No Arabic abstract
Layered superconductors have provided some interesting fields in condensed matter physics owing to the low dimensionality of their electronic states. For example, the high-Tc (high transition temperature) cuprates and the Fe-based superconductors possess a layered crystal structure composed of a stacking of spacer (blocking) layers and conduction (superconducting) layers, CuO2 planes or Fe-Anion layers. The spacer layers provide carriers to the conduction layers and induce exotic superconductivity. Recently, we have reported superconductivity in the novel BiS2-based layered compound Bi4O4S3. It was found that superconductivity of Bi4O4S3 originates from the BiS2 layers. The crystal structure is composed of a stacking of BiS2 superconducting layers and the spacer layers, which resembles those of high-Tc cuprate and the Fe-based superconductors. Here we report a discovery of a new type of BiS2-based layered superconductor LaO1-xFxBiS2, with a Tc as high as 10.6 K.
Novel BiS2-based superconductors LaO1-xFxBiS2 prepared by the high pressure synthesis technique were systematically studied. It was found that the high pressure annealing strongly the lattice as compared to the LaO1-xFxBiS2 samples prepared by conventional solid state reaction at ambient pressure. Bulk superconductivity was observed within a wide F-concentration range of x = 0.2 ~ 0.7. On the basis of those results, we have established a phase diagram of LaO1-xFxBiS2.
The nature of superconductivity in BiS$_2$-based superconductors has been controversial while ab-initio calculations proposed this system in close proximity to a charge-density-wave (CDW) phase. Using high-energy high-flux X-ray diffraction, we reveal an intrinsic and long-range CDW phase coexisting with superconductivity in NdO$_{1-x}$F$_{x}$BiS$_2$ superconductor ($x$ = 0.37 and 0.3). The CDW wavevector in NdO$_{0.63}$F$_{0.37}$BiS$_2$ correspond Q$_{rm{CDW}}$ = (0.17, 0.17, 0.5) and is associated with transverse atomic displacements. Interestingly, this wavevector does not match theoretical expectations based on either phonon softening or Fermi surface nesting. In NdO$_{0.7}$F$_{0.3}$BiS$_2$, where the superconducting transition temperature is highest, the CDW satellites are slightly broader and weaker compared to NdO$_{0.63}$F$_{0.37}$BiS$_2$, possibly suggesting the competition with the superconductivity. Lastly, we measure a thermal diffuse scattering across the superconducting transition temperature and find no meaningful changes in favor of the unconventional pairing mechanism. Our result suggests the importance of understanding CDW which might hold a key to the superconductivity in the BiS$_2$-based superconductor.
We have successfully synthesized a new BiS2-based superconductor NdOBiS2 with F-doping. This compound is composed of superconducting BiS2 layers and blocking NdO layers, which indicates that the BiS2 layer is the one of the common superconducting layers like the CuO2 layer of cuprates or Fe-As layer of Fe-based superconductors. We can obtain NdO1-xFxBiS2 with bulk superconductivity by a solid-state reaction under ambient pressure. Therefore, NdO1-xFxBiS2 should be the suitable material to elucidate the mechanism of superconductivity in the BiS2-layer.
We report the sulfur isotope effect on transition temperature in a BiS2-based superconductor Bi4O4S3. Polycrystalline samples of Bi4O4S3 were prepared using 32S and 34S isotope chemicals. From magnetization analyses, the isotope exponent (aS) was estimated as -0.1 < aS < 0.1. Although the Tc estimated from electrical resistivity was scattered as compared to those estimated from the magnetization, we observed no clear correlation between Tc and the isotope mass. The present results suggest that unconventional paring states are essential in Bi4O4S3.
Superconductivity with exotic properties has often been discovered in materials with a layered (two-dimensional) crystal structure. The low dimensionality affects the electronic structure of materials, which could realize a high transition temperature (Tc) and/or unconventional pairing mechanisms. Here, we report the superconductivity in a layered tin arsenide NaSn2As2. The crystal structure consists of (Sn2As2)2- bilayers, which is bound by van-der-Waals forces, separated by Na+ ions. Measurements of electrical resistivity and specific heat confirm the bulk nature of superconductivity of NaSn2As2 with Tc of 1.3 K. Our results propose that the SnAs layers will be a basic structure providing another universality class of a layered superconducting family, and it provides a new platform for the physics and chemistry of low-dimensional superconductors with lone pair electrons.