No Arabic abstract
We studied SNS- and S-N-S-N-...-S contacts (where S - superconductor, N - normal metal) formed by break-junction technique in polycrystalline Sm$_{1-x}$Th$_x$OFeAs superconductor samples with critical temperatures $T_C = (34 div 45)$ K. In such contacts (intrinsic) multiple Andreev reflections effects were observed. Using spectroscopies based on these effects, we detected two independent bulk order parameters and determined their magnitudes. Theoretical analysis of the large and the small gap temperature dependences revealed superconducting properties of Sm$_{1-x}$Th$_x$OFeAs to be driven by intraband coupling, and $sqrt{V_{11}V_{22}}/V_{12} approx 14$ (where $V_{ij}$ - electron-boson interaction matrix elements), whereas the ratio between density of states for the bands with the small and the large gap, $N_2/N_1$, correspondingly, was roughly of an order. We estimated solo BCS-ratio values in a hypothetic case of zero interband coupling ($V_{i e j} = 0$) for each condensate as $2Delta_{L,S}/k_BT_C^{L,S} le 4.5$. The values are constant within the range of critical temperatures studied, and correspond to a case of strong intraband electron-phonon coupling.
Using intrinsic multiple Andreev reflections effect (IMARE) spectroscopy, we studied SnS contacts in the layered oxypnictide superconductors Sm$_{1-x}$Th$_x$OFeAs with various thorium doping and critical temperatures $T_C = 21-54$ K. We observe a scaling between both superconducting gaps and $T_C$. The determined BCS-ratio for the large gap $2Delta_L/k_BT_C = 5.0-5.7$ and its eigen BCS-ratio (in a hypothetical case of zero interband coupling) $2Delta_L/k_BT_C^L = 4.1-4.6$ both exceeding the weak-coupling limit 3.52, and for the small gap $2Delta_S/k_BT_C = 1.2-1.6$ remain nearly constant within all the $T_C$ range studied. The temperature dependences $Delta_{L,S}(T)$ agree well with a two-band BCS-like Moskalenko and Suhl model. We prove intraband coupling to be stronger than interband coupling, whereas and Coulomb repulsion constants $mu^{ast}$ are finite in Sm-based oxypnictides.
We studied a reproducible fine structure observed in dynamic conductance spectra of Andreev arrays in Sm$_{1-x}$Th$_x$OFeAs superconductors with various thorium concentrations ($x = 0.08 - 0.3$) and critical temperatures $T_c = 26-50$,K. This structure is unambiguously caused by a multiple boson emission (of the same energy) during the process of multiple Andreev reflections. The directly determined energy of the bosonic mode reaches $varepsilon_0 = 14.8 pm 2.2$,meV for optimal compound. Within the studied range of $T_c$, this energy as well as the large $Delta_L$ and the small $Delta_S$ superconducting gaps, nearly scales with critical temperature with the characteristic ratio $varepsilon_0/k_BT_c approx 3.2$ (and $2Delta_L/k_BT_c approx 5.3$, correspondingly) resembling the expected energy $Delta_L + Delta_S$ of spin resonance and spectral density enhancement in $s^{pm}$ and $s^{++}$ states, respectively.
Iron is an important sheath material for fabrication of MgB2 wires. However, the effect of Fe doping on the superconducting properties of MgB2 remains controversial. In this work, we present results of nano-scale Fe particle doping in to MgB2. The Fe doping experiments were performed using both bulk and thin film form. It was found that Fe doping did not affect the lattice parameters of MgB2, as evidenced by the lack of change in the XRD peak positions for MgB2. Because of the high reactivity of nano-scale Fe particles, Fe doping is largely in the form of FeB at low doping level while Fe2B was detected at 10wt% doping by both XRD and TEM. There is no evidence for Fe substitution for Mg. The transition temperature decreased modestly with increasing Fe doping levels. The Jc(H) performance was severely depressed at above 3wt% doping level. The detrimental effect of nano-scale Fe doping on both Tc and Jc(H) is attributable to the grain decoupling as a result of magnetic scattering of Fe-containing dopants at grain boundaries.
Stimulated by the recent experiment [F. Ando et al., Nature 584, 373 (2020)], we propose an intrinsic mechanism to cause the superconducting diode effect (SDE). SDE refers to the nonreciprocity of the critical current for the metal-superconductor transition. Among various mechanisms for the critical current, the depairing current is known to be intrinsic to each material and has recently been observed in several superconducting systems. We clarify the temperature scaling of the nonreciprocal depairing current near the critical temperature and point out its significant enhancement at low temperatures. It is also found that the nonreciprocal critical current shows sign reversals upon increasing the magnetic field. These behaviors are understood by the nonreciprocity of the Landau critical momentum and the crossover of the helical superconductivity. The intrinsic SDE unveils the rich phase diagram and functionalities of noncentrosymmetric superconductors.
Our Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) study has found that concentrations up to 7 atomic percent of Rb and Cs can be introduced to a depth of ~700 A in MgB2 thin films by annealing in quartz ampoules containing elemental alkali metals at <350 degree centigrade. No significant change in transition temperature (Tc) was observed, in contrast to an earlier report of very high Tc (>50 K) for similar experiments on MgB2 powders. The lack of a significant change in Tc and intra-granular carrier scattering suggests that Rb and Cs diffuse into the film, but do not enter the grains. Instead, the observed changes in the electrical properties, including a significant drop in Jc and an increase in delta rho (rho300-rho40), arise from a decrease in inter-granular connectivity due to segregation of the heavy alkaline metals and other impurities (i.e. C and O) introduced into the grain boundary regions during the anneals.