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Register a new userPhase-separation control of K$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ superconductor through rapid-quenching process
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K$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ exhibits an iron-vacancy ordering at $T_{rm s} {sim}270{deg}$C and separates into two phases: a minor superconducting (iron-vacancy-disordered) phase and a major non-superconducting (iron-vacancy-ordered) phase. The microstructural and superconducting properties of this intermixture can be tuned by an appropriate control of the quenching process through $T_{rm s}$. A faster quenching rate leads to a finer microstructure and a suppression of formation of the non-superconducting phase by up to 50%. Nevertheless, such a faster cooling rate does induce a monotonic reduction in the superconducting transition temperature (from 30.7 K down to 26.0 K) and, simultaneously, a decrease in the iron content within the superconducting phase such that the compositional ratio changed from K$_{0.35}$Fe$_{1.83}$Se$_2$ to K$_{0.58}$Fe$_{1.71}$Se$_2$.
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Structural phase separation in A$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ system has been studied by different experimental techniques, however, it should be important to know how the electronic uniformity is influenced, on which length scale the electronic phases coexist, and what is their spatial distribution. Here, we have used novel scanning photoelectron microscopy (SPEM) to study the electronic phase separation in K$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$, providing a direct measurement of the topological spatial distribution of the different electronic phases. The SPEM results reveal a peculiar interconnected conducting filamentary phase that is embedded in the insulating texture. The filamentary structure with a particular topological geometry could be important for the high T$_c$ superconductivity in the presence of a phase with a large magnetic moment in A$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ materials.
We have used scanning micro x-ray diffraction to characterize different phases in superconducting K$_{x}$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ as a function of temperature, unveiling the thermal evolution across the superconducting transition temperature (T$_csim$32 K), phase separation temperature (T$_{ps}sim$520 K) and iron-vacancy order temperature (T$_{vo}sim$580 K). In addition to the iron-vacancy ordered tetragonal magnetic phase and orthorhombic metallic minority filamentary phase, we have found a clear evidence of the interface phase with tetragonal symmetry. The metallic phase is surrounded by this interface phase below $sim$300 K, and is embedded in the insulating texture. The spatial distribution of coexisting phases as a function of temperature provides a clear evidence of the formation of protected metallic percolative paths in the majority texture with large magnetic moment, required for the electronic coherence for the superconductivity. Furthermore, a clear reorganization of iron-vacancy order around the T$_{ps}$ and T$_c$ is found with the interface phase being mostly associated with a different iron-vacancy configuration, that may be important for protecting the percolative superconductivity in K$_{x}$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$.
We have combined elastic and inelastic neutron scattering techniques, magnetic susceptibility and resistivity measurements to study single-crystal samples of K$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$, which contain the superconducting phase that has a transition temperature of $sim$31 K. In the inelastic neutron scattering measurements, we observe both the spin-wave excitations resulting from the block antiferromagnetic ordered phase and the resonance that is associated with the superconductivity in the superconducting phase, demonstrating the coexistence of these two orders. From the temperature dependence of the intensity of the magnetic Bragg peaks, we find that well before entering the superconducting state, the development of the magnetic order is interrupted, at $sim$42 K. We consider this result to be evidence for the physical separation of the antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases; the suppression is possibly due to the proximity effect of the superconducting fluctuations on the antiferromagnetic order.
We report an in-plane optical spectroscopy study on the iron-selenide superconductor K$_{0.75}$Fe$_{1.75}$Se$_2$. The measurement revealed the development of a sharp reflectance edge below T$_c$ at frequency much smaller than the superconducting energy gap on a relatively incoherent electronic background, a phenomenon which was not seen in any other Fe-based superconductors so far investigated. Furthermore, the feature could be noticeably suppressed and shifted to lower frequency by a moderate magnetic field. Our analysis indicates that this edge structure arises from the development of a Josephson-coupling plasmon in the superconducting condensate. Together with the transmission electron microscopy analysis, our study yields compelling evidence for the presence of nanoscale phase separation between superconductivity and magnetism. The results also enable us to understand various seemingly controversial experimental data probed from different techniques.
A detailed account of the local atomic structure and disorder at 5~K across the phase diagram of the high temperature superconductor K$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_{2-z}$S$_z$ $(0 leq z leq 2)$ is obtained from neutron total scattering and associated atomic pair distribution function (PDF) approaches. Various model independent and model dependent aspects of the analysis reveal a high level of structural complexity on the nanometer length-scale. Evidence is found for considerable disorder in the $c$-axis stacking of the FeSe$_{1-x}$S$_{x}$ slabs without observable signs of turbostratic character of the disorder. In contrast to the related FeCh (Ch = S, Se) type superconductors, substantial Fe-vacancies are present in K$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_{2-z}$S$_z$, deemed detrimental for superconductivity when ordered. Our study suggests that the distribution of vacancies significantly modifies the iron-chalcogen bond-length distribution, in agreement with observed evolution of the PDF signal. A crossover like transition is observed at a composition of $zapprox1$, from a predominantly vacancy-disordered state at the selenium end to a more vacancy-ordered (VO) phase closer to the sulfur end of the phase diagram. The S-content dependent measures of the local structure are found to exhibit distinct behavior on either side of this crossover, correlating well with the evolution of the superconducting state to that of a magnetic semiconductor towards the $zapprox2$ end. The behavior reinforces the idea of the intimate relationship of correlated Fe-vacancies order in the local structure and the emergent electronic properties.
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