Iron selenide (FeSex) crystals with lateral dimensions up to millimeters were grown via a vapor self-transport method. The crystals consist of the dominant alpha - phase with trace amounts of beta- phase as identified by powder x-ray diffraction. With four-probe resistance measurements we obtained a zero-resistance critical temperature of 7.5 K and a superconducting onset transition temperature of up to 11.8 K in zero magnetic field as well as an anisotropy of 1.5 +- 0.1 for the critical field. Magnetization measurements on individual crystals reveal the co-existence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism.
In this paper, pressure effect on superconductivity and magnetism has been investigated in FeSex (x = 0.80, 0.88). The magnetization curves display anomaly at Ts1 106 K and Ts2 78 K except for the superconducting diamagnetic transition around Tc 8 K. The magnetic anomaly at Ts1 and Ts2 can be related to a ferromagnetic and an antiferromagnetic phase transition, respectively, as revealed by specific heat measurements. The application of pressure not only raises Tc, but also increases both Ts1 and Ts2. This system shows clear evidence that superconductivity arises in a phase with strong magnetic…
A complete phase diagram and its corresponding physical properties are essential prerequisites to understand the underlying mechanism of iron based superconductivity. For the structurally simplest 11 (FeSeTe) system, earlier attempts using bulk samples have not been able to do so due to the fabrication difficulties. Here, thin FeSexTe1-x films with the Se content covering the full range were fabricated by using pulsed laser deposition method. Crystal structure analysis shows that all films retain the tetragonal structure in room temperature. Significantly, the highest superconducting transitio…
Single crystals FeSex were grown in an evacuated sealed quartz tube using polycrystalline material by gas-transport reaction with I2 as a gas-carrier. Crystals with hexagonal-prismatic, tetragonal-prismatic, planar-square and hexagonal faceting 0.1 to 0.5 mm in size were obtained. The electronic transport and magnetic prop-erties measurements of FeSex single crystal exhibit an onset of superconducting transition Tc at up to 24 K.
X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) Fe K-edge spectra of the FeSex (x=1-0.8) single crystals cleaved in situ in vacuum reveal characteristic Fe 4sp states, a lattice distortion and the Se K-edge spectra point to a strong Fe 3d-Se 4p hybridization giving rise to itinerant charge carriers. A formal charge of ~1.8+ for Fe and ~2.2- for Se were evaluated from these spectra in the FeSex (x=0.88). The charge balance between Fe and Se is assigned itinerant electrons located in the Fe-Se hybridization bond. As x decreases the 4p hole count increases and a crystal structure distortion is observed that …
FeSex (x = 0.80, 0.84, 0.88, 0.92) thin films were prepared on SrTiO3(001) (STO), (La,Sr)(Al,Ta)O3(001) (LSAT), and LaAlO3(001) (LAO) substrates by pulsed laser deposition method. All thin films show single-phase and c-axis oriented epitaxial growth, and are superconducting. Among them, the FeSe0.88 thin films show Tc, onset of 11.8 K and Tc, 0 of 3.4 K. The upper critical magnetic field is estimated to be 14.0 T.
We measure the superconducting transition of YIn$_3$ by resistivity, susceptibility, and specific heat. Despite using high-quality single-crystal samples, the transitions detected by the three techniques are shifted from each other in temperature, suggesting a region of filamentary superconductivity. We discuss the possible implications for filamentary superconductivity in unconventional superconductors.
We have successfully observed quantum oscillation (QO) for FeTe_{1-x}Se_{x}. QO measurements were performed using non-superconducting and superconducting thin crystals of FeTe_{0.65}Se_{0.35} fabricated by the scotch-tape method. We show that the Fermi surfaces (FS) of the non-superconducting crystal are in good agreement with the rigid band shift model based on electron doping by excess Fe while that of the superconducting crystal is in good agreement with the calculated FS with no shift. From the FS comparison of both crystals, we demonstrate the change of the cross-sectional area of the FS,…
We investigated the S-doping-driven phase transition from antiferromagnetic to superconducting in FeTe1-xSx single crystals. The partial substitution of Te by S suppresses antiferromagnetism in Fe-square lattice. Superconductivity is induced by oxygen annealing for only FeTe1-xSx in which the long-range magnetic ordering is suppressed. To realize superconductivity in FeTe1-xSx, both S concentration enough to suppress antiferromagnetism and oxygen annealing are required. Anisotropy of superconductivity in oxygen-annealed FeTe0.886S0.114 was estimated to be 1.17.
We report synthesis of high quality Fe1+y(Te1-xSx)z single crystals and a comprehensive study of structural, magnetic and transport properties. There is high sensitivity to material stoichiometry which includes vacancies on the Te(S) site. Our results reveal competition and coexistence of magnetic order and percolative superconductivity for x >= 0.03, while zero resistivity is acheived for x >= 0.1.
Spin-triplet superconductivity is known to be a rare quantum phenomenon. Here we show that nonsymmorphic crystalline symmetries can dramatically assist spin-triplet superconductivity in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. Even with a weak spin-orbit coupling, the spin-triplet pairing can be the leading pairing instability in a lattice with a nonsymmorphic symmetry. The underlining mechanism is the spin-sublattice-momentum lock on electronic bands that are protected by the nonsymmorphic symmetry. We use the nonsymmorphic space group P4/nmm to demonstrate these results and discuss related exper…
Resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity measurements are reported for single crystals of Fe1+yTexSe1-x grown via a modified Bridgeman method with 0 < y < 0.15, and x= 1, 0.9, 0.75, 0. 67, 0.55 and 0.5. Although resistivity measurements show traces of superconductivity near 14 K for all x except x=1, only crystals grown with compositions near x=0.5 exhibit bulk superconductivity. The appearance of bulk superconductivity correlates with a reduction in the magnitude of the magnetic susceptibility at room temperature and smaller values of y, the concentration of Fe in the Fe(2) site…
Symmetry of the crystal lattice can be a determining factor for the structure of Cooper pairs in unconventional superconductors. In this study we extend the discussion of superconductivity in non-centrosymmetric materials to the case when inversion symmetry is missing locally, but is present on a global level. Concretely, we investigate the staggered non-centrosymmetricity within a regular sublattice structure, in some analogy to the discussion of superconductivity in antiferromagnetic systems. Three crystal structures are analyzed in detail as illustrative examples for the extended classifica…
The effect of vacuum annealing on superconductivity is investigated in Fe(Se,Te) single crystals. It is found that superconductivity is not enhanced by annealing under high vacuum (~ 10^(-3) Pa) or by annealing in a sealed evacuated quartz tube. In a moderate vacuum atmosphere (~ 1 Pa), iron oxide layers are found to show up on sample surfaces, which would draw excess Fe out of the crystal. Thus, it is suggested that remanent oxygen effectively works to remove excess Fe from the matrix of Fe(Se,Te) crystals, resulting improvement of superconducting transition temperature. Our transport measure…
The effect of Co doping on supercoductivity of FeSe$_{0.4}$Te$_{0.6}$ single crystals is investigated. The superconducting transition temperature decreases linearly for Co doping with the rate -0.75 K/(Co %). On the other hand, the residual resistivity increase is less than 50 $/mu/Omega$cm for 4 % Co doping. These data are consistent with the sign changing interband scattering mechanism of superconductivity ($s_/pm$ symmetry).
Single crystals FeSe_x have been grown in evacuated sealed quartz tube using a NaCl/KCl flux. The products include two crystal structures of tetragon and hexagon. The electronic transport and magnetic properties measurements of FeSe_x single crystal exhibits a superconducting transition at about 10K.
We investigate properties of BaFe2As2 (122) single crystals upon gold doping, which is the transition metal with the highest atomic weight. The Au substitution into the FeAs-planes of 122 crystal structure (Au-122) is only possible up to a small amount of ~3%. We find that 5d is more effective in reducing magnetism in 122 than its counter 3d Cu, and this relates to superconductivity. We provide evidence of short-range magnetic fluctuations and local-lattice inhomogeneities that may prevent strong percolative superconductivity in Ba(Fe1-xAux)2As2.
The evolution of pressure induced superconductivity in single crystal as well as polycrystalline samples of BaFe2As2 has been investigated through temperature dependent electrical resistivity studies in 0-7 GPa pressure range. While the superconducting transition remains incomplete in polycrystalline sample, a clear pressure induced superconductivity with zero resistivity at the expense of magnetic transition, associated with spin density wave (SDW), is observed in the single crystal sample. The superconducting transition temperature (TC) is seen to increase upto a moderate pressure of about ~…
Superconductivity was recently found in the simple tetragonal FeSe structure. Recent studies suggest that FeSe is unconventional, with the symmetry of the superconducting pairing state still under debate. To tackle these problems, clean single crystals and thin films are required. Here we report the fabrication of superconducting beta-phase FeSe1-x thin films on different substrates using a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Quite interestingly, the crystal orientation, and thus, superconductivity in these thin films is sensitive to the growth temperature. At 320C, films grow preferably …
We have synthesized the single-phase polycrystalline samples of Sn1-xAgxTe, Ag-doped topological crystalline insulator SnTe, with a range of x = 0-0.5 using a high-pressure synthesis method. The crystal structure of Sn1-xAgxTe at room temperature is a cubic NaCl-type structure, which does not vary upon Ag substitution. Bulk superconductivity with a transition temperature of 2.4 K was observed for x = 0.15-0.25, and the optimal Ag content was x = 0.2. The Sn1-xAgxTe superconducting phase will be useful for understanding the superconductivity nature and mechanisms of the carrier-doped SnTe syste…
High transition temperature (high-Tc) superconductivity is associated with layered crystal structures. This work considers superconductivity in ultra-thin crystals (of thickness equal to the transverse structural periodicity distance d for one formula unit) of thirty-two cuprate, ruthenate, rutheno-cuprate, iron pnictide, organic, and transuranic compounds, wherein intrinsic optimal (highest) transition temperatures Tc0 (10 - 150 K) are assumed. Sheet transition temperatures Tcs = αTc0, where α < 1, are determined from Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) theory of phase transitions in two-dimensional sup…
The investigation of the temperature dependences of microwave surface impedance and complex conductivity of V3Si single crystals with different stoichiometry allowed to observe a number of peculiarities which are in remarkable contradiction with single-gap Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory. At the same time, they can be well described by two-band model of superconductivity, thus strongly evidencing the existence of two distinct energy gaps with zero-temperature values Delta1~1.8Tc and Delta2~0.95Tc in V3Si.
We report the evolution of superconductivity and the phase diagram of the KxFe2-ySe2-zTez (z=0-0.6) crystals grown by a simple one-step synthesis. No structural transition is observed in any crystals, while lattice parameters exhibit a systematic expansion with Te content. The Tc exhibits a gradual decrease with increasing Te content from Tconset = 32.9 K at z = 0 to Tconset = 27.9 K at z = 0.5, followed by a sudden suppression of superconductivity at z = 0.6. Upon approaching a Te concentration of 0.6, the shielding volume fraction decreases and eventually drops to zero. Simultaneously, hump …
In elemental metals the pairing of electrons leading to superconductivity is mediated by the vibrations of the crystal lattice and the pairs have spherical symmetry. For layered organic molecular crystals there is no consensus about the pairing symmetry or the mechanism of the superconductivity. We show theoretically that the mechanism of superconductivity for members of the (BEDT-TTF)2X family with the theta and beta'' crystal structures is mediated by charge fluctuations and the superconducting order parameter has dxy symmetry. This is in contrast to the kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2X family, for which …
The temperature dependence of the ac susceptibility for single-crystalline Fe1.02Se has been measured at high pressures to 6.7 GPa. The superconducting transition temperature Tc displays a large increase from 7 K to 30 K in the two-phase region at 0.5 - 1 GPa. Further increase in pressure results in the decrease of Tc. The destruction of superconductivity near 7 GPa is presumably related to a structural transition from orthorhombic to hexagonal. .
By tuning the physical and chemical pressures of layered perovskite materials we can realize the quantum states of both superconductors and insulators. By reducing the thickness of a layered crystal to a nanometer level, a nanofilm crystal can provide novel quantum states that have not previously been found in bulk crystals. Here we report the realization of high-temperature superconductivity in Ca$_2$RuO$_4$ nanofilm single crystals. Ca$_2$RuO$_4$ thin film with the highest transition temperature $T_c$ (midpoint) of 64~K exhibits zero resistance in electric transport measurements. The superco…
We report the synthesis, electronic properties, and electronic structure of ullmannite-type PtSbS, which has a cubic crystal structure without space inversion symmetry. Electrical resistivity and magnetization measured at low temperatures suggested that this compound is a bulk superconductor with a superconducting transition temperature of Tc = 0.15 K. First principles calculations indicated that Fermi surfaces of PtSbS include strongly nested hole pockets, which can make this compound interesting if they contribute to the emergence of superconductivity.
Resistivities of single-crystalline as well as poly-crystalline samples of CeOBiS2 without fluorine doping were measured at temperatures down to 0.13 K, and were compared with those of poly-crystalline LaOBiS2 and PrOBiS2. Both poly-crystalline and single-crystalline CeOBiS2 exhibited zero resistivity below 1.2 K while poly-crystalline LaOBiS2 and PrOBiS2 did not show zero resistivity down to 0.13 K. Superconducting transition temperature of CeOBiS2 was reduced by increasing the applied current density. The superconductivity of CeOBiS2 without chemical doping is likely triggered by the carrier…
We report the single crystal growth of Ca(Fe1-xCox)2As2 (0 <= x <= 0.082) from Sn flux. The temperature-composition phase diagram is mapped out based on the magnetic susceptibility and electrical transport measurements. Phase diagram of Ca(Fe1-xCox)2As2 is qualitatively different from those of Sr and Ba, it could be due to both the charge doping and structural tuning effects associated with Co substitution.
Correlation between crystal structure and superconducting properties of the BiS2-based superconductor LaO0.5F0.5BiS2 was investigated. We have prepared LaO0.5F0.5BiS2 polycrystalline samples with various lattice constants. It was found that the annealing the sample under high pressure generated uniaxial strain along the c axis. Further, the highly-strained sample showed higher superconducting properties. We concluded that the uniaxial strain along the c axis was positively linked with the enhancement of superconductivity in the LaO1-xFxBiS2 system.
"F-free" CeOBiS$_2$ single crystals have successfully grown, thoroughly eliminating a concern about F-contamination by using a high-purity CsCl flux. The obtained crystals have a plate-like shape with a size of 1.0-3.0 mm in the well-developed plane. Single crystal X-ray structural analysis clearly revealed that the CeOBiS$_2$ crystallizes with a space group $P4/nmm$ (with lattice parameters of $a$ = 4.0189(6) Å, $c$ = 13.573(2) Å). The bond valence sum estimation and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed that the chemical state of Ce was in the mixed valence of Ce$^{3+}$ and Ce$^{4…
Single crystalline FeTe$_{0.61}$Se$_{0.39}$ with a sharp superconducting transition at $T_{\textrm{c}} \sim$ 14 K is synthesized via slow furnace cooling followed by low-temperature annealing. The effect of annealing on the chemical and superconducting inhomogeneities is carefully characterized. We also report resistivity, magnetization, and magneto-optical images of this crystal. Based on the Bean model, critical current density is estimated to exceed $1 \times 10^5$ A/cm$^2$ below 5 K under zero field. Weak fish-tail effect is identified at lower temperatures.
The recently discovered superconductivity in MgB2 has captured world attention due to its simple crystal structure and relatively high superconducting transition temperature Tc=39K. It appears to be generally accepted that it is phonon-mediated s-wave BCS-like superconductivity. Surprisingly, the strongly temperature dependent anisotropy of the upper critical field, observed experimentally in magnesium diboride single crystals, is still lacking a consistent theoretical explanation. We propose a simple single-gap anisotropic s-wave order parameter in order to compare its implications with the p…
We present resistivity, magnetization and specific heat measurements on flux grown single crystals of NiBi3. We find typical behavior of a type-II superconductor, with, however, a sizable magnetic signal in the superconducting phase. There is a hysteretic magnetization characteristic of a ferromagnetic compound. By following the magnetization as a function of temperature, we find a drop at temperatures corresponding to the Curie temperature of ferromagnetic amorphous Ni. Thus, we assign the magnetism in NiBi$_3$ crystals to amorphous Ni impurities.
In- and out-of-plane London penetration depths were measured in single crystals CaAlSi (T_{c}=6.2 K and 7.3 K) using a tunnel-diode resonator. A full 3D BCS analysis of the superfluid density is consistent with a prolate spheroidal gap, with a weak-coupling BCS value in the ab-plane and stronger coupling along the c-axis. The gap anisotropy was found to significantly decrease for higher T_{c} samples.
Single crystals of the compounds LaFePO, PrFePO, and NdFePO have been prepared by means of a flux growth technique and studied by electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements. We have found that PrFePO and NdFePO display superconductivity with values of the superconducting critical temperature T_c of 3.2 K and 3.1 K, respectively. The effect of annealing on the properties of LaFePO, PrFePO, and NdFePO is also reported. The LnFePO (Ln = lanthanide) compounds are isostructural with the LnFeAsO_{1-x}F_x compounds that become superconducting with T_c values as hig…
We investigated the occurrence and nature of superconductivity in single crystals of YFe$_2$Ge$_2$ grown out of Sn flux by employing x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, and specific heat measurements. We found that the residual resistivity ratio (RRR) of single crystals can be greatly improved, reaching as high as $\sim$60, by decanting the crystals from the molten Sn at $\sim$350$^\circ$C and/or by annealing at temperatures between 550$^\circ$C and 600$^\circ$C. We found that samples with RRR $\gtrsim$ 34 showed resistive signatures of superconductivity with the onset of the supercondu…
Light-element compounds hold great promise of high critical temperature superconductivity judging from the theoretical perspective. Hydrogen-rich material, benzene, is such a kind of candidate but also an organic compound. A series of first-principles calculations are performed on the electronic structures, dynamics properties, and electron-phonon interactions of solid benzene at high pressures. Benzene is found to be dynamically stable in the pressure range of 180 - 200 GPa and to exhibit superconductivity with a maximum transition temperature of 20 K at 195 GPa. The phonon modes of carbon at…
We present evidence of type I superconductivity in YbSb2 single crystals, from DC and AC magnetization, heat capacity and resistivity measurements. The critical temperature and critical field are determined to be $T_c\approx$ 1.3 K and $H_c\approx$ 55 Oe. A small Ginzburg-Landau parameter κ= 0.05, together with typical magnetization isotherms of type I superconductors, small critical field values, a strong Differential Paramagnetic Effect (DPE) signal, and a field-induced change from second to first order phase transition, confirm the type I nature of the superconductivity in YbSb2. A possible…
In iron-based superconductors, band inversion of $d$- and $p$-orbitals yields Dirac semimetallic states. We theoretically investigate their topological properties in normal and superconducting phases, based on the tight-binding model involving full symmetry of the materials. We demonstrate that a Cooper pair between electrons with $d$- and $p$-orbitals relevant to the band structure yields odd-parity superconductivity. Moreover, we present the typical surface states by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation and characterize them by topological invariants defined with crystal symmetry. It is…
Lately, the three-dimensional (3D) Dirac semimetal, which possesses 3D linear dispersion in electronic structure as a bulk analogue of graphene, has generated widespread interests in both material science and condensed matter physics. Very recently, crystalline Cd3As2 has been proposed and proved to be one of 3D Dirac semimetals which can survive in atmosphere. Here, by controlled point contact (PC) measurement, we observe the exotic superconductivity around point contact region on the surface of Cd3As2 crystal. The observation of zero bias conductance peak (ZBCP) and double conductance peaks …
We theoretically investigate the crystalline anisotropy of topological phase transitions in phase-controlled planar Josephson junctions (JJs) subject to spin-orbit coupling and in-plane magnetic fields. It is shown how topological superconductivity (TS) is affected by the interplay between the magnetic field and the orientation of the junction with respect to its crystallographic axes. This interplay can be used to electrically tune between different symmetry classes in a controlled fashion and thereby optimize the stability and localization of Majorana bound states in planar Josephson junctio…
We report the discovery of superconductivity on high-quality single crystals of transition-metal pnictides WP grown by chemical vapor transport (CVT) method. Bulk superconductivity is observed at Tc = 0.84 K under ambient pressure by electrical resistivity and AC magnetic susceptibility measurements. The effects of magnetic field on the superconducting transitions are studied, leading to a large anisotropy parameter around 2 with the in-plane and out-of-plane upper critical fields of Hc2=172 Oe and Hc2\=85 Oe, respectively. Our finding demonstrates that WP is the first superconductor in 5d tra…
Poly- and single-crystalline Na$_x$CoO$_2$ has been successfully intercalated with H$_2$O and D$_2$O as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. Resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat measurements show bulk superconductivity with T$_c$ close to 5 K in both cases. The substitution of deuterium for hydrogen has an effect on T$_c$ of less than 0.2 K. Investigation of the resistivity anisotropy of Na$_x$CoO$_2\cdot$yH$_2$O single crystals shows: (a) almost zero resistivity below T$_c$, and (b) an abrupt upturn at $T^* \sim$ 52 K in both the $\it {ab}$ plane a…
Single crystals of Tl0.58Rb0.42Fe1.72Se2 are successfully grown with the superconducting transition temperatures Tconset=32K and Tczero=31.4K. The Hall coefficient exhibits a multi-band behavior, which is very similar to that of all other Fe-based superconductors. We found that the susceptibility at the normal state decreases with decreasing the temperature, indicating a strong antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin fluctuation at the normal state, which might be related to the superconductivity (SC). We also determined the upper critical fields in ab-plane and along c-axis. The anisotropy of the superc…
Sulfur-doped SnSe single crystal was successfully synthesized using a melt and slow-cooling method. The chemical composition and valence state of the obtained sample were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The pressure range of a diamond anvil cell with boron-doped diamond electrodes was upgraded to 104 GPa using nano-polycrystalline diamond anvil to investigate a pressure effect for the sample. Electrical resistivity measurements of sulfur-doped SnSe single crystal showed the insulator-metal-superconductor transition by applying high pressure up to 75.9 GPa.
We report the first experimental evidence for the intimate connection between superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in Rb0.8Fe2Se2-xTex single crystal under negative chemical pressure by substituting Se with isovalent Te atoms. Electrical resistance measurements in the temperature range from 4 K to 550 K demonstrate that both superconducting transition temperature (Tc) and Neel temperature (TN) were suppressed continuously with the lattice expansion. When the Te concentration x in Rb0.8Fe2Se2-xTex approaches 0.3, the superconducting transition temperature Tc is completely suppressed and the…
A microscopic calculation and symmetry argument reveal superconductivity in the vicinity of parity-violating magnetic order. An augmented cluster magnetic multipole order in a crystal lacking local space inversion parity may break global inversion symmetry, and then, it is classified into an odd-parity multipole order. We investigate unconventional superconductivity induced by an odd-parity magnetic multipole fluctuation in a two-dimensional two-sublattice Hubbard model motivated by Sr$_2$IrO$_4$. We find that even-parity superconductivity is more significantly suppressed by a spin-orbit coupl…
Using a new horizontal flux growth technique to produce high quality crystals of the unconventional superconductor YFe$_2$Ge$_2$ has led to a seven-fold reduction in disorder scattering, resulting in mm-sized crystals with residual resistivities $\simeq \SI{0.45}{\micro\ohm\centi\meter}$, resistivity ratios $\simeq 430$ and sharp superconducting heat capacity anomalies. This enables searching multi-probe experiments investigating the normal and superconducting states of YFe$_2$Ge$_2$. Low temperature heat capacity measurements suggest a significant residual Sommerfeld coefficient, consistent w…
We report magnetic susceptibility, resistivity and heat capacity measurements on single crystals of the Sr(Fe1-xCox)2As2 and Sr1-yEuy(Fe0.88Co0.12)2As2 series. The optimal Co concentration for superconductivity in Sr(Fe1-xCox)2As2 is determined to be x ~ 0.12. Based on this we grew members of the Sr1-yEuy(Fe0.88Co0.12)2As2 series so as to examine the effects of well defined, local magnetic moments, on the superconducting state. We show that superconductivity is gradually suppressed by paramagnetic Eu2+ doping and coexists with antiferromagnetic ordering of Eu2+ as long as Tc > TN. For y >= 0.6…
Superconducting single crystals of Rb-intercalated FeSe compounds Rb$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ were prepared by using a starting material of Rb$_2$Se as a Rb source. The superconducting properties and the surface microstructures were systematically controlled by varying the cooling rate in the quenching process. The higher cooling rate in the sample provided a higher superconducting transition temperature with highly connected superconducting mesh-like surface structure. Extremely slow-cooling process led to the complete isolation between the superconducting domains.
From field-angle dependent Andreev reflection spectroscopy on single crystals of La(O,F)BiSeS, which belongs to the recently discovered BiCh 2 (Ch = S, Se) based layered superconductors, we found that the superconductivity in La(O,F)BiSeS is highly anisotropic. We measured a superconducting energy gap of 0.61 meV for current injected along c-axis at 1.5 K. Detailed temperature and magnetic field dependent studies of the gap also reveal the presence of unconventional pairing in La(O,F)BiSeS. We show that the observed anisotropic superconducting properties can be attributed to the anisotropy in …
Pressure-induced superconductivity and its relation to corresponding Hall coefficient (RH) have been reported for Bi2Te3, one of known topological insulators. A full phase diagram is presented which shows a complex dependence of the superconducting transition temperature as a function of pressure over an extensive range. High-pressure RH measurements reveal a close relation of these complex behaviors, particularly, a dramatic change of dRH/dP before structural phase transition and a pressure-induced crossover on RH in the high pressure phase were observed.
Single crystals of Ce-doped (La,Pr)OBiS2 superconductors, multinary rare-earth elements substituted ROBiS2, were successfully grown. The grown crystals typically had a size of 1-2 mm and a plate-like shape with a well-developed c-plane. The c-axis lattice constants of the obtained (La,Ce,Pr)OBiS2 single crystals were approximately 13.6-13.7 A, and the superconducting transition temperature was 1.23-2.18 K. Valence fluctuations of Ce and Pr were detected through X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis. In contrast to (Ce,Pr)OBiS2 and (La,Ce)OBiS2, the superconducting transition temperature of (L…
Anisotropic superconducting properties including the upper critical field Hc2, thermal activation energy U0, and critical current density Jc are systematically studied in a large Ca1-xLaxFeAs2 single crystal (x ~ 0.18). The obtained Hc2 bears a moderate anisotropy gamma of approximately 2-4.2, located between those of '122' Ba1-xKxFe2As2 (1 < gamma < 2) and '1111' NdFeAsO1-xFx (5 < gamma < 9.2). Both the magnitude of U0 and its field dependence are very similar to those of NdFeAsO1-xFx, also indicating anisotropic superconductivity. Moreover, high and anisotropic Jc's exceeding 10^5 A/cm2 have…
We report measurements of the London penetration depth $Δλ(T)$ and the electronic specific heat $C_e(T)$ on high-quality single crystals of the filled-skutterudite superconductor PrPt$_4$Ge$_{12}$ ($T_c\simeq$8K). Both quantities show a weak temperature dependence at $T\ll T_c$, following $Δλ\sim T^n$ ($n\simeq 3.2$) and $C_e/T\sim T^{2.8}$. Such temperature dependences deviate from both conventional s-wave type and nodal superconductivity. A detailed analysis indicates that the superfluid density $ρ_s(T)$, derived from the penetration depth, as well as the electronic specific heat can be cons…
