Strain and high temperature superconductivity: unexpected results from direct electronic structure measurements in thin films

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveals very surprising strain-induced effects on the electronic band dispersion of epitaxial La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4-delta) thin films. In strained films we measure a band that crosses the Fermi level (E(F)) well before the Brillouin zone boundary. This is in contrast to the flat band reported in unstrained single crystals and in our unstrained films, as well as in contrast to the band flattening predicted by band structure calculations for in-plane compressive strain. In spite of the density of states reduction near E(F), the critical temperature increases in strained films with respect to unstrained samples. These results require a radical departure from commonly accepted notions about strain effects on high temperature superconductors, with possible general repercussions on superconductivity theory.     

Review of nuclear magnetic resonance studies on iron-based superconductors

The newly discovered iron-based superconductors have triggered renewed enormous research interest in the condensed matter physics community. Nuclear magnetic resonance （NMR） is a low-energy local probe for studying strongly correlated electrons, and particularly important for high-Tc superconductors. In this paper, we review NMR studies on the structural transition, antiferromagnetic order, spin fluctuations, and superconducting properties of several iron-based high-Tc superconductors, including LaFeAsOl_xFx, LaFeAsOl_x, BaFe2As2, Bal_xKxFe2As2, Cao.23Nao.67Fe2As2, BaFe2（Asl_xPx）2, Ba（Fel_xRux）2As2, Ba（Fel_xCox）2As2, Lil＋xFeAs, LiFel_xCoxAs, NaFeAs, NaFel_xCoxAs, KyFe2_xSe2, and （T1,Rb）yFe2_xSe2.     

Antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations above the dome-shaped and full-gap superconducting states of LaFeAsO1-xFx revealed by (75)As-nuclear quadrupole resonance

We report a systematic study by (75)As nuclear-quadrupole resonance in LaFeAsO(1-x)F(x). The antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation found above the magnetic ordering temperature T(N) = 58 K for x = 0.03 persists in the regime 0.04 ≤ x ≤ 0.08, where superconductivity sets in. A dome-shaped x dependence of the superconducting transition temperature T(c) is found, with the highest T(c) = 27 K at x = 0.06, which is realized under significant antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation. With increasing x further, the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation decreases, and so does T(c). These features resemble closely the cuprates La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4). In x = 0.06, the spin-lattice relaxation rate (1/T(1)) below T(c) decreases exponentially down to 0.13T(c), which unambiguously indicates that the energy gaps are fully opened. The temperature variation of 1/T(1) below T(c) is rendered nonexponential for other x by impurity scattering.     

Ba1-xKxFe2As2单晶(Tc=38.5K)磁通钉扎力与钉扎机理研究

铁基超导体是在2008年由Hosono发现的一种新型超导材料, 由于其具有上临界场高、各向异性小、临界电流密度大等优点, 在世界范围内引起了广泛关注. 以Ba_1-xK_xFe₂As₂为代表的FeAs-122系超导体具有结构简单、合成温度低、单晶容易制备等优点, 是物理学家和材料学家关注的焦点. 本工作在获得最优化掺杂的Ba_1-xK_xFe₂As₂单晶(T_c = 38.5 K)基础上, 通过分析其在不同磁场条件下电阻温度变化关系、不同温度条件下的磁滞回线等数据, 系统的研究了Ba_1-xK_xFe₂As₂单晶磁通钉扎力和磁通钉扎机理. 研究发现Ba_1-xK_xFe₂As₂超导体具有非常高的磁通钉扎势, 其中9 T的外场条件下, 其在H//c轴和H//ab面的钉扎势分别为5800 K和8100 K, 展示出良好的应用前景; 通过进一步分析发现, 其磁通钉扎机理应是由于晶格内部的小尺寸缺陷引起的电子平均自由程变化而导致的δl钉扎.     

Even parity, orbital singlet, and spin triplet pairing for superconducting LaFeAsO1-xFx

We examine the spin-triplet superconducting state of even parity mediated by ferromagnetic Hund's coupling between electrons in two almost degenerate orbital bands. This state may be realized in the recently discovered LaFeAsO(1-x)F(x). It is robust against orbital-independent disorder. The splitting of the orbital degeneracy suppresses superconductivity and leads to an anisotropic spectrum in the Bogoliubov quasiparticle. The former predicts a strong pressure dependence of T(c) and the latter predicts Fermi pockets, which may be tested in angle resolved photoemission spectra.     

Field-induced thermal metal-to-insulator transition in underdoped La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4+delta)

The transport of heat and charge in cuprates was measured in single crystals of La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4+delta) (LSCO) across the doping phase diagram at low temperatures. In underdoped LSCO, the thermal conductivity is found to decrease with increasing magnetic field in the T-->0 limit, in striking contrast to the increase observed in all superconductors, including cuprates at higher doping. In heavily underdoped LSCO, where superconductivity can be entirely suppressed with an applied magnetic field, we show that a novel thermal metal-to-insulator transition takes place upon going from the superconducting state to the field-induced normal state.     

高T_c超导体YBCO磁通钉扎的计算机模拟研究

临界电流密度Jc是影响高温超导体在强电领域应用的一个重要参数,在实际应用中,特别在外加磁场下,临界电流密度与超导材料的磁通钉扎性质密切相关.因此,磁通钉扎一直是高温超导体研究中的一个重要领域.由于高温超导体磁通钉扎力密度Fp的标度律存在,本文根据D.Dew-Hughes总结的钉扎力函数,主要存在两种主要作用类型(正常相和△K).我们将D.Dew-HugBes给出的钉扎力密度Fp标度函数改进为一个简化的具有物理意义的函数表达式.结合文献中已有的实验数据,我们对YBcO进行了计算机模拟,确定了它的磁通钉扎类型,模拟的研究结果与实际情况比较吻合.     

Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_(8+δ)单晶的钉扎力标度和磁通钉扎机制

测量了 Bi2 Sr2 Ca Cu2 O8+δ单晶不同温度下的磁化曲线。根据 Bean临界态模型得到了不同温度下的钉扎力密度 FP 对磁场的依赖关系 ,发现在不同温度下的钉扎力密度可以标度在同一条曲线上。标度函数和最大钉扎力所对应的磁场与不可逆场 Hirr的比值都表明 Si2 Sr2 Ca Cu2 O8+δ单晶在磁通玻璃态的钉扎机制主要是正常相面钉扎。     

Doping dependent evolution of magnetism and superconductivity in Eu(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2 (x = 0-1) and temperature dependence of the lower critical field H(c1)

We have synthesized polycrystalline samples of Eu(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2 (x = 0-1) and carried out systematic characterization using x-ray diffraction, ac and dc magnetic susceptibility, and electrical resistivity measurements. A clear signature of the coexistence of a superconducting transition (T(c) = 5.5 K) with spin density wave (SDW) ordering is observed in our underdoped sample with x = 0.15. The SDW transition disappears completely for the x = 0.3 sample and superconductivity arises below 20 K. The superconducting transition temperature Tc increases with increase in the K content and a maximum Tc = 33 K is reached for x = 0.5, beyond which it decreases again. The doping dependent Tx phase diagram is extracted from the magnetic and electrical transport data. It is found that magnetic ordering of Eu moments coexists with the superconductivity up to x = 0.6. The isothermal magnetization data taken at 2 K for the doped samples suggest the 2+ valence state of the Eu ions. We also present the temperature dependence of the lower critical field H(c1) of the superconducting polycrystalline samples. The values of H(c1)(0) obtained for x = 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 after taking the demagnetization factor into account are 202, 330, and 212 Oe, respectively. The London penetration depth λ(T) calculated from the lower critical field does not show exponential dependence at low temperature, as would be expected for a fully gapped clean s-wave superconductor. In contrast, it shows a T2 power law feature up to T = 0.3Tc, as observed in Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2 and BaFe(2-x)Co(x)As2.     

区域熔炼法制备高 Jc Nd123超导体

】Nd1+ x Ba2 - x Cu3Oy超导体以其良好的 Jc- B特性倍受人们注目。文中用区域熔炼技术在空气下制备出取向良好的 Nd1+ x Ba2 - x Cu3Oy 块材 ,采用纯氩下高温退火的办法抑制固溶体的形成 ,得到了零电阻温度 94K、临界电流密度达 540 0 A/cm2 的超导体。讨论了进一步提高 Jc的可能途径是减少液相的流失并使 Nd4 Ba2 Cu2 O10 相均匀分布。     

Mean-field pairing theory for the charge-stripe phase of high-temperature cuprate superconductors

Striped high-T(c) superconductors such as La(2-y-x)Nd(y)Sr(x)CuO(4) and La(2-x)Ba(x)CuO(4) near x = 1/8 show a fascinating competition between spin and charge order and superconductivity. A theory for these systems therefore has to capture both the spin correlations of an antiferromagnet and the pair correlations of a superconductor. For this purpose we present here an effective Hartree-Fock theory incorporating both electron pairing with finite center-of-mass momentum and antiferromagnetism. We show that this theory reproduces the key experimental features such as the formation of the antiferromagnetic stripe patterns at 7/8 band filling or the quasi-one-dimensional electronic structure observed by photoemission spectroscopy.     

Field and temperature dependence of the superfluid density in LaFeAsO1-xFx superconductors: a muon spin relaxation study

We present zero field and transverse field muon spin relaxation experiments on the recently discovered Fe-based superconductor LaFeAsO1-xFx (x=0.075 and x=0.1). The temperature dependence of the deduced superfluid density is consistent with a BCS s-wave or a dirty d-wave gap function, while the field dependence strongly evidences unconventional superconductivity. We obtain the in-plane penetration depth of lambda ab(0)=254(2) nm for x=0.1 and lambda ab(0)=364(8) nm for x=0.075. Further evidence for unconventional superconductivity is provided by the ratio of Tc versus the superfluid density, which is close to the Uemura line of high-Tc cuprates.     

Universal scaling properties of extreme type-II superconductors in magnetic fields

Anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau superconductors of extreme type-II are considered in an approximation where magnetic field fluctuations are neglected. A formulation of the scaling properties is presented for the singular part of the free energy density in the presence of a magnetic field. From the existence of a magnetization, a diamagnetic susceptibility and superconductivity we determine the limiting behavior of the scaling function in the vicinity of the zero field transition temperature, where critical fluctuations dominate. Our predictions for the temperature and field dependence of magnetization, magnetic torque and melting line etc., uncover the universal critical properties and provide an extension of hitherto used mean-field treatments. The results are consistent with experimental data. Received: 24 April 1998 / Accepted: 5 May 1998     

Quasiparticle scattering induced by charge doping of iron-pnictide superconductors probed by collective vortex pinning

Charge doping of iron-pnictide superconductors leads to collective pinning of flux vortices, whereas isovalent doping does not. Moreover, flux pinning in the charge-doped compounds is consistently described by the mean-free path fluctuations introduced by the dopant atoms, allowing for the extraction of the elastic quasiparticle scattering rate. The absence of scattering by dopant atoms in isovalently doped BaFe2(As(1-x)P(x))(2) is consistent with the observation of a linear temperature dependence of the low-temperature penetration depth in this material.     

Magnetic characterization of undoped and 15%F-doped LaFeAsO and SmFeAsO compounds

In this paper, the magnetic behavior of undoped and 15%F-doped SmFeAsO (Sm-1111) and LaFeAsO (La-1111) samples is presented and discussed. Magnetization measurements are not a simple tool to use for the characterization of the new family of Fe-based superconductors, because magnetic impurities can be easily formed during the preparation procedure and may affect the magnetic signal. In spite of this problem bulk magnetization measurements, properly treated, may give very useful information. In the undoped samples we gathered the main aspects of the physical behavior of the 1111 phase, i.e. the onset of the spin density wave (SDW), the antiferromagnetic ordering at the Sm sublattice and the susceptibility increase with increasing temperature above the SDW temperature, and, in addition, we were able to estimate the Pauli contribution to susceptibility and therein the Wilson ratio both for LaFeAsO and SmFeAsO compounds, and the amplitude of the jump at the SDW temperature. In the doped samples, while the presence of magnetic signals due to impurities is dominating in the normal state, the superconducting behavior may be clearly observed and studied. In particular, in the Sm-1111 superconducting sample the coexistence-competition between superconductivity and antiferromagnetic ordering of the Sm ions was clearly observed.     

Is LaFeAsO1-xFx an electron-phonon superconductor?

In this Letter, we calculate the electron-phonon coupling of the newly discovered superconductor LaFeAsO1-xFx using linear response. For pure LaFeAsO, the calculated electron-phonon coupling constant lambda=0.21 and logarithmic-averaged frequency omegaln=206 K give a maximum Tc of 0.8 K, using the standard Migdal-Eliashberg theory. For the F-doped compounds, we predict even smaller coupling constants. To reproduce the experimental Tc, a 5-6 times larger coupling constant would be needed. Our results indicate that electron-phonon coupling is not sufficient to explain superconductivity in the whole family of Fe-As-based superconductors, probably due to the importance of strong-correlation effects.     

Evolution from Unconventional Spin Density Wave to Superconductivity and a Pseudogaplike Phase in NaFe_{1-x}Co_{x}As

We report the doping, temperature, and spatial evolutions of the electronic structure of NaFe_{1-x}Co_{x}As studied by scanning tunneling microscopy. In the parent state we directly observe the spin density wave gap, which exhibits unconventional features that are incompatible with simple Fermi surface nesting. The optimally doped sample has a single superconducting gap, but in the overdoped regime a novel pseudogaplike feature emerges. The pseudogaplike phase coexists with superconductivity in the ground state, persists well into the normal state, and shows strong spatial variations. The characteristics of the three distinct electronic states revealed here shed important new lights on the microscopic models for the iron-based superconductors.     

Ba(1-x)K(x)Mn2As2: an antiferromagnetic local-moment metal

The compound BaMn2As2 with the tetragonal ThCr2Si2 structure is a local-moment antiferromagnetic insulator with a Néel temperature T(N)=625 K and a large ordered moment μ=3.9μ(B)/Mn. We demonstrate that this compound can be driven metallic by partial substitution of Ba by K while retaining the same crystal and antiferromagnetic structures together with nearly the same high T(N) and large μ. Ba(1-x)K(x)Mn2As2 is thus the first metallic ThCr2Si2-type MAs-based system containing local 3d transition metal M magnetic moments, with consequences for the ongoing debate about the local-moment versus itinerant pictures of the FeAs-based superconductors and parent compounds. The Ba(1-x)K(x)Mn2As2 class of compounds also forms a bridge between the layered iron pnictides and cuprates and may be useful to test theories of high T(c) superconductivity.     

Revisiting the Electron-Doped SmFeAsO:Enhanced Superconductivity up to58.6K by Th and F Codoping

In the iron-based high-T_c bulk superconductors, T_c above 50 K was only observed in the electron-doped 1111-type compounds. Here we revisit the electron-doped SmFeAsO polycrystals to make a further investigation for the highest T_c in these materials. To introduce more electron carriers and less crystal lattice distortions, we study the Th and F codoping effects into the Sm-O layers with heavy electron doping. Dozens of Sm_(1-x)Th_x FeAsO_(1-y)F_y samples are synthesized through the solid state reaction method, and these samples are carefully characterized by the structural, resistive, and magnetic measurements. We find that the codoping of Th and F clearly enhances the superconducting T_c more than the Th or F single-doped samples, with the highest record T_c up to 58.6 K when x=0.2 and y=0.225. Further element doping causes more impurities and lattice distortions in the samples with a weakened superconductivity.     

LaO1-xFxBiS2 层状材料超导电性研究

层状材料一直是超导研究领域的热点材料, 陆续有数十种新型的层状超导材料被不断发现, 从至今为止超导转变温度最高的铜氧化物材料, 到铁基超导, 再到诸多新型的层状材料, 学者们关于超导微观机制的理解也在随之更新, 从取得成功的 Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer 经典理论到至今无法解释的非常规超导机制, 研究之路从未停止. 本文将研究利用助熔剂法合成的 LaO1 -xFxBiS2 材料的结构、 电阻、 磁化率等性质, 并与国际社会上已存在的研究成果进行对比, 同时从晶体结构、 压力效应、 体超导电性、 临界温度、 微观机制五个方面, 对近年发现的镧系铋硫基层状超导材料的研究情况进行讨论.