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.     

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     

Superconductivity of quench-condensed beryllium and beryllium-germanium films

Tunneling experiments on Be films condensed onto helium cooled substrates show that these films are homogeneously disordered with a uniform transition temperatureT _c when Ge is codeposited, whereas thick films of pure Be do not grow homogeneously. For films of Be+10 at.% Ge a ratio 2Δ/k _B T _c =3.7 is found. Phonon induced structure in the tunneling density of states is not observed. The metastable phase obtained by quench-condensation is considered to be a disordered high-temperature phase of Be which transforms to the room temperature phase at about 60 K.     

Effect of elastic strain and stress on the superconducting transition temperature of quench-condensed films

The volume dependence of the superconducting transition temperatureT _c of amorphous and highly disordered films is investigated by bending the film substrate. The volume coefficientd InT _c /d InV of annealed Sn and Pb films agrees with the volume coefficient known from hydrostatic pressure experiments. This bending technique is applied to superconducting modifications which can be produced only by quench condensation onto a substrate at liquid helium temperature. Amorphous films such as Bi, Ga, Sn₉₀Cu₁₀ and Pb_xBi_1–x, as well as highly disordered Sn and Pb films, are investigated. The relations found between the volume coefficient, the electron-phonon coupling constant and the Grüneisen parameter _G are in reasonable agreement with the volume dependence ofT _c for non-transition metals, obtained on the basis of the McMillan equation. In particular, the results represent an expansion of this kind of investigation to very strong-coupling superconductors.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. W. Buckel on the occasion of his 60th birthdayPaper based in part on a Habilitationsschrift submitted to the Fakultät für Physik, Universität Karlsruhe (TH)     

Superconductivity of vapour quenched beryllium and beryllium-based alloys

The properties of Be films, quench-condensed upon a³He cooled substrate, have been investigated by resistance and tunneling measurements. The superconducting transition temperature,T _c , of Be films increased with thickness and a thick film limit of 9.95 K could be estimated. Alloying with Al or Pb decreasedT _c. The ratios between energy gaps andT _c 's indicated that Be is a weak coupling superconductor, and no phonon induced structure could be traced in tunneling curves neither in pure Be nor in the Be based alloys. Resistance change during annealing as well as superconducting data indicated that the vapour quenched Be films were amorphous as deposited.     

Ge/Au,Ge/Ag双层膜和Ge-Au,Ge-Ag合金膜中非晶Ge的晶化

本文对Ge/An,Ge/Ag,双层膜和Ge-An,Ge-Ag合金膜的退火过程进行了透射电子显微镜观测,对Ge/多晶Au(或Ag)还进行了加热过程的原位观测。观测表明,多晶Au和单晶Au膜的存在使非晶Ge的晶化温度T_c的下降显著不同,可由晶界三叉点等处为非晶Ge的有利形核位置来解释,双层膜的缩聚区中由于局域优先晶化的影响,不仅T_c(=100℃)比非缩聚区中(T_c=150℃)低,而且形成直径为1—2μm的Ge大晶粒,而Ge/多晶Ag和Ge/单晶Ag膜的T_c均约为280℃,合金膜中金属含量较低时(C_Au<17at％,C_Ag<18at％),T_c高于相应的Ge/多晶Au(Ag)膜;金属含量较高时,T_c低于Ge/多晶Au(Ag)膜。这说明过饱和金属原子的存在使得非晶Ge的晶化势垒大大降低。 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     

The superconducting transition temperature of Pb1?xMnx films

Results of the superconducting transition temperatureT _c of amorphous and microcrystalline films of lead doped with manganese as magnetic impurity are reported in this work. The amorphous films show an Abrikosov-Gor'kov behaviour, whereas for the crystalline films there is a much smaller depression and a peak for higher Mn concentrations, which indicates a region of coexistence of superconductivity and magnetic ordering as a spinglass.     

Dynamics of the formation of two-dimensional ordered structures

The growth of ordered domains in lattice gas models, which occurs after the system is quenched from infinite temperature to a state below the critical temperatureT _c, is studied by Monte Carlo simulation. For a square lattice with repulsion between nearest and next-nearest neighbors, which in equilibrium exhibits fourfold degenerate (2×1) superstructures, the time-dependent energy E(t), domain size L(t), and structure functionS(q, t) are obtained, both for Glauber dynamics (no conservation law) and the case with conserved density (Kawasaki dynamics). At late times the energy excess and halfwidth of the structure factor decrease proportional tot ^–x, whileL(t) t ^x, where the exponent x=1/2 for Glauber dynamics and x1/3 for Kawasaki dynamics. In addition, the structure factor satisfies a scaling lawS(k,t)=t ^2xS(kt^x). The smaller exponent for the conserved density case is traced back to the excess density contained in the walls between ordered domains which must be redistributed during growth. Quenches toT>T _c, T=T_c (where we estimate dynamic critical exponents) andT=0 are also considered. In the latter case, the system becomes frozen in a glasslike domain pattern far from equilibrium when using Kawasaki dynamics. The generalization of our results to other lattices and structures also is briefly discussed.     

Enhancement ofT c in BCS theory extended by interband two-phonon exchange

Band crossing and hybridization effects on superconductivity are investigated within a weak coupling limit of an extended BCS theory. Two-phonon modiated attractive two-band (p–d) interactions induce anisotropic coupled energy gaps, enhancement of the transition temperatureT _c , and a material-dependent isotope effect. The individual gap tok _B T _c ratios deviate from the usual BCS value but their average recovers approximately the usual value. Effects on ultrasonic attenuation and coherence lengths are briefly discussed.     

Exact quantum partition function of the BCS model

The exact calculation of the reduced BCS model quantum partition function (QPF) in the thermodynamic limit is carried out by the path integration method. The expression for the QPF and the phase transition temperatureT _c in the regular phase coincide with the results of Bogolyubov. In the nonregular phase a temperature singularity appears in the expression for the QPF: the QPF diverges in the region of temperaturesT _c which are smaller than some critical temperatureT _c ^* , and it turns out that in all casesT _c ^* > T _c and the differenceT _c ^* –T _c is not small. The interpretation of the temperatureT _c ^* is given.     

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.     

Amorphous germanium II. Structural properties

The coherent X-ray scattering for momentum transfer, k, between 0·025 and 15·0 Å^?1 has been measured for a series of sputtered amorphous Ge films prepared at various substrate temperatures, T _s, between 0 and 350°C. Differences in the radial distribution function (RDF) of films of different T _s have been determined by an accurate differential scattering technique. The small angle scattering (SAS) of the films is less than 100 electron units for k < 1 Å^?1. From a combination of SAS, RDF and scanning electron microscope studies, it is concluded that an observed increase in film density with increasing T _s occurs through a reduction in the number of voids about 7 Å or less in diameter. No variation of bond length with T _s is found. With increasing T _s, there is an increase in first and second-neighbour coordination and a reduction in bond angle distortion.

The rate of change of coordination, C, with density, ρ₀, is found to be d ln C/d ln ρ₀ = 0·6±0·2. Using a new, general theory of the dependence of the RDF on the dihedral angle distribution, P(θ), it is shown that with increasing T _s there is an increased probability of dihedral angles corresponding to the staggered configuration. For all films, the experimental RDF between r = 4·5 and 6·2 Å agrees with a nearly random P(θ) distribution. Comparison of experimental RDF's of crystalline and amorphous Ge indicates the static distortion of the first-neighbour bond length has a standard deviation of only about 0·04 Å.     

Theory for superconductivity in amorphous transition metals

A theory is presented for superconductivity in amorphous transition metals. It is shown that in contrast to simple metals for transition metals the changes in the phonon spectrum, in the electronic density of states and in the electronic matrix elements which result from strong lattice disorder can enhance as well as decreaseT _c. The numerical results for the superconducting transition temperatureT _c of amorphous 4d-and 5d-transition metals agree well with the experimental results.     

PAC study on111Cd in antiferromagnetic CuO

400 keV¹¹¹In⁺ ions were implanted into CuO powder. After annealing at 570 K, more than 50% of the implants were found on substitutional sites in the monoclinic CuO lattice. PAC-spectra taken below the Néel temperatureT _N≈230 K revealed a broadening of the quadrupole spectrum and additional satellite frequencies caused by combined electric and magnetic hyperfine interaction. Assuming that the orientation of the electric field gradient is given by the point charge model and taking the 〈010〉 direction of the supertransferred fieldB _tr in CuO from neutron diffraction, we find a Larmor frequency of ω_L≈40 MHz corresponding toB _tr≈2.7 T at 60 K. Supported in part by BMFT under contract FK213N54930.     

Superconductivity and structure of quench condensed Al-Cu-films

In situ electron diffraction patterns of quench condensed Al-Cu-films with Cuconcentrations between 0 and 20 at % Cu are taken immediately after the condensation onto a substrate at 4 K and during annealing up to 330 K. Films with Cu-concentrations higher than 10 at % are build up as an amorphous phase. In connection with the occurence of the amorphous state the transition temperatureT _c increases to values as high as 4.4 K.     

Electrical resistance of amorphous Fe−P,Co−P and Ni−P alloys

The electrical resistances of amorphous Fe–P, Co–P and Ni–P samples were measured as functions of temperatureT between 4 and 300 K in the as-prepared state and after annealing.We found that in the amorphous state the resistances of the iron and cobalt alloys increase proportional toT ² whereas the resistances of Ni–P samples vary essentially linearly with temperature. We attributed this result to the differences between the electronic structures of the materials under investigation.Below characteristic temperatures the resistances of all samples increase logarithmically with decreasing temperature. The logarithmic slope depends on composition and thermal treatment and is due to Kondo scattering.     

Tunneling experiments on amorphous and crystalline superconducting tantalum films

The energy gap and the transition temperature of amorphous and crystalline superconducting Ta films are measured by tunneling experiments. The following values are obtained: 2(0)=0,65 meV,T _c=2,11 K for the amorphous state after quenched condensation and 2(0)=1,24 meV,T _c=4,06 K for the crystalline state after annealing at room temperature. The reduced energy gap 2(0)/kT _c=3,58 demonstrates that amorphous Ta films are weak-coupling superconductors. The crystallization of the amorphous Ta films takes place at 250 K.     

Relations between theT 0 values of bulk and quantum-well GaAs

A simple calculation of the threshold current densityJ _th of quantum-well and bulk GaAs lasers shows that it is proportional to the temperatureT in the first case and toT ^3/2 in the second case. As a consequence theT ₀ value of quantum-well GaAs is 3/2 times larger than for the bulk material. Moreover, we get a further doubling ofT ₀ for a one-dimensional quantum-well wire. These results are independent on the magnitude ofJ _th and hold also for other laser materials, provided that the Auger recombination is negligible as in GaAs.     

On the purity of the limiting gibbs state for the Ising model on the Bethe lattice

We give a proof that for the Ising model on the Bethe lattice, the limiting Gibbs state with zero effective field (disordered state) persists to be pure for temperature below the ferromagnetic critical temperatureT _c ^F until the critical temperatureT _c ^SG of the corresponding spin-glass model. This new proof revises the one proposed earlier.