Observation of a transition from BCS to HTSC-like superconductivity in Ba1 − x KxBiO3 single crystals

The temperature dependences of the upper critical field B _c2(T) and surface impedance Z(T) = R(T) + iX(T) have been measured in Ba_{1 ? x} K_xBiO₃ single crystals with transition temperatures 6 ≤ T _c ≤ 32 K (0.6 > x > 0.4). A transition from the BCS to an unusual type of superconductivity has been revealed: B _c2(T) curves of the crystals with T _c > 20 K have positive curvature (as in some HTSCs), and those of the crystals with T _c < 15 K described by the usual Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg (WHH) formula. The R(T) and X(T) dependences of the crystals with T _c ≈ 32 K and T _c ≈ 11 K in the temperature range T ? T _c are linear (as in HTSCs) and exponential (BCS), respectively. The experimental results are discussed using the extended saddle point model by Abrikosov.     

Dynamic melting of driven vortex matter below 1 K

We report on measurements of a mode-locking resonance in amorphous Mo_xGe_1?x films at different temperatures T down to 0.8 K, which is well below the superconducting transition (6 K). We observe dynamic ordering of driven vortex matter for all the temperatures studied. As the field exceeds a certain critical field B_c,dyn at fixed T, moving vortices do not exhibit dynamic ordering. At high T, this field B_c,dyn(T), so-called dynamic melting, nearly coincides with a characteristic field B_c(T) where the linear resistivity vanishes. At low T, however, B_c,dyn(T) is significantly suppressed compared to B_c(T), suggesting intrinsic quantum melting in the absence of pinning.     

Temperature dependence of the upper critical field as an indicator of boson effects in superconductivity in Nd2−x CexCuO4−y

The temperature dependence of the upper critical field B _c 2 was determined from the shift of the resistive transition ΔT(B) in nearly optimally doped Nd_2?x Ce_xCuO_4?y single crystals. Within the experimental accuracy, the weak-field data are described by the power function B _c 2∝(ΔT)^3/2. This result is compared with the data on heat capacity and analyzed in the context of possible manifestations of boson effects in superconductivity. The T dependence of B _c 2 persists down to the lowest temperatures, but the numerical values of B _c 2 below 1 K are different for different samples.     

Magnetic and superconducting phase diagrams in ErNi2B2C

We present measurements of the superconducting upper critical field H_c2(T) and the magnetic phase diagram of the superconductor ErNi₂B₂C made with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The magnetic field was applied in the basal plane of the tetragonal crystal structure. We have found large gapless regions in the superconducting phase diagram of ErNi₂B₂C, extending between different magnetic transitions. A close correlation between magnetic transitions and H_c2(T) is found, showing that superconductivity is strongly linked to magnetism.     

The upper critical magnetic field Bc2(T) of amorphous molybdenum films

Molybdenum films are obtained by quenched condensation of the metal vapour onto a He-cooled substrate. During annealing the electrical resistance decreases over a small temperature range; this is the typical behaviour of amorphous metals. The films, about 300 Å thick and with a high resistivity, have a positive Hall effect. The transition temperature T_c = 8.0 K is strongly enhanced compared to crystalline Mo. The upper critical field strongly enhanced compared to crystalline Mo. The upper critical field B_c2(T) has been measured. In the examined field range up to 80 kG, B_c2 is a linear function of temperature; the slope has the large value dB_c2/dT = -45 kG/K.     

Superconducting phase transitions in ErcY1−cRh4B4

The superconducting transition temperature T_c1 and the reentering temperature T_c2 to the normal ferromagnetically ordered state in the system Er_cY_1?cRh₄B₄ were determined as a function of the concentration of Er. Comparing our results with the recent theory of Maekawa et al., the exchange interactions J′ among local spins and I between local spins and superconducting electrons were estimated as J′ ? 0.30 K and I²N(0) ? 0.046 K, where N(0) is the density of states. A sudden decrease of H_c2 at T_c2 was observed in a high concentration region suggesting the first order transition.     

The Tc-SSR correlation in A3B(A15-type) compounds

The 28A₃B(A15-type) compounds, for which both the phase equilibrium diagram and the superconducting critical temperature, T_c, are known, can be divided into two groups. The first group consists of compounds whose SSR (solid solution range) is either zero or extends only to the A-rich side of the stoichiometric composition. The second group consists of the compounds whose SSR extends to both sides or only to the B-rich side. The first group of compounds generally has high T_c's and follow the T_c-SSR correlation proposed earlier.Both the grouping and the T_c-SSR correlation are directly relatable to “A-chain integrity” and thus lend further support to the thesis that “A-chain integrity” is of fundamental importance in the superconductivity of these compounds.     

B NMR relaxation in superconductors: YRuB2 and LuRuB2

To investigate the electronic states in YRuB₂ and LuRuB₂, we have carried out ¹¹B NMR measurements. In the normal state, the spin-lattice relaxation rates 1/T₁'s in these compounds are proportional to the temperature T. 1/T₁'s show a small coherence peak just below the superconducting transition temperature T_c and decrease exponentially well below T_c. YRuB₂ and LuRuB₂ are found to be BCS superconductors with the energy gap 2Δ(0)=3.52 k_BT_c.     

Negative c-axis magnetoresistance in graphite

We have studied the c-axis interlayer magnetoresistance (ILMR), Rc(B) in graphite. The measurements have been performed on strongly anisotropic highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and single crystalline Kish graphite samples in magnetic field up to B=9 T, and the temperature interval 2 K?T?300 K. We have observed negative magnetoresistance, dRc/dB<0, for B‖c-axis for both samples above a certain field Bm(T)>5.4 T and 0.2 T for HOPG and Kish graphite, respectively. The results can be understood consistently by assuming that ILMR is related to a tunneling between zero-energy Landau levels of quasi-two-dimensional Dirac fermions, in a close analogy with the behavior reported for α-(BEDT-TTF)₂I₃ [N. Tajima, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102 (2009) 176403], another multilayer Dirac electron system.     

A Mössbauer study of amorphous Fe40Ni40B20

Amorphous Fe₄₀Ni₄₀B₂₀ (VITROVAC 0040) alloy has been investigated using ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer Spectroscopy. The Curie temperature T_c is found to be well defined and is 695 ± 1 K. The quadrupole splitting just above T_c is 0.64 mm sec^?1. The crystallization temperature is 698 ± 2 K, close to but definitely above T_c. The average hyperfine field H_eff(T) of the glassy state shows a temperature dependence of $\text{H}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>eff</mtext>}}\text{(0)[1 ? B}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{(T/T}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{? C}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{(T/T}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{? …]}$ indicative of the existence of spin wave excitations. The values of $\text{B}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ and $\text{C}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ are found to be 0.40 and 0.06, respectively, for T/T_c ? 0.72. At temperatures close to T_c, H_eff(T) varies as (1 ? T/T_c)^β where β is one of the critical exponents and its value is found to be 0.29 ± 0.02.     

Suppression of superconductivity in YNi2B2C at the atomic disordering

The behavior of the electrical resistivity ρ(T), the superconducting transition temperature T _c , and the upper critical field H _c2(T) of a polycrystalline sample of YNi₂B₂C irradiated by thermal neutrons with the subsequent high-temperature isochronous annealing in the temperature interval T _ann = 100–1000°C has been studied. It has been found that the irradiation of YNi₂B₂C with a fluence of 10¹⁹cm^?2 leads to the suppression of the superconductivity. The final disordered state is reversible; i.e., the initial ρ(T), T _c , and H _c2(T) values are almost completely recovered upon annealing at up to T _ann = 1000°C. The quadratic dependence ρ(T) = ρ₀ + a ₂ T ² is observed for the sample in the superconducting state (T _c = 5.5?14.5 K). The coefficient a ₂ (proportional to the square of the electron mass m*) hardly changes. The form of the dependence of T _c on ρ₀ can be interpreted as the suppression of the two superconducting gaps, Δ₁ and Δ₂ (Δ₁ ～ 2Δ₂). The degradation rate of Δ₁ is about three times higher than that of Δ₂. The dependences dH _c2/dT on ρ₀ and T _c may be described by the relations for a superconductor in the intermediate limit (the coherence length ζ₀ is on the order of the electron mean free path l _tr) under the assumption of a nearly constant electron density of states on the Fermi level N(E _F). The observed behavior of T _c obviously does not agree with the widespread opinion about the purely electron-phonon mechanism of superconductivity in the compounds of this type supposing the anomalous type of superconducting pairing.     

Connections between thermodynamic quantities and vacancy and diffusion characteristics in binary metallic solid solutions

With the use of the similarity of interatomic potentials relations concerning vacancy and diffusion characteristics in disordered regular solid solutions have been derived. It has been shown that the vacancy concentration is constant along ifT_c(x) = T_A + (T_B ? T_A)x + 2ΔT_x(1?x), (T_A and T_B are the melting points of pure components A and B respectively, and ΔT is proportional to the excess enthalpy of mixing, x is the concentration of the atoms B) which is proportional to the binding energy of the crystal. The validity conditions of several empirical rules known in the literature are also analyzed. It has been found that the generalization of the well-known rule for self- and impurity diffusion in pure metals has the following form In $\text{D}{}_0{}^{\mathrm{z}}\text{(x) ～ p}\text{Q}{}^{\mathrm{z}}\text{(x)}\text{T}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{(x)}$ (Z = AorB) where p is a constant for alloys having identical structures (D₀^z(x) and Q^z(x) denote the preexponential factors and the activation energies respectively). The results calculated from the relations derived were compared with experimental data for tracer diffusion in the systems AgAu, CuNi (having slight deviation from regularity), Pb-Tl (showing ordering phenomena) and AlZn (clustering effects) and a good agreement was found.     

The effective activation energy Ueff(T,B,J) in Hg-1223 single phase superconductors

We review the methods of calculating the effective activation energy U_eff(T,B,J) for both transport measurements and magnetic decay, together with some theoretical models. Then, we apply these methods to our Hg-1223 single-phase superconductor to obtain the activation energy. Transport results give that the magnetic field and temperature dependence of the U_eff can be well described as U₀B^−α(1−T/T_c)^m. Magnetic relaxation shows that the current density dependence of U(J) can be scaled onto a single curve, which can be considered as the activation energy at some temperature T₀. The pinning mechanism in the measured temperature range does not change, and the activation energy depends separately on the three variables: T, B, and J, are responsible for the magnetic decay data scaling onto a single curve at various temperatures. As temperatures close to zero and near T_c, thermally assisted flux motion model is no longer valid since other processes dominate.     

Study of magnetic properties of melt textured YBa2Cu3O7−δ with Pt,Ce and Ag dopants

Bulk YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ samples, doped with PtO₂, Ag₂O, CeO₂ or with a starting mixture of nanosized Y₂O₃, have been prepared by the top seeded melt texturing process. Magnetic measurements have been performed on these samples using VSM and SQUID magnetometer. Critical current densities as a function of the applied magnetic field J_c(B), temperature and field dependent normalized relaxation rates S(T) and S(B), as well as E(J) relationships have been derived. The effects of different dopants on these results have been investigated.     

Stoichiometry dependence of the critical current density in pure and nano-SiC doped MgB2/Fe tapes

The stoichiometry dependence of the microstructure and superconducting properties of pure and nano-SiC doped MgB₂/Fe tapes was systematically investigated. The tapes prepared with the composition of a slight deficiency of Mg (Mg_0.9B₂ and Mg_xB₂(SiC)_0.1 (x = 0.9 and 1.0)) showed the best transport J_c. Adding a slight excess of Mg like 5%, as being done by many researchers, was not beneficial for the J_c improvement as expected. The onset T_c was not significantly changed in both doped and undoped tapes by adding excess of boron or magnesium, but the transition widths were broadened due to the induced impurities. The slightly-Mg-deficient pure samples show smaller grain sizes, which corresponds to a better J_c–B performance at high magnetic field due to the enhanced grain boundary pinning. The field dependence of J_c in nano-SiC doped tapes was almost not influenced by varying the starting Mg content although microstructural difference can still be seen, suggesting that the flux pinning ability was mainly controlled by the carbon substitution effect for boron.     

Low-temperature x-ray diffraction studies of the crystallographic parameters and thermal expansion of (CH3)2NH2Al(SO4)2 · 6H2O crystals

The a, b, c, and β crystallographic parameters of the (CH₃)₂NH₂Al(SO₄)₂ · 6H₂O crystal (DMAAS) have been measured by x-ray diffraction in the 90–300-K temperature range. The thermal expansion coefficients along the principal crystallographic axes α_a, α_b, and α_c have been determined. It was shown that, as the temperature is increased, the parameter α decreases and b increases, whereas c decreases for T<T _c (where T _c is the transition temperature) and increases for T>T _c, so that one observes a minimum in the c=f(T) curve in the region of the phase transition (PT) temperature T _c ～ 152 K. The thermal expansion coefficients α_a, α_b, and α_c vary in a complicated manner with increasing temperature, more specifically, α_a and α_c assume negative values at low temperatures, and the α_a=f(T), α_b=f(T), and α_c=f(T) curves exhibit anomalies at the PT point. The crystal has been found to be substantially anisotropic in thermal expansion.     

Synthesis and excess conductivity analysis of TlBa2(Ca3−y Be y )Cu4O12−δ superconductors

TlBa₂(Ca_3?y Be _y )Cu₄O_12?δ (y = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2) samples are synthesized at normal pressure and the influence of doped Be-atoms on the superconductivity parameters at the microscopic level is investigated by carrying out excess conductivity analyses of conductivity data. The samples have shown tetragonal structure and the unit cell volume decreases with increased Be-doping. The onset temperature of superconductivity [T _c(onset)] and zero resistivity critical temperature [T _c(R = 0)] decrease with increased Be, however, the magnitude of diamagnetism is enhanced with Be (except for Be-doping of y = 1.0). The apical oxygen mode of the type Tl–O_A–Cu(2) and CuO₂ planar oxygen mode are softened as observed in FTIR absorption measurements. The FIC analyses of conductivity data have shown an increase in the coherence length along the c-axis and inter-plane coupling. The values of B _c0(T), B _c1(T), J _c(0), τ _φ are improved with the doping of Be. These observations suggested that due to the proximity effect there is less suppression in the value of the order parameter of the Cooper pairs from |ψ|² = 1 value in the CuO₂ planes in Be-doped samples that maintains the density of carriers in the conducting CuO₂ planes [since the |ψ|² = n/2] which promotes enhancement in the magnitude of superconductivity.     

c-axis penetration depth in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ single crystals measured by ac-susceptibility and cavity perturbation technique

The c-axis penetration depth Δλ_c in Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ (BSCCO) single crystals as a function of temperature has been determined using two techniques, namely, measurements of the ac-susceptibility at a frequency of 100 kHz and the surface impedance at 9.4 GHz. Both techniques yield an almost linear function Δλ_c(T)∝T in the temperature range T<0.5T _c. Electrodynamic analysis of the impedance anisotropy has allowed us to estimate λ_c(0)≈50 µm in BSCCO crystals overdoped with oxygen (T _c≈84 K) and λ_c(0)≈150 µm at the optimal doping level (T _c≈90 K).     

Critical and triple point temperatures of the first adsorbed layer of nitric oxide on graphite,boron nitride and lamellar halides

The two-dimensional critical temperature T_c(2D) of the first layer of nitric oxide adsorbed on homogeneous surfaces of graphite, boron nitride, cadmium halides (CdI₂, CdBr₂, CdCl₂) and magnesium bromide has been determined as accurately as possible. A correlation curve between T_c(2D) and the adsorbent crystalline parameter is compared to the correlation curve of this parameter with the two-dimensional triple point temperature T_t(2D) of the same layer on the above substrates and on those previously investigated by Enault and Larher. It appears from this comparison that T_c(2D) is less sensitive than T_t(2D) to the nature of the substrate: the difference between the extreme values of T_c(2D) is 25 K, whereas it is larger than 70 K for T_t(2D). Moreover the lowest values of T_c(2D) correspond to the substrates for which the lowest values of T_t(2D) have also been observed, namely graphite and boron nitride, both standing out by the smoothness of the adsorption potential of their cleavage faces. Furthermore we are led to reconsider the nature of the less dense phase (α phase) which hitherto has been inferred to be a 2D solid essentially composed of dimers lying flat on the surface.     

Superconductivity in W5SiB2 with the T2-phase structure studied by the specific heat measurement and band structure calculation

The superconducting state of W₅SiB₂ with the T₂-phase structure has been investigated by a specific heat measurement and a density of state calculation. The estimated ΔC_p/γT_c and 2Δ(0)/k_BT_c values are 1.49 and 3.32, which are close to 1.43 and 3.53 within the weak coupling regime. The electronic specific heat data clearly indicates the absence of gap nodes in the superconducting order parameter, suggesting an isotropic s-wave superconductor. From the density of state calculations, we found that W d-orbital plays an important role for the superconductivity in W₅SiB₂.