No Arabic abstract
We present a systematic investigation of the electrical, structural, and antiferromagnetic properties for the series of Ba(Fe$_{1-x-y}$Co$_{x}$Rh$_{y}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ compounds with fixed $x approx$ 0.027 and $ 0 leq y leq 0.035$. We compare our results for the Co-Rh doped Ba(Fe$_{1-x-y}$Co$_{x}$Rh$_{y}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ compounds with the Co doped Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ compounds. We demonstrate that the electrical, structural, antiferromangetic, and superconducting properties of the Co-Rh doped compounds are similar to the properties of the Co doped compounds. We find that the overall behaviors of Ba(Fe$_{1-x-y}$Co$_{x}$Rh$_{y}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ and Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ compounds are very similar when the total number of extra electrons per Fe/$TM$ ($TM$ = transition metal) site is considered, which is consistent with the rigid band model. Despite the similarity, we find that the details of the transitions, for example, the temperature difference between the structural and antiferromagnetic transition temperatures and the incommensurability of the antiferromangetic peaks, are different between Ba(Fe$_{1-x-y}$Co$_{x}$Rh$_{y}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ and Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ compounds.
Using electronic Raman spectroscopy, we report direct measurements of charge nematic fluctuations in the tetragonal phase of strain-free Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x})_{2}$As$_{2}$ single crystals. The strong enhancement of the Raman response at low temperatures unveils an underlying charge nematic state that extends to superconducting compositions and which has hitherto remained unnoticed. Comparison between the extracted charge nematic susceptibility and the elastic modulus allows us to disentangle the charge contribution to the nematic instability, and to show that charge nematic fluctuations are weakly coupled to the lattice.
Measurements of the current-voltage characteristics were performed on Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ single crystals with doping level $0.044 leq x leq 0.1$. An unconventional increase in the flux-flow resistivity $rho_{rm ff}$ with decreasing magnetic field was observed across this doping range. Such an abnormal field dependence of flux-flow resistivity is in contrast with the linear field dependence of $rho_{rm ff}$ in conventional type-II superconductors, but is similar to the behavior recently observed in the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn$_5$. A significantly enhanced $rho_{rm ff}$ was found for the x=0.06 single crystals, implying a strong single-particle energy dissipation around the vortex cores. At different temperatures and fields and for a given doping concentration, the normalized $rho_{rm ff}$ scales with normalized field and temperature. The doping level dependence of these parameters strongly suggests that the abnormal upturn flux-flow resisitivity is likely related to the enhancement of spin fluctuations around the vortex cores of the optimally doped samples.
Single crystalline samples of Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ with $x < 0.12$ have been grown and characterized via microscopic, thermodynamic and transport measurements. With increasing Co substitution, the thermodynamic and transport signatures of the structural (high temperature tetragonal to low temperature orthorhombic) and magnetic (high temperature non magnetic to low temperature antiferromagnetic) transitions are suppressed at a rate of roughly 15 K per percent Co. In addition, for $x ge 0.038$ superconductivity is stabilized, rising to a maximum $T_c$ of approximately 23 K for $x approx 0.07$ and decreasing for higher $x$ values. The $T - x$ phase diagram for Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ indicates that either superconductivity can exist in both low temperature crystallographic phases or that there is a structural phase separation. Anisotropic, superconducting, upper critical field data ($H_{c2}(T)$) show a significant and clear change in anisotropy between samples that have higher temperature structural phase transitions and those that do not. These data show that the superconductivity is sensitive to the suppression of the higher temperature phase transition.
Systematic measurements of the resistivity, heat capacity, susceptibility and Hall coefficient are presented for single crystal samples of the electron-doped superconductor Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$. These data delineate an $x-T$ phase diagram in which the single magnetic/structural phase transition that is observed for undoped BaFe$_2$As$_2$ at 134 K apparently splits into two distinct phase transitions, both of which are rapidly suppressed with increasing Co concentration. Superconductivity emerges for Co concentrations above $x sim 0.025$, and appears to coexist with the broken symmetry state for an appreciable range of doping, up to $x sim 0.06$. The optimal superconducting transition temperature appears to coincide with the Co concentration at which the magnetic/structural phase transitions are totally suppressed, at least within the resolution provided by the finite step size between crystals prepared with different doping levels. Superconductivity is observed for a further range of Co concentrations, before being completely suppressed for $x sim 0.018$ and above. The form of this $x-T$ phase diagram is suggestive of an association between superconductivity and a quantum critical point arising from suppression of the magnetic and/or structural phase transitions.
Single crystals of BaFe$_2$As$_2$ and (Ba$_{0.55}$K$_{0.45}$)Fe$_2$As$_2$ have been grown out of excess Sn with 1% or less incorporation of solvent. The crystals are exceptionally micaceous, are easily exfoliated and can have dimensions as large as 3 x 3 x 0.2 mm$^3$. The BaFe$_2$As$_2$ single crystals manifest a structural phase transition from a high temperature tetragonal phase to a low temperature orthorhombic phase near 85 K and do not show any sign of superconductivity down to 1.8 K. This transition can be detected in the electrical resistivity, Hall resistivity, specific heat and the anisotropic magnetic susceptibility. In the (Ba$_{0.55}$K$_{0.45}$)Fe$_2$As$_2$ single crystals this transition is suppressed and instead superconductivity occurs with a transition temperature near 30 K. Whereas the superconducting transition is easily detected in resistivity and magnetization measurements, the change in specific heat near $T_c$ is small, but resolvable, giving $Delta C_p/gamma T_c approx 1$. The application of a 140 kOe magnetic field suppresses $T_c$ by only $sim 4$ K when applied along the c-axis and by $sim 2$ K when applied perpendicular to the c-axis. The ratio of the anisotropic upper critical fields, $gamma = H_{c2}^{perp c} / H_{c2}^{| c}$, varies between 2.5 and 3.5 for temperatures down to $sim 2$ K below $T_c$.