Single crystal of Cu0.03TaS2 with low copper intercalated content was successfully grown via chemical iodine-vapor transport. The structural characterization results show that the copper intercalated 2H-Cu0.03TaS2 single crystal has the same structure of the CdI2-type structure as the parent 2H-TaS2 crystal. Electrical resistivity and magnetization measurements reveal that 2H-Cu0.03TaS2 becomes a superconductor below 4.2 K. Besides, electrical resistivity and Hall effects results show that a charge density wave transition occurs at TCDW = 50 K.
Superconductivity was discovered in a Ni0:05TaS2 single crystal. A Ni0:05TaS2 single crystal was successfully grown via the NaCl/KCl flux method. The obtained lattice constant c of Ni0:05TaS2 is 1.1999 nm, which is significantly smaller than that of 2H-TaS2 (1.208 nm). Electrical resistivity and magnetization measurements reveal that the superconductivity transition temperature of Ni0:05TaS2 is enhanced from 0.8 K (2H-TaS2) to 3.9 K. The charge-density-wave transition of the matrix compound 2H-TaS2 is suppressed in Ni0:05TaS2. The success of Ni0:05TaS2 single crystal growth via a NaCl/KCl flux demonstrates that NaCl/KCl flux method will be a feasible method for single crystal growth of the layered transition metal dichalcogenides.
We present heat capacity measurements on a series of superconducting Cu$_x$TiSe$_2$ single crystals with different Cu content down to 600 mK and up to 1 T performed by ac microcalorimetry. The samples cover a large portion of the phase diagram from an underdoped to a slightly overdoped region with an increasing superconducting critical temperature and the charge density wave (CDW) order gradually suppressed. The electronic heat capacity as a function of normalized temperature $T/T_c$ shows no difference regardless of the concentration of copper, i.e., regardless of how much the CDW order is developed in the samples. The data analysis reveals consistently a single s-wave gap with an intermediate coupling strength $2Delta/k_BT_c$ = 3.7 for all samples.
To investigate the origin of the enhanced Tc ({approx} 110 K) of the trilayer cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+{delta} (Bi-2223), its underdoped single crystals are a critical requirement. Here, we demonstrate the first successful in-plane resistivity measurements of heavily underdoped Bi-2223 (zero-resistivity temperatures {approx} 20~35 K). Detailed crystal growth methods, the annealing process, as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and magnetic susceptibility measurement results are also reported.
In this letter, we report growth and characterization of bulk Bi2Se3 single crystals. The studied Bi2Se3 crystals are grown by self flux method through solid state reaction from high temperature (950C) melt of constituent elements and slow cooling (2C/hour). The resultant crystals are shiny and grown in [00l] direction, as evidenced from surface XRD. Detailed Reitveld analysis of PXRD (powder x-ray diffraction) of the crystals showed that these are crystallized in rhombohedral crystal structure with space group of R3m (D5) and the lattice parameters are a = 4.14(2)A, b = 4.14 (2) A and c = 28.7010(7) A. Temperature versus resistivity (R-T) plots revealed metallic conduction down to 2K, with typical room temperature resistivity (R300K) of around 0.53 mohm-cm and residual resistivity of 0.12 mohm-cm. Resistivity under magnetic field ] measurements exhibited large +Ve magneto resistance right from 2K to 200K. Isothermal magneto resistance [RH] measurements at 2K, 100K and 200K exhibited magneto resistance (MR) of up to 240, 130 and 60 percent respectively at 14 Tesla. Further the MR plots are non saturating and linear with field at all temperature. At 2K the MR plots showed clear quantum oscillations at above say 10 Tesla applied field. Also the Kohler plots i.e., were seen consolidating on one plot. Interestingly, the studied Bi2Se3 single crystal exhibited the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations (SdH) at 2K under different applied magnetic fields ranging from 4Tesla to 14 Tesla
Single crystals of BaRh_2As_2 have been synthesized from a Pb flux. We present the room temperature crystal structure, single crystal x-ray diffraction measurements as a function of temperature T, anisotropic magnetic susceptibility chi versus T, electrical resistivity in the ab-plane rho versus T, Hall coefficient versus T and magnetic field H, and heat capacity C versus T measurements on the crystals. The single crystal structure determination confirms that BaRh_2As_2 forms in the tetragonal ThCr_2Si_2 type structure (space group I4/mmm) with lattice parameters a = b = 4.0564(6)AA and c = 12.797(4) AA. Band structure calculations show that BaRh_2As_2 should be metallic with a small density of states at the Fermi energy N(E_ F) = 3.49 states/eV f.u. (where f.u. equiv formula unit) for both spin directions. rho(T) data in the ab-plane confirm that the material is indeed metallic with a residual resistivity rho(2K) = 29 mu Omega cm, and with a residual resistivity ratio rho(310K)/rho(2K) = 5.3. The observed chi(T) is small (sim 10^{-5} cm^3/mol) and weakly anisotropic with chi_{ab}/chi_ c approx 2. The C(T) data indicate a small density of states at the Fermi energy with the low temperature Sommerfeld coefficient gamma = 4.7(9) mJ/mol K^2. There are no indications of superconductivity, spin density wave, or structural transitions between 2K and 300K. We compare the calculated density of states versus energy of BaRh_2As_2 with that of BaFe_2As_2.