No Arabic abstract
Local lattice structures of La$_{1.85}$Sr$_{0.15}$Cu$_{1-x}$M$_x$O$_4$ (M=Mn, Ni, and Co) single crystals are investigated by polarized extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). The local lattice instability at low temperature is described by in-plane Cu-O bond splitting. We find that substitution of Mn for Cu causes little perturbation of local lattice instability while Ni and Co substitution strongly suppresses the instability. The suppression of superconductivity by Cu-site substitution is related to the perturbation of lattice instability, indicating that local lattice instability (polaron) plays an important role in superconductivity.
We report the successful substitution of cobalt, nickel, and copper for iron in the 1038 phase parent compound Ca$_{10}$(FeAs)$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$) yielding Ca$_{10}$(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$As)$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$), Ca$_{10}$(Fe$_{1-x}$Ni$_x$As)$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$), and Ca$_{10}$(Fe$_{1-x}$Cu$_x$As)$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$), respectively. Superconductivity is induced in Co and Ni doped compounds reaching critical temperatures up to 15 K, similar to known Pt substituted Ca$_{10}$(Fe$_{1-x}$Pt$_x$As)$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$), whereas no superconductivity was detected in Ca$_{10}$(Fe$_{1-x}$Cu$_x$As)$_{10}$(Pt$_3$As$_8$). The obtained Tc(x) phase diagrams are very similar to those of other iron arsenide superconductors indicating rather universal behavior despite the more complex structures of the 1038-type compounds, where the physics is primarily determined by the FeAs layer.
We study superconducting properties in multilayer thin films consisting of superconducting La$_{1.85}$Sr$_{0.15}$CuO$_4$ (LSCO) and Mott insulator Sr$_2$IrO$_4$ (SIO) and report enhanced superconductivity in optimized sample. These multilayer heterostructures show an increase in superconducting transition temperature ($T_C$) as compared to the single layer LSCO films. The temperature dependence of SIO single layer is also investigated under thermal activation, Arrhenius-type behaviour, and variable-range hopping mechanisms for different temperature regimes. The decrease in $T_C$ beyond an optimum thickness of LSCO in these multilayers is analyzed in the framework of a model based on the assumption of induced superconductivity in SIO-LSCO interface due to the doping of La and/or oxygen deficiencies into SIO layers
Impurity effects of Zn and Ni on the low-energy spin excitations were systematically studied in optimally doped La1.85Sr0.15Cu1-yAyO4 (A=Zn, Ni) by neutron scattering. Impurity-free La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 shows a spin gap of 4meV below Tc in the antiferromagnetic(AF) incommensurate spin excitation. In Zn:y=0.004, the spin excitation shows a spin gap of 3meV below Tc. In Zn:y=0.008 and Zn:y=0.011, however, the magnetic signals at 3meV decrease below Tc and increase again at lower temperature, indicating an in-gap state. In Zn:y=0.017, the low-energy spin state remains unchanged with decreasing temperature, and elastic magnetic peaks appear below 20K then exponentially increase. As for Ni:y=0.009 and Ni:y=0.018, the low-energy excitations below 3meV and 2meV disappear below Tc. The temperature dependence at 3meV, however, shows no upturn in constrast with Zn:y=0.008 and Zn:y=0.011, indicating the absence of in-gap state. In Ni:y=0.029, the magnetic signals were observed also at 0meV. Thus the spin gap closes with increasing Ni. Furthermore, as omega increases, the magnetic peak width broadens and the peak position, i.e. incommensurability, shifts toward the magnetic zone center (pi pi). We interpret the impurity effects as follows: Zn locally makes a non-superconducting island exhibiting the in-gap state in the superconducting sea with the spin gap. Zn reduces the superconducting volume fraction, thus suppressing Tc. On the other hand, Ni primarily affects the superconducting sea, and the spin excitations become more dispersive and broaden with increasing energy, which is recognized as a consequence of the reduction of energy scale of spin excitations. We believe that the reduction of energy scale is relevant to the suppression of Tc.
We present an investigation of the influence of structural distortions in charge-carrier doped lmco by substituting La$^{3+}$ with alkaline earth metals of strongly different ionic sizes, that is M = Ca$^{2+}$, Sr$^{2+}$, and Ba$^{2+}$, respectively. We find that both, the magnetic properties and the resistivity change non-monotonously as a function of the ionic size of M. Doping lmco with M = Sr$^{2+}$ yields higher transition temperatures to the ferromagnetically ordered states and lower resistivities than doping with either Ca$^{2+}$ or Ba$^{2+}$ having a smaller or larger ionic size than Sr$^{2+}$, respectively. From this observation we conclude that the different transition temperatures and resistivities of lmco for different M (of the same concentration $x$) do not only depend on the varying chemical pressures. The local disorder due to the different ionic sizes of La$^{3+}$ and M$^{2+}$ play an important role, too.
Due to the similarity to BaFe2As2 and SrFe2As2 the RFe2Si2 (R=La, Y and Lu) system has been proposed as a potential candidate for a new superconducting family containing Fe-Si layers as a structural unit. Various R(Fe1-xMx)2Si2 M=Ni, Mn and Cu) materials were synthesized and measured for their magnetic properties. None of these materials is superconducting down to 5 K. Fe in RFe2Si2 is paramagnetic. A pronounced peak at 232 K was observed in the magnetization curve of YFe2Si2. 57Fe Mossbauer studies confirm the absence of any magnetic ordering at low temperatures. Similar peaks at various temperatures also appear in R(Fe1-xMx)2Si2 samples. Four independent factors affect the peak position and shift it to lower temperatures: (i) the lattice parameters, (ii) the concentration of x, (iii) the applied magnetic field, and (iv) the magnetic nature of M. The peak position is dramatically affected by the magnetic Mn dopants. It is propose that the magnetic peaks observed in RFe2Si2 and in R(Fe1-xMx)2Si2 represent a new nearly ferromagnetic Fermi liquid (NFFL) system and their nature is yet to be determined.