Recent reports of interface-induced superconductivity in the unit-cell films of FeSe on SrTiO3 with a Tc up to ~ 65+-5 K, highest among the Fe-based superconductors and second only to that of the cuprates, have generated great excitement. Here we sho
w results of the first magnetic and resistive investigation on the 1-4 unit-cell FeSe-films on SrTiO3. The samples display the Meissner state below ~ 20 K with a penetration field as low as 0.1 Oe due to large edge effect at 2 K, a mesoscopic superconducting state comprising patches of dimension < 1 micrometer up to 45~55 K and an unusual relaxation of the diamagnetic signal up to 80 K, suggesting possible superconductivity at this high temperature. The observations demonstrate the heterogeneous nature of the superconducting state in these films and offer new insights into the role of interfaces in high temperature superconductivity proposed and future superconducting electronics fabricated.
In rare-earth doped single crystalline CaFe2As2, the mysterious small volume fraction which superconducts up to 49 K, much higher than the bulk Tc ~ 30s K, has prompted a long search for a hidden variable that could enhance the Tc by more than 30% in
iron-based superconductors of the same structure. Here we report a chemical, structural, and magnetic study of CaFe2As2 systematically doped with La, Ce, Pr, and Nd. Coincident with the high Tc phase, we find extreme magnetic anisotropy, accompanied by an unexpected doping-independent Tc and equally unexpected superparamagnetic clusters associated with As vacancies. These observations lead us to conjecture that the tantalizing Tc enhancement may be associated with naturally occurring chemical interfaces and may thus provide a new paradigm in the search for superconductors with higher Tc.
The observation of non-bulk superconductivity with an unexpectedly high onset transition temperature Tc up to ~ 49 K in non-superconducting single crystalline CaFe2As2 upon rare-earth doping has raised interesting questions concerning its origin. Sev
eral possibilities including interfacial mechanism have been proposed to account for the unusual observation. In an attempt to differentiate such propositions, we have carried out a systematic compositional and magnetic study on single crystals of nominal (Ca1-xPrx)Fe2As2 with 0 <= x <= 0.13 throughout the solubility range of Pr, which covers both the non-superconducting and superconducting regions. We found the unusual simultaneous occurrence of superparamagnetism and superconductivity with an x-independent Tc and a close correlation of the superconducting volume fraction with the magnetic cluster density and As-defect density. The finding demonstrates a close relationship among superconductivity, superparamagnetism, and defects, consistent with the previously proposed interface-mechanism, and offers a possible future path to higher Tc.
Two single crystalline samples with the same nominal composition of Rb0.8Fe2Se2 prepared via slightly different precursor routes under the same thermal processing conditions were investigated at ambient and high pressures. One sample was found superc
onducting with a Tc of ~31 K without the previously reported resistivity-hump and the other was unexpectedly found to be a narrow-gap semiconductor. While the high pressure data can be understood in terms of pressure-induced variation in doping, the detailed doping effect on superconductivity is yet to be determined.
