque measurements were performed and analyzed with the widely used Kogan model [Phys. Rev. B 38, 7049 (1988)] as well as with an extended model by Hao and Clem [Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 2371 (1991)], taking into account the influence of the vortex cores on the magnetization. Both approaches yield similar results, with an out-of-plane anisotropy parameter aroun…
Measurements of single crystalline MgB2 with torque magnetometry in fields up to 90 kOe reveal a sharp peak in the irreversible torque at about 0.85 Hc2. In the region between peak onset and maximum, pronounced history effects occur. Angle and temperature dependence of the characteristic peak fields track those of Hc2. The features observed suggest that the peak marks a disorder-induced phase transition of vortex matter between a quasi-ordered Bragg glass and a highly-disordered glass.
We report here the supplementary material for Ref. [1]. Using torque magnetometry, we measured the magnetization anisotropy of 7 crystals of $\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ (LSCO). In optimally-doped cuprates, the bulk susceptibility is dominated by the paramagnetic van-Vleck orbital term $χ_{orb}$ which has a significant anisotropy ($χ^{orb}_c>χ^{orb}_{ab}$) that changes weakly with $T$ (subscripts $c$ and ${ab}$ identify quantities measured with $\bf H||c$ and $\bf H\perp c$, respectively). Moreover, in the lightly-doped regime, the paramagnetic spin susceptibilities $χ^s_c$ and $χ^s_{ab}$ become si…
The magnetization of three high-quality single crystals of YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{6+x}$, from slightly overdoped to heavily underdoped,has been measured using torque magnetometry. Striking effects in the angular dependence of the torque for the two underdoped crystals, a few degrees above the superconducting transition temperature ($T_c$) are described well by the theory of Gaussian superconducting fluctuations using a single adjustable parameter. The data at higher temperatures ($T$) are consistent with a strong cut-off in the fluctuations for $T\gtrsim1.1T_c$. Numerical estimates suggest that …
A vortex lock-in transition was directly detected by torque magnetometry in an overdoped YBa2Cu3O7 single crystal of low anisotropy (\approx 7). The locked-in state was observed below the 3D to 2D crossover temperature Tcr = 76 K, independently of extrinsic pinning effects thanks to a high quality clean crystal and the use of a vortex shaking technique. The shape of the torque signal as a function of the angle between the applied magnetic field and the crystallographic c-axis is in very good agreement with the model developped by Feinberg and Ettouhami [Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 7, 2085 (1993)] for…
The influence of low-level Pr substitution in Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O(7-delta) single crystals on the anisotropy of the superconducting state parameters was investigated by torque magnetometry in magnetic fields of up to 9 T. An averaged anisotropy parameter, γ, of 7.4 was found and no influence of the Pr ion concentration on γwas observed up to a Pr content of 2.4%. A pronounced maximum at angles between 0.5 and 1 degree out of the ab-plane was observed in all crystals in the irreversible angular dependence of the torque. This maximum is attributed to intrinsic pinning associated with kinked vortices.…
The anisotropy gamma of the superconducting state of high quality single-crystals of MgB2 was determined, using torque magnetometry with two different methods. The anisotropy of the upper critical field was found to be temperature dependent, decreasing from gamma = 6 at 15 K to 2.8 at 35 K. Reversible torque data near Tc reveal a field dependent anisotropy, increasing nearly linearly from gamma = 2 in zero field to 3.7 in 10 kOe. The unusual temperature dependence is a true bulk property and can be explained by non-local effects of anisotropic pairing and/or the wave vector dependence of the e…
Single crystals of MgB2 with a size up to 1.5x0.9x0.2 mm3 have been grown with a high pressure cubic anvil technique. The crystal growth process is very peculiar and involves an intermediate nitride, namely MgNB9. Single crystals of BN and MgB2 grow simultaneously by a peritectic decomposition of MgNB9. Magnetic measurements in fields of 1-5 Oe show sharp transitions to the superconducting state at 37-38.6 K with width of ~0.5 K. The high quality of the crystals allowed the accurate determination of magnetic, transport and optical properties as well as scanning tunnelling spectroscopy (STS) an…
Cantilever magnetometry has been used to measure the upper critical magnetic field $H_{c2}$ of the quasi-one dimensional molecular organic superconductor (TMTSF)$_2$ClO$_4$. From simultaneous resistivity and torque magnetization experiments conducted under precise field alignment, $H_{c2}$ at low temperature is shown to reach 5T, nearly twice the Pauli paramagnetic limit imposed on spin singlet superconductors. These results constitute the first thermodynamic evidence for a large $H_{c2}$ in this system and provide support for spin triplet pairing in this unconventional superconductor
A review of our investigations on single crystals of LnFeAsO1-xFx (Ln=La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd) and Ba1-xRbxFe2As2 is presented. A high pressure technique has been applied for the growth of LnFeAsO1-xFx crystals, while Ba1-xRbxFe2As2 crystals were grown using quartz ampoule method. Single crystals were used for electrical transport, structure, magnetic torque and spectroscopic studies. Investigations of the crystal structure confirmed high structural perfection and show less than full occupation of the (O, F) position in superconducting LnFeAsO1-xFx crystals. Resistivity measurements on LnFeAsO1-xFx…
The anisotropic superconducting properties of a Rb(x)Fe(2-y)Se(2) single crystal with transition temperature 32 K were investigated by means of SQUID and torque magnetometry, probing the effective magnetic penetration depth and the magnetic penetration depth anisotropy. Interestingly, the anisotropy is found to be temperature independent in the superconducting state, but strongly field dependent. This unusual anisotropic behavior, together with a large zero-temperature effective magnetic penetration depth is possibly related to a superconducting state heavily biased by the coexisting antiferro…
Piezolever torque magnetometry has been used to measure the magnetization of superconducting Tl2Ba2CuO6. Three crystals with different levels of oxygen overdoping were investigated in magnetic fields up to 10 Tesla. In all cases, the magnetization above the irreversibility line was found to depart from the behaviour M ~ ln(Hc2/H) of a simple London-like vortex liquid. In particular, for a strongly overdoped (Tc = 15K) crystal, the remnant superconducting order above the irreversibility line is characterized by a linear diamagnetic response (M ~ H) that persists well above Tc and also up to the…
The temperature dependence of the anisotropy of the superconducting state parameters, γ, was studied by torque magnetometry for the high temperature superconductor SmBa2Cu3Ox in magnetic fields of up to 9 T. The measurements were performed on four underdoped single crystals with oxygen contents corresponding to Tc's varying from 42.8 to 63.6 K. The anisotropy was found to be strongly temperature dependent, while only a weak dependence on the magnetic field was observed. No evidence for a field dependent superfluid density was found. Possible origins of the temperature dependence of the anisotr…
Magnesium diboride MgB2 has been an extraordinarily hot research topic since the discovery of superconductivity below 40 K, due to the vast amount of unusual properties originating from the involvement in superconductivity of two sets of bands that are of a different dimensionality. We review, with a strong focus on results obtained by torque magnetometry, how this leads to a complex behavior of the anisotropic superconducting state properties. The different dimensionality of the two sets of bands is manifested in the upper critical field Hc2 anisotropy, which was found to strongly decrease wi…
Quantum oscillations are generally studied to resolve the electronic structure of topological insulators. In Cu$_{0.25}$Bi$_2$Se$_3$, the prime candidate of topological superconductors, quantum oscillations are still not observed in magnetotransport measurement. However, using torque magnetometry, quantum oscillations (the de Hass - van Alphen effect) were observed in Cu$_{0.25}$Bi$_2$Se$_3$ . The doping of Cu in Bi$_2$Se$_3$ increases the carrier density and the effective mass without increasing the scattering rate or decreasing the mean free path. In addition, the Fermi velocity remains the …
Correlated electron systems, particularly iron-based superconductors, are extremely sensitive to strain, which inevitably occurs in the crystal growth process. Built-in strain of this type has been proposed as a possible explanation for experiments where nematic order has been observed at high temperatures corresponding to the nominally tetragonal phase of iron-based superconductors. Strain is assumed to produce linear defect structures, e.g. dislocations, which are quite similar to O vacancy chainlets in the underdoped cuprate superconductor YBCO. Here we investigate a simple microscopic mode…
We present results of magnetic measurements relating to vortex phase diagram in a single crystal of FeSe$_{0.5}$Te$_{0.5}$ which displays second magnetization peak anomaly for $H \parallel c$. The possible role of the crystalline anisotropy on vortex pinning is explored via magnetic torque magnetometry. We present evidence in favor of pinning related to spatial variations of the charge carrier mean free path leading to small bundle vortex pinning by randomly distributed (weak) pinning centers for both $H \parallel c$ and $H \perp c$. This is further corroborated using magnetization data for $H…
Bulk superconductivity in quintuple-layer square-planar nickelate La6Ni5O12
University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学）；Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University（南京大学先进微结构协同创新中心）
Iron-chalcogenide single crystals with the nominal composition FeSe$_{0.5}$Te$_{0.5}$ and a transition temperature of $T_{c}\simeq14.6$ K were synthesized by the Bridgman method. The structural and anisotropic superconducting properties of those crystals were investigated by means of single crystal X-ray and neutron powder diffraction, SQUID and torque magnetometry, and muon-spin rotation. Room temperature neutron powder diffraction reveals that 95% of the crystal volume is of the same tetragonal structure as PbO. The structure refinement yields a stoichiometry of Fe_1.045Se_0.406Te_0.594. Add…
