Thermal conductivity of overdoped BaFe$_{1.73}$Co$_{0.27}$As$_2$ single crystal: Evidence for nodeless multiple superconducting gaps and interband interactions
J. K. Dong, S. Y. Zhou, T. Y. Guan, X. Qiu, C. Zhang, P. Cheng, L. Fang, H. H. Wen, S. Y. Li
The in-plane thermal conductivity $κ$ of overdoped FeAs-based superconductor BaFe$_{1.73}$Co$_{0.27}$As$_2$ ($T_c$ = 8.1 K) single crystal was measured down to 80 mK. In zero field, the residual linear term $κ_0/T$ is negligible, suggesting a nodeless superconducting gap in the $ab$-plane. In magnetic field, $κ_0/T$ increases rapidly, very different from that of conventional s-wave superconductors. This anomalous $κ_0/T(H)$ may reveal an exotic superconducting gap structure in overdoped BaFe$_{1.73}$Co$_{0.27}$As$_2$: the vanishing hole ($β$) pocket has a much larger gap than the electron ($γ$ and $δ$) pockets which contain most of the carriers. Such an exotic gap structure is an evidence for superconducting state induced by interband interactions, in which the band with the {\it smaller} density of states has a {\it larger} gap.
The in-plane thermal conductivity $κ$ of electron-doped iron-arsenide superconductor BaFe$_{1.9}$Ni$_{0.1}$As$_2$ ($T_c$ = 20.3 K) single crystal was measured down to 70 mK. In zero field, the absence of a residual linear term $κ_0/T$ at $ T \to 0$ is strong evidence for nodeless superconducting gap. In magnetic field, $κ_0/T$ shows a slow field dependence up to $H$ = 14.5 T ($\approx$ 30% $H_{c_2}$). This is consistent with the superconducting gap structure demonstrated by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments in BaFe$_{1.85}$Co$_{0.15}$As$_2$ ($T_c$ = 25.5 K), where isotropic…
We study the electronic structure and superconductivity in CuO$_2$ monolayer grown recently on $d$-wave cuprate superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$. Density functional theory calculations indicate significant charge transfer across the interface such that the CuO$_2$ monolayer is heavily overdoped into the hole-rich regime yet inaccessible in bulk cuprates. We show that both the Cu $d_{x^2-y^2}$ and $d_{3z^2-r^2}$ orbitals become important and the Fermi surface contains one electron and one hole pocket associated with the two orbitals respectively. Constructing a minimal correlated tw…
The issue of whether the quantum critical point (QCP) is hidden inside unconventional superconductors is a matter of hot debate. Although a prominent experiment on London penetration depth has demonstrated the existence of the QCP in the isovalent-doped iron-based superconductor BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$, with the observation of a sharp peak in the penetration depth in the vicinity of the disappearance of magnetic order at zero temperature, the nature of such an emerging QCP remains unclear. Here, we provide a unique picture to understand well the phenomena of the QCP based on the framewor…
The characteristics of Fe-based superconductors are manifested in their electronic, magnetic properties, and pairing symmetry of the Cooper pair, but the latter remain to be explored. Usually in these materials, superconductivity coexists and competes with magnetic order, giving unconventional pairing mechanisms. We report on the results of the bulk magnetization measurements in the superconducting state and the low-temperature specific heat down to 0.4 K for BaFe$_{2-x}$Ni$_{x}$As$_{2}$ single crystals. The {electronic} specific heat displays a pronounced anomaly at the superconducting transi…
We use polarized inelastic neutron scattering to study low-energy spin excitations and their spatial anisotropy in electron-overdoped superconducting BaFe$_{1.85}$Ni$_{0.15}$As$_{2}$ ($T_c=14$ K). In the normal state, the imaginary part of the dynamic susceptibility, $χ^{\prime\prime}(Q,ω)$, at the antiferromagnetic (AF) wave vector $Q=(0.5,0.5,1)$ increases linearly with energy for $E\le 13$ meV. Upon entering the superconducting state, a spin gap opens below $E\approx 3$ meV and a broad neutron spin resonance appears at $E\approx 7$ meV. Our careful neutron polarization analysis reveals that…
Using multiple Andreev reflection (MAR) spectroscopy, we studied superconductor - normal metal - superconductor (SnS) semiballistic contacts with incoherent transport in overdoped pnictide superconductors BaFe$_{1.86}$Ni$_{0.14}$As$_2$ with critical temperature $T_c \approx 12$ K. We directly determined an anisotropic large gap with the characteristic ratios $2Δ_L^{\rm out}(0)/k_BT_c \approx 6$ and $2Δ_L^{\rm in}(0)/k_BT_c \approx 4$, almost isotropic small gap with $2Δ_S(0)/k_BT_c \approx 2$, and the temperature dependence of the resolved superconducting order parameters. Above the large gap …
The superconducting gap is a pivotal character for a superconductor. While the cuprates and conventional phonon-mediated superconductors are characterized by distinct d-wave and s-wave pairing symmetry with nodal and nodeless gap distribution respectively, the superconducting gap distributions in iron-based superconductors are rather diversified. While nodeless gap distributions have been directly observed in Ba1-xKxFe2As2, BaFe2-xCoxAs2, KxFe2-ySe2, and FeTe1-xSex, the signatures of nodal superconducting gap have been reported in LaOFeP, LiFeP, KFe2As2, BaFe2(As1-xPx)2, BaFe2-xRuxAs2 and FeSe…
The thermal conductivity of optimally doped NaFe$_{0.972}$Co$_{0.028}$As ($T_c \sim$ 20 K) and overdoped NaFe$_{0.925}$Co$_{0.075}$As ($T_c \sim$ 11 K) single crystals were measured down to 50 mK. No residual linear term $κ_0/T$ is found in zero magnetic field for both compounds, which is an evidence for nodeless superconducting gap. Applying field up to $H$ = 9 T ($\approx H_{c2}/4$) does not noticeably increase $κ_0/T$ in NaFe$_{1.972}$Co$_{0.028}$As, which is consistent with multiple isotropic gaps with similar magnitudes. The $κ_0/T$ of overdoped NaFe$_{1.925}$Co$_{0.075}$As shows a relati…
We investigate the electronic specific heat of overdoped BaFe$_{2}$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_{2}$ single crystals in the superconducting state using high-resolution nanocalorimetry. From the measurements, we extract the doping dependence of the condensation energy, superconducting gap $Δ$, and related microscopic parameters. We find that the anomalous scaling of the specific heat jump $ΔC \propto T_{\mathrm{c}}^3$, found in many iron-based superconductors, in this system originates from a $T_\mathrm{c}$-dependent ratio $Δ/k_\mathrm{B}T_\mathrm{c}$ in combination with a doping-dependent density of s…
We report on specific heat measurements on clean overdoped $\mathrm{BaFe_{2}(As_{1-x}P_x)_2}$ single crystals performed with a high resolution membrane-based nanocalorimeter. A nonzero residual electronic specific heat coefficient at zero temperature $γ_\mathrm{r}={C/T}|_{T \to 0}$ is seen for all doping compositions, indicating a considerable fraction of the Fermi surface ungapped or having very deep minima. The remaining superconducting electronic specific heat is analyzed through a two-band s-wave $α$ model in order to investigate the gap structure. Close to optimal doping we detect a singl…
We report magnetic penetration depth and thermal conductivity data for high-quality single crystals of BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_2$ ($T_c=30$\,K) which provide strong evidence that this material has line nodes in its energy gap. This is distinctly different from the nodeless gap found for (Ba,K)Fe$_2$As$_2$ which has similar $T_c$ and phase diagram. Our results indicate that repulsive electronic interactions play an essential role for Fe-based high-$T_c$ superconductivity but that uniquely there are distinctly different pairing states, with and without nodes, which have comparable $T_c$.
Low temperature specific heat has been measured in optimally doped and highly overdoped non-superconducting BaFe$_{2-x}$TM$_x$As$_{2}$ ($TM$ = Co and Ni) single crystals. By using the data of the overdoped samples, we successfully removed the phonon contribution of the optimally doped ones, and derived the electronic specific heat coefficient $γ_e$. Remarkably, we found a continuing temperature dependent $γ_e(T)$ which follows the quadratic relation $γ_e=γ_0+αT^2$ in the low temperature limit. Together with the very small residual term $γ_0$, linear magnetic field dependence of $γ_e$, it is co…
We use inelastic neutron scattering to systematically investigate the Ni-doping evolution of the low-energy spin excitations in BaFe2-xNixAs2 spanning from underdoped antiferromagnet to overdoped superconductor (0.03< x < 0.18). In the undoped state, the low-energy (<80 meV) spin waves of BaFe2As2 form transversely elongated ellipses in the [H, K] plane of the reciprocal space. Upon Ni-doping, the c-axis magnetic exchange coupling is rapidly suppressed and the momentum distribution of spin excitations in the [H, K] plane is enlarged in both the transverse and longitudinal directions with respe…
Zero-field (ZF) muon spin relaxation ($μ$SR) measurements have revealed static commensurate magnetic order of Fe moments in NdOFeAs below $T_{N} \sim 135$ K, with the ordered moment size nearly equal to that in LaOFeAs, and confirmed similar behavior in BaFe$_{2}$As$_{2}$. In single crystals of superconducting (Ba$_{0.55}$K$_{0.45}$)Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$, $μ$SR spectra indicate static magnetism with incommensurate or short-ranged spin structure in $\sim$ 70 % of volume below $T_{N} \sim$ 80 K, coexisting with remaining volume which exhibits superfluid-response consistent with nodeless gap below $T_…
We have systematically studied the low-temperature specific heat of the BaFe$_{2-x}$Ni$_x$As$_2$ single crystals covering the whole superconducting dome. Using the nonsuperconducting heavily overdoped x = 0.3 sample as a reference for the phonon contribution to the specific heat, we find that the normal-state electronic specific heats in the superconducting samples may have a nonlinear temperature dependence, which challenges previous results in the electron-doped Ba-122 iron-based superconductors. A model based on the presence of ferromagnetic spin fluctuations may explain the data between x …
We report elastic neutron scattering and transport measurements on the Ni and Cr equivalently doped iron pnictide BaFe$_{2-2x}$Ni$_{x}$Cr$_{x}$As$_{2}$. Compared with the electron-doped BaFe$_{2-x}$Ni$_{x}$As$_{2}$, the long-range antiferromagnetic (AF) order in BaFe$_{2-2x}$Ni$_{x}$Cr$_{x}$As$_{2}$ is gradually suppressed with vanishing ordered moment and Néel temperature near $x= 0.20$ without the appearance of superconductivity. A detailed analysis on the transport properties of BaFe$_{2-x}$Ni$_{x}$As and BaFe$_{2-2x}$Ni$_{x}$Cr$_{x}$As$_{2}$ suggests that the non-Fermi-liquid behavior asso…
The disordered flux line lattice in single crystals of the slightly overdoped aFe_{2-x}Co_xAs_2 (x = 0.19, Tc = 23 K) superconductor is studied by magnetization measurements, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and magnetic force microscopy (MFM). In the whole range of magnetic fields up to 9 T, vortex pinning precludes the formation of an ordered Abrikosov lattice. Instead, a vitreous vortex phase (vortex glass) with a short-range hexagonal order is observed. Statistical processing of MFM datasets lets us directly measure its radial and angular distribution functions and extract the radial…
We use elastic and inelastic neutron scattering to systematically investigate the evolution of the low-energy spin excitations of the iron arsenide superconductor BaFe2-xNixAs2 as a function of nickel doping x. In the undoped state, BaFe2As2 exhibits a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural phase transition and simultaneously develops a collinear antiferromagnetic (AF) order below TN = 143 K. Upon electron-doping of x = 0.075 to induce bulk superconductivity with Tc = 12.3 K, the AF ordering temperature reduces to TN = 58 K.We show that the appearance of bulk superconductivity in BaFe1.925Ni0.0…
We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on the overdoped Ba$_{0.3}$K$_{0.7}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ superconductor ($T_c$ = 22 K). We demonstrate that the superconducting (SC) gap on each Fermi surface (FS) is nearly isotropic whereas the gap value varies from 4.4 to 7.9 meV on different FSs. By comparing with under- and optimally-doped Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$, we find that the gap value on each FS nearly scales with $T_c$ over a wide doping range (0.25 $\textyen leq$ $x$ $\textyen leq$ 0.7). Although the FS volume and the SC gap magnitude are strongly doping dependent, the multip…
The discovery of high-transition temperature (high-Tc) superconductivity near antiferromagnetism in iron arsenides raised the possibility of an unconventional superconducting mechansim1-8. The observation of clear Fermi surfaces and nodeless superconducting gaps by angle resolved photoemission9-12 suggests that electron pairing in these materials may be mediated by quasiparticle excitations between sign reversed hole and electron Fermi pockets5-8. Although the presence of a 'resonance' in the spin excitation spectrum found by inelastic neutron scattering13-17 is consistent with this picture18-…
We use transport, inelastic neutron scattering, and angle resolved photoemission experiments to demonstrate that the stoichiometric LiFeAs is an intrinsically electron-overdoped superconductor similar to those of the electron-overdoped NaFe1-xTxAs and BaFe2-xTxAs2 (T = Co,Ni). Furthermore, we show that although transport properties of the stoichiometric superconducting LiFeAs and Li-deficient nonsuperconducting Li1-xFeAs are different, their electronic and magnetic properties are rather similar. Therefore, the nonsuperconducting Li1-xFeAs is also in the electron overdoped regime, where small L…
Measurements of the London penetration depth and tunneling conductance in single crystals of the recently discovered stoicheometric, iron - based superconductor, CaKFe$_4$As$_4$ (CaK1144) show nodeless, two effective gap superconductivity with a larger gap of about 6-9 meV and a smaller gap of about 1-4 meV. Having a critical temperature, $T_{c,onset}\approx$35.8 K, this material behaves similar to slightly overdoped Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$)Fe$_2$As$_2$ (e.g. $x=$0.54, $T_c \approx$ 34 K)---a known multigap $s_{\pm}$ superconductor. We conclude that the superconducting behavior of stoichiometric CaK11…
In order to establish the doping dependence of the critical current properties in the iron-based superconductors, the in-plane critical current density (Jc) of BaFe2As2-based superconductors, Ba1-xKxFe2As2 (K-Ba122), Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 (Co-Ba122), and BaFe2(As1-xPx)2 (P-Ba122) in a wide range of doping concentration (x) was investigated by means of magnetization hysteresis loop (MHL) measurements on single-crystal samples. Depending on the dopant elements and their concentration, Jc exhibits a variety of magnetic-field (H) and temperature (T) dependences. (1) In the case of K-Ba122, MHL of the u…
The pairing symmetry in the iron-based superconductor Ba1-xKxFe2As2 may change from nodeless s-wave near x~0.4 and Tc>30 K, to nodal (either d-wave or s-wave) at x=1 and Tc<4 K. Theoretical interest has been focused on this possibility, where in the transition region both order parameters would be present and time reversal symmetry would be broken. We report specific heat in magnetic fields down to 0.4 K of three single crystals, free of low temperature magnetic anomalies, of heavily overdoped Ba1-xKxFe2As2, x= 0.91, 0.88, and 0.81, Tc(mid) ~ 5.6, 7.2 and 13 K and Hc2 ~ 4.5, 6, and 20 T respec…
A series of high quality BaFe$_{2-x}$Ni$_x$As$_2$ pnictide superconductors were studied using magnetic relaxation and isothermal magnetic measurements in order to study the second magnetization peak (SMP) and critical current behaviour in Ni-doped 122 family. The temperature dependence of the magnetic relaxation rate suggests a pinning crossover, whereas, it's magnetic field dependence hints a vortex-lattice structural phase-transition. The activation energy ($U$) estimated using the magnetic relaxation data was analyzed in detail for slightly-underdoped, slightly-overdoped and an overdoped sa…
The upper critical field ($H_{c2}$) in superconducting BaFe$_{2-x}$Ni$_{x}$As$_2$ single crystals has been determined by magnetotransport measurements down to 0.6 K over the whole superconducting dome with $0.065 \leqslant x \leqslant 0.22$, both for the inter-plane ($H \parallel c$, $H_{c2}^{c}$) and in-plane ($H \parallel ab$, $H_{c2}^{ab}$) field directions in static magnetic fields up to 16 T and pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 T. The temperature dependence of $H_{c2}^{ab}$ follows the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg (WHH) model incorporating orbital and spin paramagnetic effects, while $H_{c2…
Understanding the formation of Cooper pairs in iron-based superconductors is one of the most important topics in condensed matter physics. In conventional superconductors, the electron-phonon interaction leads to the formation of Cooper pairs. In conventional strong-coupling superconductors like lead (Pb), the features due to electron-phonon interaction are evident in the infrared absorption spectra. Here we investigate the infrared absorption spectra of the iron arsenide superconductor BaFe1.9Pt0.1As2. We find that this superconductor has fully gapped (nodeless) Fermi surfaces, and we observe…
The superconducting fluctuations well inside the normal state of Fe-based superconductors were studied through measurements of the in-plane paraconductivity and magnetoconductivity in high quality BaFe(2-x)NixAs2 crystals with doping levels from the optimal (x=0.10) up to the highly overdoped (x=0.20). These measurements, performed in magnetic fields up to 9 T perpendicular to the ab (Fe) layers, allowed a reliable check of the applicability to iron-based superconductors of Ginzburg-Landau approaches for 3D anisotropic compounds, even at high reduced temperatures and magnetic fields. Our resul…
We report a systematic investigation on c-axis point-contact Andreev reflection (PCAR) in BaFe$_{2-x}$Ni$_x$As$_2$ superconducting single crystals from underdoped to overdoped regions (0.075 $\leq x\leq 0.15$). At optimal doping ($x=0.1$) the PCAR spectrum feature the structures of two superconducting gap and electron-boson coupling mode. In the $s\pm$ scenario, quantitative analysis using a generalized Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk (BTK) formalism with two gaps: one isotropic and another angle dependent, suggest a nodeless state in strong-coupling limit with gap minima on the Fermi surfaces. Upon …
We analyze the interplay between the absence or presence of the nodes in the superconducting gap along electron Fermi surfaces (FSs) in Fe-pnictides, and 2Delta/T_c along hole FSs, measured by ARPES. We solve the set of coupled gap equations for 4-band and 5-band models of Fe-pnictides and relate the presence of the nodes to 2Δ/T_c being below a certain threshold. Using ARPES data for 2Δ/T_c, we find that optimally doped (BaK)Fe_2As_2 and Ba(FeCo)_2As_2 and likely nodeless, but iso-valent BaFe_2(AsP)_2 likely has nodes.
Understanding the overall features of magnetic excitation is essential for clarifying the mechanism of Cooper pair formation in iron-based superconductors. In particular, clarifying the relationship between magnetism and superconductivity is a central challenge because magnetism may play a key role in their exotic superconductivity. BaFe2As2 is one of ideal systems for such investigation because its superconductivity can be induced in several ways, allowing a comparative examination. Here we report a study on the spin fluctuations of the hole-overdoped iron-based superconductors Ba1-xKxFe2As2 …
We report on the nonequilibrium quasiparticle dynamics in BaFe$_2$As$_2$ on both the hole doped (Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$) and electron doped (BaFe$_{2-y}$Co$_y$As$_2$) sides of the phase diagram using ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy. Below $T_c$, measurements conducted at low photoinjected quasiparticle densities in the optimally and overdoped Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$ samples reveal two distinct relaxation processes: a fast component whose decay rate increases linearly with excitation density and a slow component with an excitation density independent decay rate. We argue that these t…
Temperature-dependent inter-plane resistivity, $ρ_c(T)$, was measured for the iron-based superconductor BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$ over a broad isoelectron phosphorus substitution range from $x$=0 to $x$=0.60, from non-superconducting parent compound to heavily overdoped superconducting composition with $T_c\approx 10 K$. The features due to structural and magnetic transitions are clearly resolved in $ρ_c(T)$ of the underdoped crystals. A characteristic maximum in $ρ_c(T)$, found in the parent BaFe$_2$As$_2$ at around 200 K, moves rapidly with phosphorus substitution to high temperatures. A…
We present a comprehensive overview of vortex pinning in single crystals of the isovalently substituted iron-based superconductor BaFe$_{2}$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_{2}$, a material that qualifies as an archetypical clean superconductor, containing only sparse strong point-like pins [in the sense of C.J. van der Beek {\em et al.}, Phys. Rev. B {\bf 66}, 024523 (2002)]. Widely varying critical current values for nominally similar compositions show that flux pinning is of extrinsic origin. Vortex configurations, imaged using the Bitter decoration method, show less density fluctuations than those pre…
We measured the resistivity and magnetic susceptibility to map out the phase diagram of single crystalline NaFe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$As. Replacement of Fe by Co suppresses both the structural and magnetic transition, while enhances the superconducting transition temperature ($T_{\rm c}$) and superconducting component fraction. Magnetic susceptibility exhibits temperature-linear dependence in the high temperatures up to 500 K for all the superconducting samples, but such behavior suddenly breaks down for the non-superconducting overdoped crystal, suggesting that the superconductivity is closely related…
We report comprehensive resistivity measurements of single crystalline samples of the Ba(Fe(1-x)Co(x))2As2 high Tc superconductor under hydrostatic pressure up to 2.75 GPa and over a broad concentration range, 0 < x < 0.099. We show that application of pressure progressively suppresses the SDW transition temperature, T_SDW, in the underdoped regime. There is no sign of pressure-induced superconductivity in the undoped BaFe2As2 down to 1.8 K, but applied pressure dramatically enhances Tc in the underdoped regime. The effect of pressure on Tc is very small in the optimally and overdoped regimes.…
It is shown that attempts to accurately deduce the magnetic penetration depth of overdoped BaFe_{1.82}Co_{0.18}As2 single crystals by transverse-field muon spin rotation (TF-muSR) are thwarted by field-induced magnetic order and strong vortex-lattice disorder. We explain how substantial deviations from the magnetic field distribution of a nearly perfect vortex lattice by one or both of these factors is also significant for other iron-based superconductors, and this introduces considerable uncertainty in the values of the magnetic penetration depth obtained by TF-muSR.
The discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in iron pnictides raised the possibility of an unconventional superconducting mechanism in multiband materials. The observation of Fermi-surface(FS)-dependent nodeless superconducting gaps suggested that inter-FS interactions may play a crucial role in superconducting pairing. In the optimally hole-doped Ba$_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$Fe$_2$As$_2$, the pairing strength is enhanced simultaneously (2$Δ$/Tc$\sim$7) on the nearly nested FS pockets, i.e. the inner holelike ($α$) FS and the two hybridized electronlike FSs, while the pairing remains weak (2$Δ$/…
The London penetration depth was measured in single crystals of self-doped Na$_{1-δ}$FeAs (from under - to optimal - doping, $T_c$ from 14 to 27 K) and electron-doped Na(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$)As with $x$ ranging from undoped, $x=0$ to overdoped $x= 0.1$. In all samples, the low - temperature variation of the penetration depth exhibits a power-law dependence, $Δλ(T) = AT^n$, with the exponent that varies in a dome - like fashion from $n \sim 1.1$ in the underdoped, reaching a maximum of $n \sim 1.9$ in the optimally doped and decreasing again to $n \sim 1.3$ on the overdoped side. While the anisot…
We measured the microwave surface impedances and obtained the superfluid density and flux flow resistivity in single crystals of a phosphor-doped iron-based superconductor SrFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_2$ single crystals ($x=0.30$, $T_c=25 \mathrm{K}$). At low temperatures, the superfluid density, $n_s (T)/n_s(0)$, obeys a power law, $n_s (T)/n_s (0)=1-C(T/T_c)^n$, with a fractional exponent of $n=1.5$-1.6. The flux flow resistivity was significantly enhanced at low magnetic fields. These features are consistent with the presences of both a gap with line nodes and nodeless gaps with a deep mini…
In superconductors with unconventional pairing mechanisms, the energy gap in the excitation spectrum often has nodes, which allow quasiparticle excitations at low energies. In many cases, e.g. $d$-wave cuprate superconductors, the position and topology of nodes are imposed by the symmetry, and thus the presence of gapless excitations is protected against disorder. Here we report on the observation of distinct changes in the gap structure of iron-pnictide superconductors with increasing impurity scattering. By the successive introduction of nonmagnetic point defects into BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x…
Large high-quality single crystals of hole-doped iron-based superconductor (Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$)Fe$_2$As$_2$ were grown over a broad composition range $0.22 \leq x \leq 1$ by inverted temperature gradient method. We found that high soaking temperature, fast cooling rate, and adjusted temperature window of the growth are necessary to obtain single crystals of heavily K doped crystals (0.65$\leq x \leq$ 0.92) with narrow compositional distributions as revealed by sharp superconducting transitions in magnetization measurements and close to 100% superconducting volume fraction. The crystals were exten…
Measurements of London penetration depth are a sensitive tool to study multi-band superconductivity and it has provided several important insights to the behavior of Fe-based superconductors. We first briefly review the "experimentalist - friendly" self-consistent Eilenberger model that relates the measurable superfluid density and structure of superconducting gaps. Then we focus on the \BaFe -derived materials, for which the results are consistent with 1) two distinct superconducting gaps; 2) development of strong in-plane gap anisotropy with the departure from the optimal doping; 3) appearan…
Microscopic, structural, transport and thermodynamic measurements of single crystalline Ba(Fe1-xTMx)2As2 (TM = Ni and Cu) series, as well as two mixed TM = Cu / Co series, are reported. All the transport and thermodynamic measurements indicate that the structural and magnetic phase transitions at 134 K in pure BaFe2As2 are monotonically suppressed and increasingly separated in a similar manner by these dopants. In the Ba(Fe1-xNix)2As2 (x =< 0.072), superconductivity, with Tc up to 19 K, is stabilized for 0.024 =< x =< 0.072. In the Ba(Fe1-xCux)2As2 (x =< 0.356) series, although the structural …
We report a doping, magnetic field and low-temperature dependent study of the specific heat of the iron-arsenide Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ at under (x=0.045), optimal (x=0.08) and overdoped (x=0.103 and 0.105) regimes. By subtracting the lattice specific heat the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the electronic specific heat has been studied. The temperature and field dependencies of the superconducting part of $C_{p}$ exhibit similar behavior for all doping concentrations. The temperature variation of the electronic specific heat as well as its field dependence cannot be…
The dependence of the superconducting gaps in epitaxial Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_{x})_2As_2 thin films on the nominal doping x (0.04 \leq x \leq 0.15) was studied by means of point-contact Andreev-reflection spectroscopy. The normalized conductance curves were well fitted by using the 2D Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk model with two nodeless, isotropic gaps -- although the possible presence of gap anisotropies cannot be completely excluded. The amplitudes of the two gaps Δ_{S} and Δ_{L} show similar monotonic trends as a function of the local critical temperature T_{c}^{A} (measured in the same point contacts)…
Controlled point-like disorder introduced by 2.5 MeV electron irradiation was used to probe the superconducting state of single crystals of \CaKx\ superconductor at $x = 0$ and 0.05 doping levels. Both compositions show an increase of the residual resistivity and a decrease of the superconducting transition temperature, $T_c$ at the rate of $dT_c/dρ(T_c) \approx$ 0.19 K(\textmu$Ω$cm)$^{-1}$ for $x=0$ and 0.38 K(\textmu$Ω$cm)$^{-1}$ for $x=\:$0.05, respectively. In Ni - doped, $x = 0.05$, compound the coexisting spin-vortex crystal (SVC) magnetic phase is suppressed at the rate of $dT_N/dρ(T_N)…
Doping dependence of the superconducting state structure and spin-fluctuation pairing mechanism in the $Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_{x})_{2}As_{2}$ family is studied. BCS-like analysis of experimental data shows that in the overdoped regime, away from the AFM transition, the spin-fluctuation interaction between the electron and hole gaps is weak, and $Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_{x})_{2}As_{2}$ is characterized by three essentially different gaps. In the three-gap state an anisotropic (nodeless) electron gap $Δ_e (x, ϕ)$ has an intermediate value between the dominant inner $Δ_{2h}(x)$ and outer $Δ_{1h}(x)$ hole gaps. Clo…
