No Arabic abstract
Superconductivity (SC) with the suppression of long-range antiferromagnetic (AFM) order is observed in the parent compounds of both iron-based and cuprate superconductors. The AFM wave vectors are bicollinear ($pi$, 0) in the parent compound FeTe different from the collinear AFM order ($pi$, $pi$) in most iron pnictides. Study of the phase diagram of Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$ is the most direct way to investigate the competition between bicollinear AFM and SC. However, presence of interstitial Fe affects both magnetism and SC of Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$, which hinders the establishment of the real phase diagram. Here, we report the comparison of doping-temperature ($x$-$T$) phase diagrams for Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$ (0 $leq$ $x$ $leq$ 0.43) single crystals before and after removing interstitial Fe. Without interstitial Fe, the AFM state survives only for $x$ $<$ 0.05, and bulk SC emerges from $x$ = 0.05, and does not coexist with the AFM state. The previously reported spin glass state, and the coexistence of AFM and SC may be originated from the effect of the interstitial Fe. The phase diagram of Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$ is found to be similar to the case of the 1111 system such as LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$, and is different from that of the 122 system.
We report the achieving of depairing current limit along $c$-axis in Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$ single crystals. A series of crystals with $T_{rm{c}}$ ranging from 8.6 K to 13.7 K (different amount of excess Fe, $y$) were fabricated into $c$-axis bridges with a square-micrometer cross-section. The critical current density, $J_{rm{c}}$, was directly estimated from the transport current-voltage measurements. The transport $J_{rm{c}}$ reaches a very large value, which is about one order of magnitude larger than the depinning $J_{rm{c}}$, but comparable to the calculated depairing $J_{rm{c}}$ $sim$ 2 $times$ 10$^6$ A/cm$^2$ at 0 K, based on the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) theory. The temperature dependence of the depairing $J_{rm{c}}$ follows the GL-theory ($propto$ (1-$T/T_{rm{c}}$)$^{3/2}$) down to $sim$ 0.83 $T_{rm{c}}$, then increases with a reduced slope at low temperatures, which can be qualitatively described by the Kupriyanov-Lukichev theory. Our study provides a new route to understand the behavior of depairing $J_{rm{c}}$ in iron-based superconductors in a wide temperature range.
Neutron scattering has played a significant role in characterizing magnetic and structural correlations in Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_x$ and their connections with superconductivity. Here we review several key aspects of the physics of iron chalcogenide superconductors where neutron studies played a key role. These topics include the phase diagram of Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_{x}$, where the doping-dependence of structural transitions can be understood from a mapping to the anisotropic random field Ising model. We then discuss orbital-selective Mott physics in the Fe chalcogenide series, where temperature-dependent magnetism in the parent material provided one of the earliest cases for orbital-selective correlation effects in a Hunds metal. Finally, we elaborate on the character of local magnetic correlations revealed by neutron scattering, its dependence on temperature and composition, and the connections to nematicity and superconductivity.
Among the Fe-based superconductors, Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_{x}$ is unique in that its crystal structure is the simplest and the electron correlation level is the strongest, and thus it is important to investigate the doping($x$)-temperature ($T$) phase diagram of this system. However, inevitably incorporated excess Fe currently prevents the establishment of the true phase diagram. We overcome the aforementioned significant problem via developing a new annealing method termed as Te-annealing wherein single crystals are annealed under Te vapor. Specifically, we conducted various magnetotransport measurements on Te-annealed superconducting Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_{x}$. We observed that crossover from the incoherent to the coherent electronic state and opening of the pseudogap occurs at high temperatures ($approx$ 150 K for $x$ = 0.2). This is accompanied by a more substantial pseudogap and the emergence of a phase with a multi-band nature at lower temperatures (below $approx$ 50 K for $x$ = 0.2) before superconductivity sets in. Based on the results, the third type electronic phase diagram in Fe-based high-$T_c$ superconductors is revealed.
We use bulk magnetic susceptibility, electronic specific heat, and neutron scattering to study structural and magnetic phase transitions in Fe$_{1+y}$Se% $_x$Te$_{1-x}$. Fe$_{1.068}$Te exhibits a first order phase transition near 67 K with a tetragonal to monoclinic structural transition and simultaneously develops a collinear antiferromagnetic (AF) order responsible for the entropy change across the transition. Systematic studies of FeSe$%_{1-x}$Te$_x$ system reveal that the AF structure and lattice distortion in these materials are different from those of FeAs-based pnictides. These results call into question the conclusions of present density functional calculations, where FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_x$ and FeAs-based pnictides are expected to have similar Fermi surfaces and therefore the same spin-density-wave AF order.
Single crystals of Fe(1+x)Te(1-y)Se(y) have been grown with a controlled Fe excess and Se doping, and the crystal structure has been refined for various compositions. The systematic investigation of magnetic and superconducting properties as a function of the structural parameters shows how the material can be driven into various ground states, depending on doping and the structural modifications. Our results prove that the occupation of the additional Fe site, Fe2, enhances the spin localization. By reducing the excess Fe, the antiferromagnetic ordering is weakened, and the superconducting ground state is favored. We have found that both Fe excess and Se doping in synergy determine the properties of the material and an improved 3-dimensional phase diagram is proposed.