The effect of gallium substitution on the superconductivity of the BiSrCaCuO system

Magnetic susceptibility, X-ray diffraction and resistivity measurements of the system Bi_1.4Pb_0.6Sr₂Ca_2−xGa_xCu₃O_y are reported for 0 x 2. The high-T_c 2223 phase with a T_c of 107 K for x = 0 exists for x 0.3. The low-T_c 2212 phase with a T_c of 75 K for x = 0 exists for the full range of x. The highest values of the critical temperature and the largest volume fraction of the low-T_c phase in compounds with Ga occur for x = 0.5 ± 0.1. The identification of CaO by X-ray diffraction for x 0.6 indicates that Ga replaces Ca in the compound.     

Resistivity and thermoelectric power of Bi2Sr2Ca−xPrxCu2Oy system

Samples of Bi₂Sr₂Ca_1−xPr_xCu₂O_y have been characterized by resistivity and thermoelectric power measurements. All metallic samples show superconductivity with a maximum T_c = 90 K at X = 0.2. The sample of x = 0.6 shows a crossover from hopping conduction at low temperature above T_c to metallic conduction at high temperature. For the metallic samples below x = 0.6, the results of thermoelectric power are well fitted by both of a phenomenological band spectrum model and the Nagaosa and Lee model.     

Giant pressure effect in oxygen deficient YBa2Cu3Ox

The pressure effect on T_c of polycrystalline and single crystalline YBa₂Cu₃O_x investigated as a function of oxygen content x by ac-susceptibility measurements under helium pressure. In the overdoped region x> 6.93 the single crystals show a negative dT_c/d p, as expected from the charge transfer model. For optimally doped samples with x = 6.93 we find dT_c/d P = 0.4 K/GPa which points to pressure effects on T_c aside from charge transfer. In the underdoped region x < 6.93 the dT_c/d p values obtained from the experiment depend strongly on the storage temperature of the sample during the experiment. When the samples are stored at temperatures well below 240 K throughout the entire experiment including pressure application and pressure release, dT_c/d p increases to approx. 7 K/GPa at x = 6.7 but with a further decrease of the oxygen content the dT_c/d p drops to approx. 2 K/GPa at x = 6.4. These effects are intrinsic to the YBa₂Cu₃O_x structure and can be explained by considering the anisotropic structure of YBa₂Cu₃O_x. The decrease of the c-axis lattice parameter results in a charge transfer to the CuO₂-planes mainly [1], whereas the compression of the a- and b-axis lattice parameter is known to produce different pressure effects which are responsible for the peak in dT_c/d p at x = 6.7 [2]. When pressure is changed at room temperature oxygen ordering effects occur which cause a relaxation of T_c to the equilibrium value T_c(p) at this pressure with a time constant depending on the oxygen content x. A decrease x results in a peak effect in dT_c/d p at x = 6.7 again, which is enhanced to approx. 12 K/GPa. If the oxygen content is decreased further, dT_c/d p first drops to 5 K/GPa at x = 6.6, but the increases to values of more than 20 K/GPa for x < 6.42. These giant pressure effects at low oxygen contents are mainly caused by a reversible T_c increase (dT_c/d p)_O due to pressure induced oxygen ordering via oxygen motion between unit cells.     

Trapping mechanism of superconductivity suppression induced by Pr substitution in the Ho1−xPrxBa2Cu3O7−δ system

Pr concentration dependence of the superconducting transition temperature T_c in the Ho_1−xPr_xBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ system is determined from measurements of DC electrical resistance. This dependence coincides with that for the parallely studied Y_1−xPr_xBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ reference system. Both systems have the same value of the critical concentration x_c=0.58, in accordance with nearly equal ionic radii of Ho³⁺ and Y³⁺ ions. It has been shown that the T_c(x) curve can be described with a single mechanism based on a decreasing number of sheet holes trapped by Pr^IV-ions, if one takes also into account that the number of these ions changes with x.     

Specific heat of Sm1+xBa2−xCu3Oysolid solution of orthorhombic and tetragonal structure

The specific heats of Sm_1+xBa_2−xCu₃O_y solid solution of orthorhombic and tetragonal structure were measured in the temperature range 80–300 K. The data were analyzed in the framework of the Debye model with dilatation correction. The tendency to lower the high-temperature limit of the Debye temperature, θ^HT_D, with the oxygen deficiency was noticed. In contrast, the increase of Sm substitution causes a rise of θ^HT_D. The temperature dependence θ_D(T) was calculated for each compound from the series for the whole temperature region investigated.     

Origin of intrinsic Josephson coupling in the cuprates and its relation to order parameter symmetry: An incoherent hopping model

Experiments on the cuprate superconductors demonstrate that these materials may be viewed as a stack of Josephson junctions along the direction normal to the CuO₂ planes (the c-axis). In this paper, we present a model which describes this intrinsic Josephson coupling in terms of incherent quasiparticle hopping along the c-axis arising from wave-function overlap, impurity-assisted hopping, and boson-assised hopping. We use this model to compute the magnitude and temperature T dependence of the resulting Josephson critical current j_c(T) for s- and d-wave superconductors. Contrary to other approaches, d-wave pairing in this model is compatible with an intrinsic Josephson effect at all hole concentrations and leads to j_c(T) T at low T. By parameterizing our theory with c-axis resistivity data from YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (YBCO), we estimate j_c(T) for optimally doped and underdoped members of this family. j_c(T) can be measured either directly or indirectly through microwave penetration depth experiments, and current measurements on Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ and La_2−xSr_xCuO₄ are found to be consistent with s-wave pairing and the dominance of assisted hopping processes. The situation in YBCO is still unclear, but our estimates suggest that further experiments on this compound would be of great help in elucidating the validity of our model in general and the pairing symmetry in particular.     

Influence of the Tl- and Hg-content on magnetic and transport properties of the Pb, Sr-doped Tl-1223 and Hg-1223 superconductors

The effects of the thallium and mercury content x on the as-sintered and post annealed samples of M_xPb_0.4Sr_1.6Ba_0.4Ca₂Cu₃O_8+δ {M: Tl (0.32≤x≤0.74) or Hg (0.18≤x≤0.68)} have been studied by magnetization and transport measurements. For Tl-1223 we have found the optimum Tl doping level to be x=0.53 regarding the grain properties, the content of superconducting phase, the first penetration field H_pl^wl, the transport (J_c^tr), magnetic intergrain (J_c^M) and intragrain (J_c^g) critical current densities. The critical temperature T_c of the as-sintered Tl-1223 sample decreased with increasing Tl content. Post-annealing in oxygen improved the T_c for Tl contents of x≥0.53 and had generally positive effects on the critical current densities. The intergrain properties of the Hg-1223 samples were much worse than those of the Tl-based superconductors.     

Effect of Cu doping in MgB2 superconductor at various processing temperatures

The effects of Cu doping in MgB₂ superconductor has been studied at different processing temperatures. The polycrystalline samples of Mg_1−xCu_xB₂ with x = 0.05 were synthesized through the in-situ solid sate reaction method in argon atmosphere at different temperature range between 800–900 °C. The samples were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and low temperature R–T measurement techniques for the phase verification, microstructure and superconducting transition temperature, respectively. The XRD patterns of Mg_1−xCu_xB₂ (x = 0.05) do not exhibit any impurity traces of MgB₄ or MgB₆ and they show the sharp transition in the samples prepared at 850 °C. The onset transition temperature of the prepared samples is around 39 K, which is almost the same as that for the pure MgB₂. This indicates that Cu doping in MgB₂ does not affect the transition temperature. The SEM micrograph of Mg_0.95Cu_0.05B₂ has shown that the sample is dense with grain size smaller than 1 μm.     

Magnetic properties of rapidly quenched amorphous Fe-Sm alloys

The structural analysis and investigation of magnetic properties were carried out on rapidly quenched Fe_100−xSm_x (10.5 x 80) alloys. Amorphous alloys are fabricated in a wide composition range from x = 17 to 72.5. After heating the amorphous alloys up to 900 K, they transform into metastable phase I (T_c = 465 K)+ -Fe (x < 20), metastable phase II (T_c = 555 K)+-Fe (20 x 33.3) and Fe₂Sm+Sm (x40). The composition dependence of Curie temperature and magnetization is found to be similar to that of amorphous Fe-(Nd, Pr) alloys. A maximum coercive force of about 1.1 kOe at 300 K and 12 kOe at 77 K is obtained in the x = 40 alloy. The rapid decrease in coercive force with raising temperature can be explained by the wall pinning model proposed by Gaunt. The pronounced composition dependence of these magnetic properties for the amorphous Fe-Sm alloys can be considered to be caused by the change in the short-range atomic order with Sm concentration on the basis of the results of X-ray structural analysis.     

Chemical pressure effect on the superconductor MgCNi3

In order to investigate the positive and negative pressure effects on superconducting properties for MgCNi₃, chemical pressure was applied by means of Zn-doping to Mg site (Mg_1−xZn_xCNi₃) and by substituting Mg with Cd (CdCNi₃). The lattice constant decreases (increases) with increasing Zn (Cd) content. In the magnetic measurements, superconducting transition temperature (T_c) is decreasing with increasing Zn content and disappears at x > 0.3. While for CdCNi₃, T_c also decreases down to 3.4 K. The result seems not to be fully understandable in the case of CdCNi₃ since T_c seems to rise owing to the increase of density of states at Fermi energy caused by lattice expansion.     

Superconductivity and crystallographic properties of La2 − xMxCuO4 − δ (M = Na, K)

Superconductivity and crystallographic properties of La_{2 − x}M_xCuO_{4 − δ} (M = Na, K) are studied. In the La_{2 − x}M_xCuO_{4 − δ} system, superconductivity is detected for x 0.2. Oxygen content analysis shows that the system has more oxygen vacancies than the La_{2 − x}Sr_xCuO_{4 − δ} system. These oxygen vacancies may reduce the hole concentration, and high Na-doping is needed to produce superconductivity. In the La_{2 − x}K_xCuO_{4 − δ} system, superconductivity is observed for the first time. Resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements show that T_c(onset) is 40 K and the Meissner volume fraction is about 4% for x = 0.7. The system changes from orthorhombic to a tetragonal K₂NiF₄ structure at x ≈ 0.3 and only tetragonal samples show superconductivity.     

Double peak behavior of resistivity curves in Cd doped LaMnO3 perovskite systems

The effect of Cd doping on transport, magnetotransport, and magnetic properties has been investigated in the perovskite La_1−xCd_xMnO₃ (0x0.5) systems. The ρ(T) curves exhibit a sharp metal insulator transition (T_p1), which is close to paramagnetic to ferromagnetic transition (T_c) obtained from M−T curves for all samples. In addition, ρ(T) curves for Cd doped samples exhibit another broad transition (T_P2) below T_p1. This transition becomes more prominent and the transition temperature (T_p2) shifts to lower temperature with increasing Cd content. Such double peak behavior in the ρ(T) curve is attributed to the phase separation between the ferromagnetic metallic phases and the ferromagnetic insulating phases induced by the electronic inhomogeneity in the samples.     

Effect of Pr and Ca substitution on superconductivity in Y(1−x−yPrxCay)Ba2Cu3O7−δ

Pr substituted at constant Ca concentration for Y in (Y_1−x−yPr_xCa_y)Ba₂Cu₃O_7−δ superconductors have been prepared under identical conditions and the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of these samples are measured. The resistively determined values of T_c decrease linearly with increasing x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) for constant y = 0.10 and 0.15 which provides convincing evidence that the suppression of superconductivity by Pr is mainly due to magnetic pair breaking. The suppression of superconductivity can also be correlated to the observed changes in oxygen content determined by iodometric analysis and to the average Cu-valences. However, it is found that the observed suppression of T_c cannot be compensated by appropriate hole doping with Ca.     

Magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity and thermal expansion coefficient of NiAs-type V1−xCrxSe

V_1−xCr_xSe(0.05x0.83) shows a temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility χ which is similar to that of CrSe. At small x, the magnetic transition temperature T_t(x) and the Weiss constant θ_p(x) decrease with decreasing x, while the effective number of Bohr magnetons per Cr (P_eff) significantly increases.     

Magnetization study of polycrystalline YBa2AlxCu(3−x)O7−δ (x = 0.05, 0.10 and 0.20) compounds

Superconductivity in polycrystalline YBa₂Al_xCu_(3−x)O_7−δ materials was characterized by dynamic AC and quasistatic DC magnetometry. Intragranular persistent current density and low-loss intergranular critical current density were deduced using DC and AC techniques, respectively. Addition of aluminum produced modest increases in the intragranular persistent current for x < 0.2, but drastically reduced the intergranular critical current density for x = 0.2. The critical temperature T_c for superconductivity decreased only 4% for Al content up to x = 0.2.     

Ramans study of Y1−xPrxBa2Cu3O7−δ and YB2Cu3−xZnxO7−δ single crystals

Single crystals with known T_c values of Y_1−xPr_xBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (Y---Pr1:2:3) and YBa₂Cu_3−xZn_3−xZn_xO_7−δ (Y---Zn1:2:3) systems are studied by Raman measurements. The Raman spectra for (Y---Pr1:2:3) single crystals show that the frequencies of Ba and O_z modes increase as the Pr content increases. The results are consistent with the hole-localization scheme proposed for the suppression of superconductivity in the polycrystalline Y---Pr1:2:3 systems. On the other hand, in the Y---Zn1:2:3 system, all the Raman modes do not change in frequencies. However, the FWHM of the Cu(2) mode increases with the decrease of T_c, indicating strong scattering of charge carriers by the substituted Zn ions in the CuO₂ planes. The induced disorder in the CuO₂ planes may be related with suppression of T_c in the Y---Zn1:2:3 system. Thus, the suppression mechanism in the Y---Zn1:2:3 systems seems to be different from that in the Y---Pr1:2:3 systems.     

Crystal structure, superconductivity and magnetic properties of the superconducting ferromagnets Gd1.4−xDyxCe0.6Sr2RuCu2O10 (x=0–0.6)

The structural, electrical and magnetic properties of the superconducting ferromagnets, Gd_1.4−xDy_xCe_0.6Sr₂RuCu₂O₁₀ (x=0–0.6) are systematically investigated as a function of Dy doping and temperature. These compounds are characterized by high temperature superconductivity (T_c ranging from 20 to 40 K depending upon the Dy content) co-existing with weak ferromagnetism with two magnetic transitions (T_M2 ranging from 95 to 106 K and T_M1 around 120 K). Doping with Dy gives no significant structural changes except for a minor change in the c/a ratio. However the superconducting transition temperature is significantly suppressed and magnetic ordering temperature enhanced on Dy doping. These effects are described and discussed.     

A Raman study of the structural properties of YBa2(Cu1 − xFex)3Oy

The effects of Fe-substitution of YBa₂Cu₃O_y have been investigated by means of Raman scattering, X-ray diffraction, resistivity and susceptibility measurements. A series of samples of YBa₂(Cu_{1 − x}Fe_x)₃O_y with different dopant concentration (0 x 0.15) has been prepared in two batches, the second set having undergone twice the heat and mechanical treatment used to produce the first batch. Considerable improvement in the superconducting transition temperature, T_c, is obtained upon reprocessing. A phase transformation from orthorhombic to tetragonal symmetry is observed for x=0.05 from the X-ray measurements in agreement with previous work. Using a micro-Raman technique, all five A_g vibrational modes have been measured and their dependence on Fe-concentration is analyzed. There are indications that iron substitutes for copper at both sites and that the structure is a mixture of orthorhombic and tetragonal microdomains for all x.     

Normal state magnetism of the high Tc cuprate superconductors

Magnetic measurements of various types have played an essential role in establishing the novel normal state characteristics of high transition temperature (T_c) superconductors with T_c > 23 K. Among these materials, the highest T_c's ( 125 K) are exhibited by the layered cuprates. In this paper, the normal state magnetic susceptibilities of the cuprates are reviewed and interpreted in the context of magnetic neutron scattering and other magnetic measurements, using the La_2−xM_xCuO₄-type and YBa₂Cu₃O_6+x-type materials as prototypical examples. The evolution of the magnetism upon doping the insulating antiferromagnetic “parent” compounds with x = 0 to form the high temperature superconductors is described. A recurrent property which differentiates these materials from conventional superconductors is the existence of strong antiferromagnetic correlations in the metallic state on the same sublattice of the structure in which the itinerant carriers reside.     

Magnetic anisotropy and superconductivity in a model for high-Tc copper oxides

The phase diagram for the CuO₂-based superconductors is found to be consistent with an extended Hubbard Hamiltonian with competing positive-and negative-U interactions on a 2D lattice where sites are plaquettes formed by clusters of Cu and O atoms. The negative-U effective interactions are implied by the XY anisotropy in the Cu-Cu spin couplings and local hole pairing corresponds to vortex-antivortex spin configurations. The phase progression observed with the variation of dopant fraction x can be obtained via gradual implementation of canonical transformation that maps the properties of the positive-U Hubbard model at half-filling into those of the negative-U model away from half-filling. In the strong-coupling limit this process is described in terms of percolation-driven dilute magnetism for both spins (U>0) and pseudospins (U−1_x=ξ⁻¹_o+η⁻¹_x for x→O as seen in La_2-xSr_xCuO₄. (ii) An x-dependent reduction of spin fluctuations at low temperatures that conforms with NMR studies of La_2-xSr_xCuO₄. And, (iii) a reduced superconducting transition locus T_c(x)/T_cmax in agreement with the universal shape and location revealed by analysis of experimental data.