Pulsed laser deposition conditions and superconductivity of FeSe thin films

We report the effects of growth conditions on the superconducting properties of FeSe films epitaxially grown on LaAlO₃ substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Customary materials characterization techniques [X-ray diffraction (XRD), in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), in-situ ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)] revealed the films had a c-axis oriented tetragonal structure with lattice constants dependent on the growth temperature (varied from 100 to 600°C). The standard four-point probe method was used to measure the resistivity and superconducting transitions. Films grown at 400–550°C showed a clear superconducting onset but no zero resistance down to 2 K. The highest superconducting onset temperature (T_c^onsetT_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{onset}}) of 8 K was observed in films grown at 500°C and the onset temperature was clearly correlated to the ratio of the lattice constants (c/a). As the thickness of the FeSe films increased from 27 nm to 480 nm, T_c^onsetT_{\mathrm{c}}^{\mathrm{onset}} also increased as the strain in the system was relaxed.     

Deposition of superconducting thin films of YBa2Cu3O x on sintered SrTiO3 substrates

Thin films of highT _coxide superconductor were deposited on sintered SrTiO₃ substrates by 50 Hz a.c. sputtering. The superconducting onset temperature occurred at 90 K and the offset temperature at 72 K. The deposition conditions were found to influence the ordering of the annealed films.     

MgB2 thick films deposited on stainless steel substrate with Tc higher than 39K

Thick MgB₂ (magnesium diborate) films, ∼10 μm, with T _c (onset) = 39.4 K and T _c (zero) = 39.2 K have been successfully grown on a stainless steel substrate using a technique called hybrid physical-chemical deposition (HPCVD). The deposition rate is high, ∼6.7 nm/s. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates that it is highly (101) and c-axis oriented. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images demonstrate that the film grown is in “island-mode”. The uniform superconducting phase in the film is shown by the M-T measurement.     

Enhanced temperature-independent magnetoresistance below the metal-insulator transition temperature of epitaxial La0.2Nd0.4Ca0.4MnO3 thin films

Epitaxial La_0.2Nd_0.4Ca_0.4MnO₃ thin films have been deposited at 800°C on LaAlO₃ substrate using pulsed laser deposition technique. The structural and magnetotransport properties of the films have been studied. The sharp peak in the temperature dependence of the resistance corresponding to metal-to-insulator transition (T _p) has been observed at a temperature of T _p=82 K, 97 K and 110 K for 0 Oe, 20 kOe and 40 kOe magnetic fields, respectively. The film exhibits a large nearly temperature-independent magnetoresistance around 99% in the temperature regime below T _p. The zero field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) magnetization data at 50 Oe shows irreversibility between the ZFC and FC close to the ferromagnetic transition temperature T _c=250 K. The ZFC temperature data of the film displays ferromagnetic behavior for higher temperature regime T _c=250 K>T>T _p=82 K, and a decrease in magnetization with decreasing temperature up to 5 K below 82 K exhibiting a sort of antiferromagnetic behavior in the low temperature regime (T<82 K=T _p=T _N).     

Superconductivity and normal electrical conductivity of amorphous lead films nucleated with molybdenum

Lead films vapor quenched onto nucleating monolayers of Mo or W exhibit strong lattice disorder and can be considered to be amorphous. The amorphous-to-crystalline transformation temperatureT _tr is indicated by a sharp drop of the electrical resistivity in the course of annealing.T _tr is found to be proportional tod ^–2 for Pb thicknessd smaller than 30 nm. The superconducting transition temperatureT _c is by 0.6 to 1 K smaller in the amorphous state than after crystallization. In both states,T _c is proportional tod ^–1. Prenucleation with about half a monolayer of Mo leads to quite the sameT _c depression as observed earlier by Strongin et al. on Pb films vapor quenched onto predeposited films of SiO, Ge or Al₂O₃. For comparison, experiments have been carried out with 2.5 nm Ge predeposits. As with Mo prenucleation, a well defined transformation temperatureT _tr of about the same value has been observed.T _c of bulk amorphous Pb can be extrapolated to be about 6.6 K.     

Preparation of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O bulk superconductor and thick films

The preparation of ceramic superconductors based on the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system in a reproducible manner with zero-resistance transition temperatures (T _c) tailored between 65 and 85 K is described. Partial melting of the sample pellet during preparation helps in raising itsT _c. Thick crystallographically oriented films of the material withT _c=77 K have been prepared on sintered SrTiO₃ substrates.     

多层膜外退火方法制备MgB2超导薄膜

报道了利用电子束蒸发的Mg/B多层膜作为前驱体，然后退火制备MgB₂薄膜的工作. 实验中发现，采用翻转膜面的退火处理方式可以有效地避免降温过程中Mg蒸气在薄膜表面形成的颗粒凝结，由此稳定地实现了面积为10 mm×10 mm，均匀、平整的超导薄膜的制备，T_c达35 K，转变宽度为0.8 K，在5 μm×5 μm的区域内薄膜的平均粗糙度小于10 nm. 为了便于后续器件制作过程中的微加工工艺，研究了膜厚小于1000 ?时薄膜的成相规律，发现当样品厚度减薄后，T_c会有明显降低. 通过调整前驱薄膜中的不同分层厚度，仍可实现转变温度达30 K以上、厚度约600 ?的MgB₂薄膜，在20 K时的临界电流密度为2.4×10⁶ A/cm².     

Bl结构MoNx薄膜的制备及物理性能研究

我们对以反应性溅射法制备的MoN_x薄膜测量了超导转变温度T_c,电阻率ρ(T)(从T_c起始到300K)。用X射线衍射技术、卢瑟福背散射(RBS)、俄歇谱仪和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)技术对这些样品进行了分析。实验结果表明T_c和ρ(T)随N含量改变而变化。当样品是B1结构时,T_c小于4.2K,而且样品内还有过量的N存在。俄歇分析表明,样品内有O,C杂质存在。这些因素都可能导致T_c很低,ρ(T)呈负的温度系数。 关键词：     

The thermal conductivity of disordered and amorphous metal films

The thermal conductivity of quenched condensed polycrystalline and amorphous Pb and Pb_0.9Cu_0.1 films has been measured between 0.5 and 11 K, i.e. in the superconducting (T7 K) and in the normal state (T7 K). Whereas, in agreement with previous results, phonon heat transport is very small for crystalline films, a considerable portion of heat is carried by phonons in amorphous films, owing to the absence of extended lattice defects. Phonon scattering in these latter films is analyzed in terms of scattering from conduction electrons aboveT _c, whereas well belowT _c it is very likely due to low energy excitations inherent in the amorphous structure.Work performed within the research program of the Sonderforschungsbereich 125 — Aachen/Jülich/Köln     

Dependence of the superconducting transition temperature of quench-condensed aluminium-films on the oxygen content

Al-films were evaporated from Al₂O₃-crucibles or W-boats onto substrates held at 4.2 K or at room temperature (R.T.). The superconducting transition temperatureT _c was measured in situ, while the oxygen contentC _o of the films was determined by Rutherford-backscattering. Layers evaporated at R.T. from Al₂O₃-crucibles exhibit aT _c vs.C _o-relation like granular Al-films. For layers quench-condensed from W-boats without an external oxygen source typicalT _c -values of 2.5 K and oxygen concentrations of 10 at % were found. In case of quench-condensation from Al₂O₃-crucibles it is concluded from theT _c vs.C _o-relation that oxygen is incorporated into the films in the form of Al₂O-molecules. The different behavior of theT _c vs.C _o-curves will be discussed.     

MgB2 thick films deposited on stainless steel substrate with T c higher than 39 K

Thick MgB₂ (magnesium diborate) films, ～10 μm, with T _c (onset) = 39.4 K and T _c (zero) = 39.2 K have been successfully grown on a stainless steel substrate using a technique called hybrid physical-chemical deposition (HPCVD). The deposition rate is high, ～6.7 nm/s. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates that it is highly (101) and c-axis oriented. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images demonstrate that the film grown is in “island-mode”. The uniform superconducting phase in the film is shown by the M-T measurement.     

On the preparation and the characterization of superconducting thin films of YBa2Cu3O7−x

The results of our initial efforts to deposit thin films of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x system on sapphire substrate are described. The deposited films are shiny black in appearance and are of quite uniform chemical composition. The annealed films exhibit zero resistance superconducting transition temperatureT _c(R=0) ranging between 23 K and 30 K.     

High-T c superconducting Bi−Sr−Ca−Cu−O thin films prepared by laser-induced plasma deposition

High-T _c superconducting thin films of Bi–Sr–Ca–Cu oxides were prepared by laser-induced plasma deposition of high-T _c superconducting Bi₂Sr₂Ca₁Cu₂O_x and Bi₂Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O_x targets in vacuum and a short post-annealing in air at 875°C. Thin films (thickness <500 nm) with a critical temperatureT _c -onset of 95 K can be prepared on silicon substrate material with a SrTiO₃ interface layer. The thin films were completely superconducting between 80 and 90 K. The stoichiometry transfer of superconducting target material by laser-induced plasma deposition was investigated.     

MgB2 thick films with remarkable ductility on stainless steel substrate

We fabricated several superconducting MgB₂ thick films on stainless steel (SS) substrates by using hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition (HPCVD) technique. The thickness was in the 10μm to 20μm range, and the onset critical transition temperature T _c (onset) and the width of the superconducting transition (ΔT) were about 37.8 and 1.2 K. They were dense and textured along (101) direction with high tenacity, despite the existence of a little amount of MgO and Mg. We bent the films at different degrees and studied the ductility and transport properties of these MgB₂ thick films under applied force. The results demonstrated that the superconducting properties of these thick films, prepared by HPCVD, stay almost unaffected even with the films bent to a large degree with a curvature of 0.5 mm. This indicated that the superconducting wires or tapes of MgB₂ with a core of SS had the advantages of avoiding rigidity and brittleness in industrial handling. The technique of HPCVD has, therefore, a high application potential. __________ Translated from Chinese Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 2005, 27(2) (in Chinese)     

Direct angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy and superconductivity of strained high-T c films

Since 1997 we systematically perform direct angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on in-situ grown thin (<30 nm) cuprate films. Specifically, we probe low-energy electronic structure and properties of high-T _c superconductors (HTSC) under different degrees of epitaxial (compressive vs. tensile) strain. In overdoped and underdoped in-plane compressed (the strain is induced by the choice of substrate) ≈15 nm thin La_{2 − x} Sr _x CuO₄ (LSCO) films we almost double T _c to 40 K, from 20 K and 24 K, respectively. Yet the Fermi surface (FS) remains essentially two-dimensional. In contrast, ARPES data under tensile strain exhibit the dispersion that is three-dimensional, yet T _c drastically decreases. It seems that the in-plane compressive strain tends to push the apical oxygen far away from the CuO₂ plane, enhances the two-dimensional character of the dispersion and increases T _c, while the tensile strain acts in the opposite direction and the resulting dispersion is three-dimensional. We have established the shape of the FS for both cases, and all our data are consistent with other ongoing studies, like EXAFS. As the actual lattice of cuprates is like a ‘Napoleon-cake’, i.e. rigid CuO₂ planes alternating with softer ‘reservoir’, that distort differently under strain, our data rule out all oversimplified two-dimensional (rigid lattice) mean field models. The work is still in progress on optimized La-doped Bi-2201 films with enhanced T _c.      

Pressure effects on the superconducting transition of ytterbium doped Ce0.6Yb0.4FeAsO0.9F0.1

The Effect of pressure on the superconducting transition temperature of Yb doped Ce_0.6Yb_0.4FeAsO_0.9F_0.1 has been investigated for the first time using resistivity and magnetization studies. Increase in chemical pressure by substitution of smaller Yb³⁺ ions in place of Ce³⁺ ions results in a significant enhancement of T_c from 38 K (Yb free) to 47 K (40% Yb). Enhancement in T_c with external pressure has been observed for this compound up to a maximum value of T_c = 48.7 K at 1 GPa, beyond which T_c starts decreasing monotonously. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Supraleitung und Temperverhalten abschreckend kondensierter Germanium-Edelmetall-Legierungen

Thin films of Ge-Cu, Ge-Ag and Ge-Au alloys have been condensed onto substrates held at 4 K. An amorphous, metallic phase has been obtained. The superconductivity of this phase is believed to be due to Ge which is forced into a liquidlike structure with a higher coordination number than that of the semiconducting diamond structure. The maximum transition temperatures of the Ge-Cu and Ge-Au films are 3.3 and 3.6 K, respectively, whereas Ge-Ag films show a maximumT _c of 1.2 K. The difference inT _c is explained by the band structure of the noble metals.     

Volume dependence of the superconducting transition temperature of quench-condensed be films

The volume dependence of the superconducting transition temperatureT _c of quench-condensed Be films is investigated by bending the substrate of the film. Tensile strain causes an increase, compressive strain a decrease ofT _c . The volume coefficientd lnT _c /d lnV is about 0.8, a value which is small compared with those of other weakcopling non-transition metals. In addition to pure films, Be films stabilized by codeposition of noble metals or Ge are investigated.Paper based in part on a Habilitationsschrift submitted to the Fakultät für Physik, Universität Karlsruhe (TH), FRG     

Low temperature self-ion irradiation of pure and granular aluminium-films

Al-films, evaporated at room temperature under different oxygen partial pressures, were irradiated with self-ions (500 keV, Al⁺⁺) at low temperature (<7 K). The observed increase of the resistivity and of the superconducting transition temperatureT _c depends strongly on the oxygen contentc ₀ present in the layers. A qualitative different behaviour of the above quantities was found for different fluence ranges of the bombarding ions. For high fluences in all cases an oxygen stabilized disorder state was obtained with correspondingT _c-increases betweenT _c=0.2 K for the purest films (c ₀0.5 at %) andT _c =1.2 K for films with c ₀=40 at %. The annealing behaviour of the irradiated films is also dependent on the oxygen contentc ₀.     

Upper critical fields of Nb3Ge thin film superconductors

The upper critical field H_c2(T) of the highest T_c(～23K) Nb₃Ge superconducting films has been found to be ≈370kG at 4.2K. Measurements on lower T_c films show very broad transitions reflecting nonuniformity. The H_c2(T) characteristics are consistent with other Nb₃X type II superconductors.