Doping-induced spectral shifts in two-dimensional metal oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ylvisaker, E. R.; Pickett, W. E.

2013-03-01

Doping of strongly layered ionic oxides is an established paradigm for creating novel electronic behavior. This is nowhere more apparent than in superconductivity, where doping gives rise to high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates (hole doped) and to surprisingly high Tc in HfNCl (Tc = 25.5 K, electron doped). First-principles calculations of hole doping of the layered delafossite CuAlO2 reveal unexpectedly large doping-induced shifts in spectral density, strongly in opposition to the rigid-band picture that is widely used as an accepted guideline. These spectral shifts, of similar origin as the charge transfer used to produce negative electron affinity surfaces and adjust Schottky barrier heights, drastically alter the character of the Fermi level carriers, leading in this material to an O-Cu-O molecule-based carrier (or polaron, at low doping) rather than a nearly pure-Cu hole as in a rigid-band picture. First-principles linear response electron-phonon coupling (EPC) calculations reveal, as a consequence, net weak EPC and no superconductivity rather than the high Tc obtained previously using rigid-band expectations. These specifically two-dimensional dipole-layer-driven spectral shifts provide new insights into materials design in layered materials for functionalities besides superconductivity.

Emergence of high-mobility minority holes in the electrical transport of the Ba (Fe1 -xMnxAs )2 iron pnictides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urata, T.; Tanabe, Y.; Huynh, K. K.; Heguri, S.; Oguro, H.; Watanabe, K.; Tanigaki, K.

2015-05-01

In Fe pnictide (Pn) superconducting materials, neither Mn nor Cr doping to the Fe site induces superconductivity, even though hole carriers are generated. This is in strong contrast with the superconductivity appearing when holes are introduced by alkali-metal substitution on the insulating blocking layers. We investigate in detail the effects of Mn doping on magnetotransport properties in Ba (Fe1 -xMnxAs )2 for elucidating the intrinsic reason. The negative Hall coefficient for x =0 estimated in the low magnetic field (B ) regime gradually increases as x increases, and its sign changes to a positive one at x =0.020 . Hall resistivities as well as simultaneous interpretation using the magnetoconductivity tensor including both longitudinal and transverse transport components clarify that minority holes with high mobility are generated by the Mn doping via spin-density wave transition at low temperatures, while original majority electrons and holes residing in the paraboliclike Fermi surfaces of the semimetallic Ba (FeAs )2 are negligibly affected. Present results indicate that the mechanism of hole doping in Ba (Fe1 -xMnxAs )2 is greatly different from that of the other superconducting FePn family.

Superconductivity of Ca2 InN with a layered structure embedding an anionic indium chain array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Sehoon; Matsuishi, Satoru; Lee, Kimoon; Toda, Yoshitake; Wng Kim, Sung; Hosono, Hideo

2014-05-01

We report the emergence of superconductivity in Ca2InN consisting of a two-dimensional (2D) array of zigzag indium chains embedded between Ca2N layers. A sudden drop of resistivity and a specific heat (Cp) jump attributed to the superconducting transition were observed at 0.6 K. The Sommerfeld coefficient γ = 4.24 mJ mol-1K-2 and Debye temperature ΘD = 322 K were determined from the Cp of the normal conducting state and the superconducting volume fraction was estimated to be ˜80% from the Cp jump, assuming a BCS-type weak coupling. Density functional theory calculations demonstrated that the electronic bands near the Fermi level (EF) are mainly derived from In 5p orbitals with π and σ bonding states and the Fermi surface is composed of cylindrical parts, corresponding to the quasi-2D electronic state of the In-chain array. By integrating the projected density of states of the In-p component up to EF, a valence electron population of ˜1.6 electrons/In was calculated, indicating that partially anionic state of In. The In 3d binding energies observed in Ca2InN by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy were negatively shifted from that in In metal. The superconductivity of Ca2InN is associated with the p-p bonding states of the anionic In layer.

Nano-patterned superconducting surface for high quantum efficiency cathode

DOEpatents

Hannon, Fay; Musumeci, Pietro

2017-03-07

A method for providing a superconducting surface on a laser-driven niobium cathode in order to increase the effective quantum efficiency. The enhanced surface increases the effective quantum efficiency by improving the laser absorption of the surface and enhancing the local electric field. The surface preparation method makes feasible the construction of superconducting radio frequency injectors with niobium as the photocathode. An array of nano-structures are provided on a flat surface of niobium. The nano-structures are dimensionally tailored to interact with a laser of specific wavelength to thereby increase the electron yield of the surface.

Method for manufacturing a rotor having superconducting coils

DOEpatents

Driscoll, David I.; Shoykhet, Boris A.

2001-01-01

A method and apparatus for manufacturing a rotor for use with a rotating machine is provided that employs a superconducting coil on the rotor. An adhesive is applied to an outer surface of the rotor body, which may include a groove disposed within an outer surface of the rotor body. A superconducting coil is then mounted onto the rotor body such that the adhesive bonds the superconducting coil to the rotor body.

Drive the Dirac electrons into Cooper pairs in SrxBi2Se3.

PubMed

Du, Guan; Shao, Jifeng; Yang, Xiong; Du, Zengyi; Fang, Delong; Wang, Jinghui; Ran, Kejing; Wen, Jinsheng; Zhang, Changjin; Yang, Huan; Zhang, Yuheng; Wen, Hai-Hu

2017-02-15

Topological superconductors are a very interesting and frontier topic in condensed matter physics. Despite the tremendous efforts in exploring topological superconductivity, its presence is however still under heavy debate. The Dirac electrons have been proven to exist on the surface of a topological insulator. It remains unclear whether and how the Dirac electrons fall into Cooper pairing in an intrinsic superconductor with the topological surface states. Here we show the systematic study of scanning tunnelling microscope/spectroscopy on the possible topological superconductor Sr x Bi 2 Se 3 . We first demonstrate that only the intercalated Sr atoms can induce superconductivity. Then we show the full superconducting gaps without any in-gap density of states as expected theoretically for a bulk topological superconductor. Finally, we find that the surface Dirac electrons will simultaneously condense into the superconducting state within the superconducting gap. This vividly demonstrates how the surface Dirac electrons are driven into Cooper pairs.

Reversal of the asymmetry in a cylindrical coaxial capacitively coupled Ar/Cl 2 plasma

DOE PAGES

Upadhyay, Janardan; Im, Do; Popović, Svetozar; ...

2015-10-08

The reduction of the asymmetry in the plasma sheath voltages of a cylindrical coaxial capacitively coupled plasma is crucial for efficient surface modification of the inner surfaces of concave three-dimensional structures, including superconducting radio frequency cavities. One critical asymmetry effect is the negative dc self-bias, formed across the inner electrode plasma sheath due to its lower surface area compared to the outer electrode. The effect on the self-bias potential with the surface enhancement by geometric modification on the inner electrode structure is studied. The shapes of the inner electrodes are chosen as cylindrical tube, large and small pitch bellows, andmore » disc-loaded corrugated structure (DLCS). The dc self-bias measurements for all these shapes were taken at different process parameters in Ar/Cl 2 discharge. Lastly, the reversal of the negative dc self-bias potential to become positive for a DLCS inner electrode was observed and the best etch rate is achieved due to the reduction in plasma asymmetry.« less

Suppression of 1/f Flux Noise in Superconducting Quantum Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Pradeep; Freeland, John; Yu, Clare; Wu, Ruqian; Wang, Zhe; Wang, Hui; Shi, Chuntai; Pappas, David; McDermott, Robert

Low frequency 1/f magnetic flux noise is a dominant contributor to dephasing in superconducting quantum circuits. It is believed that the noise is due to a high density of unpaired magnetic defect states at the surface of the superconducting thin films. We have performed X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) experiments that point to adsorbed molecular oxygen as the dominant source of magnetism in these films. By improving the vacuum environment of our superconducting devices, we have achieved a significant reduction in surface magnetic susceptibility and 1/f flux noise power spectral density. These results open the door to realization of superconducting qubits with improved dephasing times. State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics and Department of Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Electronic origin of high-temperature superconductivity in single-layer FeSe superconductor.

PubMed

Liu, Defa; Zhang, Wenhao; Mou, Daixiang; He, Junfeng; Ou, Yun-Bo; Wang, Qing-Yan; Li, Zhi; Wang, Lili; Zhao, Lin; He, Shaolong; Peng, Yingying; Liu, Xu; Chen, Chaoyu; Yu, Li; Liu, Guodong; Dong, Xiaoli; Zhang, Jun; Chen, Chuangtian; Xu, Zuyan; Hu, Jiangping; Chen, Xi; Ma, Xucun; Xue, Qikun; Zhou, X J

2012-07-03

The recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based compounds has attracted much attention. How to further increase the superconducting transition temperature (T(c)) and how to understand the superconductivity mechanism are two prominent issues facing the current study of iron-based superconductors. The latest report of high-T(c) superconductivity in a single-layer FeSe is therefore both surprising and significant. Here we present investigations of the electronic structure and superconducting gap of the single-layer FeSe superconductor. Its Fermi surface is distinct from other iron-based superconductors, consisting only of electron-like pockets near the zone corner without indication of any Fermi surface around the zone centre. Nearly isotropic superconducting gap is observed in this strictly two-dimensional system. The temperature dependence of the superconducting gap gives a transition temperature T(c)~ 55 K. These results have established a clear case that such a simple electronic structure is compatible with high-T(c) superconductivity in iron-based superconductors.

Superconductivity across Lifshitz transition and anomalous insulating state in surface K-dosed (Li0.8Fe0.2OH)FeSe.

PubMed

Ren, Mingqiang; Yan, Yajun; Niu, Xiaohai; Tao, Ran; Hu, Die; Peng, Rui; Xie, Binping; Zhao, Jun; Zhang, Tong; Feng, Dong-Lai

2017-07-01

In iron-based superconductors, understanding the relation between superconductivity and electronic structure upon doping is crucial for exploring the pairing mechanism. Recently, it was found that, in iron selenide (FeSe), enhanced superconductivity ( T c of more than 40 K) can be achieved via electron doping, with the Fermi surface only comprising M-centered electron pockets. By using surface K dosing, scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we studied the electronic structure and superconductivity of (Li 0.8 Fe 0.2 OH)FeSe in the deep electron-doped regime. We find that a Γ-centered electron band, which originally lies above the Fermi level ( E F ), can be continuously tuned to cross E F and contribute a new electron pocket at Γ. When this Lifshitz transition occurs, the superconductivity in the M-centered electron pocket is slightly suppressed, and a possible superconducting gap with a small size (up to ~5 meV) and a dome-like doping dependence is observed on the new Γ electron pocket. Upon further K dosing, the system eventually evolves into an insulating state. Our findings provide new clues to understand superconductivity versus Fermi surface topology and the correlation effect in FeSe-based superconductors.

Superconductivity across Lifshitz transition and anomalous insulating state in surface K–dosed (Li0.8Fe0.2OH)FeSe

PubMed Central

Ren, Mingqiang; Yan, Yajun; Niu, Xiaohai; Tao, Ran; Hu, Die; Peng, Rui; Xie, Binping; Zhao, Jun; Zhang, Tong; Feng, Dong-Lai

2017-01-01

In iron-based superconductors, understanding the relation between superconductivity and electronic structure upon doping is crucial for exploring the pairing mechanism. Recently, it was found that, in iron selenide (FeSe), enhanced superconductivity (Tc of more than 40 K) can be achieved via electron doping, with the Fermi surface only comprising M-centered electron pockets. By using surface K dosing, scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we studied the electronic structure and superconductivity of (Li0.8Fe0.2OH)FeSe in the deep electron-doped regime. We find that a Γ-centered electron band, which originally lies above the Fermi level (EF), can be continuously tuned to cross EF and contribute a new electron pocket at Γ. When this Lifshitz transition occurs, the superconductivity in the M-centered electron pocket is slightly suppressed, and a possible superconducting gap with a small size (up to ~5 meV) and a dome-like doping dependence is observed on the new Γ electron pocket. Upon further K dosing, the system eventually evolves into an insulating state. Our findings provide new clues to understand superconductivity versus Fermi surface topology and the correlation effect in FeSe-based superconductors. PMID:28740865

Stable confinement of electron plasma and initial results on positron injection in RT-1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saitoh, H.; Yoshida, Z.; Morikawa, J.; Yano, Y.; Kasaoka, N.; Sakamoto, W.; Nogami, T.

2013-03-01

The Ring Trap 1 (RT-1) device is a dipole field configuration generated by a levitated superconducting magnet. It offers very interesting opportunities for research on the fundamental properties on non-neutral plasmas, such as self-organization of charged particles in the strongly positive and negative charged particles on magnetic surfaces. When strong positron sources will be available in the future, the dipole field configuration will be potentially applicable to the formation of an electron-positron plasma. We have realized stable, long trap of toroidal pure electron plasma in RT-1; Magnetic levitation of the superconducting magnet resulted in more than 300s of confinement for electron plasma of ˜ 1011 m-3. Aiming for the confinement of positrons as a next step, we started a positron injection experiment. For the formation of positron plasma in the closed magnetic surfaces, one of the key issues to be solved is the efficient injection method of positron across closed magnetic surfaces. In contrast to linear configurations, toroidal configurations have the advantage that they are capable of trapping high energy positrons in the dipole field configuration and consider the possibility of direct trapping of positrons emitted from a 22Na source.

Theoretical and experimental investigations of superconductivity. Amorphous semiconductors, superconductivity and magnetism

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohen, M. H.

1973-01-01

The research activities from 1 March 1963 to 28 February 1973 are summarized. Major lectures are listed along with publications on superconductivity, superfluidity, electronic structures and Fermi surfaces of metals, optical spectra of solids, electronic structure of insulators and semiconductors, theory of magnetic metals, physics of surfaces, structures of metals, and molecular physics.

Free surfaces recast superconductivity in few-monolayer MgB2: Combined first-principles and ARPES demonstration.

PubMed

Bekaert, J; Bignardi, L; Aperis, A; van Abswoude, P; Mattevi, C; Gorovikov, S; Petaccia, L; Goldoni, A; Partoens, B; Oppeneer, P M; Peeters, F M; Milošević, M V; Rudolf, P; Cepek, C

2017-10-31

Two-dimensional materials are known to harbour properties very different from those of their bulk counterparts. Recent years have seen the rise of atomically thin superconductors, with a caveat that superconductivity is strongly depleted unless enhanced by specific substrates, intercalants or adatoms. Surprisingly, the role in superconductivity of electronic states originating from simple free surfaces of two-dimensional materials has remained elusive to date. Here, based on first-principles calculations, anisotropic Eliashberg theory, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we show that surface states in few-monolayer MgB 2 make a major contribution to the superconducting gap spectrum and density of states, clearly distinct from the widely known, bulk-like σ- and π-gaps. As a proof of principle, we predict and measure the gap opening on the magnesium-based surface band up to a critical temperature as high as ~30 K for merely six monolayers thick MgB 2 . These findings establish free surfaces as an unavoidable ingredient in understanding and further tailoring of superconductivity in atomically thin materials.

Addressing surface-induced loss and decoherence in superconducting quantum circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuhrer, Andreas; Mueller, Peter; Kuhlmann, Andreas; Filipp, Stefan; Deshpande, Veeresh; Drechsler, Ute

Many of the advances in coherence and fidelity of superconducting qubits have been made possible by clever engineering of the coupling to the environment and operation at noise-insensitive sweet spots. However, this leads to a compromise in experimental flexibility and device tunability, which can become inhibitive as the system size is scaled up. Material and interface related degrees of freedoms are harder to mitigate and are expected to become increasingly important in more complex systems. They impose limits both on coherence (flux-noise) and lifetimes (surface loss) of superconducting qubits. To study and eliminate these effects we have constructed a reusable UHV-compatible sample enclosure that enables us to perform various surface passivation steps before cooling superconducting devices to cryogenic temperatures. The enclosure can accommodate large chips with up to 18 microwave ports and can be vacuum sealed at pressures below 8e-10 mbar. We discuss its operation principle and present first measurement results of superconducting CPW resonators and qubit devices with and without prior surface treatments.

Drive the Dirac electrons into Cooper pairs in SrxBi2Se3

PubMed Central

Du, Guan; Shao, Jifeng; Yang, Xiong; Du, Zengyi; Fang, Delong; Wang, Jinghui; Ran, Kejing; Wen, Jinsheng; Zhang, Changjin; Yang, Huan; Zhang, Yuheng; Wen, Hai-Hu

2017-01-01

Topological superconductors are a very interesting and frontier topic in condensed matter physics. Despite the tremendous efforts in exploring topological superconductivity, its presence is however still under heavy debate. The Dirac electrons have been proven to exist on the surface of a topological insulator. It remains unclear whether and how the Dirac electrons fall into Cooper pairing in an intrinsic superconductor with the topological surface states. Here we show the systematic study of scanning tunnelling microscope/spectroscopy on the possible topological superconductor SrxBi2Se3. We first demonstrate that only the intercalated Sr atoms can induce superconductivity. Then we show the full superconducting gaps without any in-gap density of states as expected theoretically for a bulk topological superconductor. Finally, we find that the surface Dirac electrons will simultaneously condense into the superconducting state within the superconducting gap. This vividly demonstrates how the surface Dirac electrons are driven into Cooper pairs. PMID:28198378

Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Peng; Yaji, Koichiro; Hashimoto, Takahiro; Ota, Yuichi; Kondo, Takeshi; Okazaki, Kozo; Wang, Zhijun; Wen, Jinsheng; Gu, G. D.; Ding, Hong; Shin, Shik

2018-04-01

Topological superconductors are predicted to host exotic Majorana states that obey non-Abelian statistics and can be used to implement a topological quantum computer. Most of the proposed topological superconductors are realized in difficult-to-fabricate heterostructures at very low temperatures. By using high-resolution spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the iron-based superconductor FeTe1–xSex (x = 0.45; superconducting transition temperature Tc = 14.5 kelvin) hosts Dirac-cone–type spin-helical surface states at the Fermi level; the surface states exhibit an s-wave superconducting gap below Tc. Our study shows that the surface states of FeTe0.55Se0.45 are topologically superconducting, providing a simple and possibly high-temperature platform for realizing Majorana states.

Method of depositing an electrically conductive oxide buffer layer on a textured substrate and articles formed therefrom

DOEpatents

Paranthaman, M. Parans; Aytug, Tolga; Christen, David K.

2005-10-18

An article with an improved buffer layer architecture includes a substrate having a textured metal surface, and an electrically conductive lanthanum metal oxide epitaxial buffer layer on the surface of the substrate. The article can also include an epitaxial superconducting layer deposited on the epitaxial buffer layer. An epitaxial capping layer can be placed between the epitaxial buffer layer and the superconducting layer. A method for preparing an epitaxial article includes providing a substrate with a metal surface and depositing on the metal surface a lanthanum metal oxide epitaxial buffer layer. The method can further include depositing a superconducting layer on the epitaxial buffer layer, and depositing an epitaxial capping layer between the epitaxial buffer layer and the superconducting layer.

Method of depositing an electrically conductive oxide buffer layer on a textured substrate and articles formed therefrom

DOEpatents

Paranthaman, M. Parans; Aytug, Tolga; Christen, David K.

2003-09-09

An article with an improved buffer layer architecture includes a substrate having a textured metal surface, and an electrically conductive lanthanum metal oxide epitaxial buffer layer on the surface of the substrate. The article can also include an epitaxial superconducting layer deposited on the epitaxial buffer layer. An epitaxial capping layer can be placed between the epitaxial buffer layer and the superconducting layer. A method for preparing an epitaxial article includes providing a substrate with a metal surface and depositing on the metal surface a lanthanum metal oxide epitaxial buffer layer. The method can further include depositing a superconducting layer on the epitaxial buffer layer, and depositing an epitaxial capping layer between the epitaxial buffer layer and the superconducting layer.

Inducing superconductivity in Weyl semimetal microstructures by selective ion sputtering.

PubMed

Bachmann, Maja D; Nair, Nityan; Flicker, Felix; Ilan, Roni; Meng, Tobias; Ghimire, Nirmal J; Bauer, Eric D; Ronning, Filip; Analytis, James G; Moll, Philip J W

2017-05-01

By introducing a superconducting gap in Weyl or Dirac semimetals, the superconducting state inherits the nontrivial topology of their electronic structure. As a result, Weyl superconductors are expected to host exotic phenomena, such as nonzero-momentum pairing due to their chiral node structure, or zero-energy Majorana modes at the surface. These are of fundamental interest to improve our understanding of correlated topological systems, and, moreover, practical applications in phase-coherent devices and quantum applications have been proposed. Proximity-induced superconductivity promises to allow these experiments on nonsuperconducting Weyl semimetals. We show a new route to reliably fabricate superconducting microstructures from the nonsuperconducting Weyl semimetal NbAs under ion irradiation. The significant difference in the surface binding energy of Nb and As leads to a natural enrichment of Nb at the surface during ion milling, forming a superconducting surface layer ( T c ~ 3.5 K). Being formed from the target crystal itself, the ideal contact between the superconductor and the bulk may enable an effective gapping of the Weyl nodes in the bulk because of the proximity effect. Simple ion irradiation may thus serve as a powerful tool for the fabrication of topological quantum devices from monoarsenides, even on an industrial scale.

Inducing superconductivity in Weyl semimetal microstructures by selective ion sputtering

PubMed Central

Bachmann, Maja D.; Nair, Nityan; Flicker, Felix; Ilan, Roni; Meng, Tobias; Ghimire, Nirmal J.; Bauer, Eric D.; Ronning, Filip; Analytis, James G.; Moll, Philip J. W.

2017-01-01

By introducing a superconducting gap in Weyl or Dirac semimetals, the superconducting state inherits the nontrivial topology of their electronic structure. As a result, Weyl superconductors are expected to host exotic phenomena, such as nonzero-momentum pairing due to their chiral node structure, or zero-energy Majorana modes at the surface. These are of fundamental interest to improve our understanding of correlated topological systems, and, moreover, practical applications in phase-coherent devices and quantum applications have been proposed. Proximity-induced superconductivity promises to allow these experiments on nonsuperconducting Weyl semimetals. We show a new route to reliably fabricate superconducting microstructures from the nonsuperconducting Weyl semimetal NbAs under ion irradiation. The significant difference in the surface binding energy of Nb and As leads to a natural enrichment of Nb at the surface during ion milling, forming a superconducting surface layer (Tc ~ 3.5 K). Being formed from the target crystal itself, the ideal contact between the superconductor and the bulk may enable an effective gapping of the Weyl nodes in the bulk because of the proximity effect. Simple ion irradiation may thus serve as a powerful tool for the fabrication of topological quantum devices from monoarsenides, even on an industrial scale. PMID:28560340

Common electronic origin of superconductivity in (Li,Fe)OHFeSe bulk superconductor and single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3 films.

PubMed

Zhao, Lin; Liang, Aiji; Yuan, Dongna; Hu, Yong; Liu, Defa; Huang, Jianwei; He, Shaolong; Shen, Bing; Xu, Yu; Liu, Xu; Yu, Li; Liu, Guodong; Zhou, Huaxue; Huang, Yulong; Dong, Xiaoli; Zhou, Fang; Liu, Kai; Lu, Zhongyi; Zhao, Zhongxian; Chen, Chuangtian; Xu, Zuyan; Zhou, X J

2016-02-08

The mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity in the iron-based superconductors remains an outstanding issue in condensed matter physics. The electronic structure plays an essential role in dictating superconductivity. Recent revelation of distinct electronic structure and high-temperature superconductivity in the single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3 films provides key information on the role of Fermi surface topology and interface in inducing or enhancing superconductivity. Here we report high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurements on the electronic structure and superconducting gap of an FeSe-based superconductor, (Li0.84Fe0.16)OHFe0.98Se, with a Tc at 41 K. We find that this single-phase bulk superconductor shows remarkably similar electronic behaviours to that of the superconducting single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3 films in terms of Fermi surface topology, band structure and the gap symmetry. These observations provide new insights in understanding high-temperature superconductivity in the single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3 films and the mechanism of superconductivity in the bulk iron-based superconductors.

Principle and experimental investigation of current-driven negative-inductance superconducting quantum interference device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hao; Liu, Jianshe; Zhang, Yingshan; Cai, Han; Li, Gang; Liu, Qichun; Han, Siyuan; Chen, Wei

2017-03-01

A negative-inductance superconducting quantum interference device (nSQUID) is an adiabatic superconducting logic device with high energy efficiency, and therefore a promising building block for large-scale low-power superconducting computing. However, the principle of the nSQUID is not that straightforward and an nSQUID driven by voltage is vulnerable to common mode noise. We investigate a single nSQUID driven by current instead of voltage, and clarify the principle of the adiabatic transition of the current-driven nSQUID between different states. The basic logic operations of the current-driven nSQUID with proper parameters are simulated by WRspice. The corresponding circuit is fabricated with a 100 A cm-2 Nb-based lift-off process, and the experimental results at low temperature confirm the basic logic operations as a gated buffer.

Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Peng; Yaji, Koichiro; Hashimoto, Takahiro; ...

2018-03-08

Topological superconductors are predicted to host exotic Majorana states that obey non-Abelian statistics and can be used to implement a topological quantum computer. Most of the proposed topological superconductors are realized in difficult-to-fabricate heterostructures at very low temperatures. By using high-resolution spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the iron-based superconductor FeTe 1–xSe x (x = 0.45; superconducting transition temperature T c = 14.5 kelvin) hosts Dirac-cone–type spin-helical surface states at the Fermi level; the surface states exhibit an s-wave superconducting gap below T c. Thus, our study shows that the surface states of FeTe 0.55Se 0.45 are topologicallymore » superconducting, providing a simple and possibly high-temperature platform for realizing Majorana states.« less

Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Peng; Yaji, Koichiro; Hashimoto, Takahiro

Topological superconductors are predicted to host exotic Majorana states that obey non-Abelian statistics and can be used to implement a topological quantum computer. Most of the proposed topological superconductors are realized in difficult-to-fabricate heterostructures at very low temperatures. By using high-resolution spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the iron-based superconductor FeTe 1–xSe x (x = 0.45; superconducting transition temperature T c = 14.5 kelvin) hosts Dirac-cone–type spin-helical surface states at the Fermi level; the surface states exhibit an s-wave superconducting gap below T c. Thus, our study shows that the surface states of FeTe 0.55Se 0.45 are topologicallymore » superconducting, providing a simple and possibly high-temperature platform for realizing Majorana states.« less

Superconductivity enhanced by Se doping in Eu3Bi2(S,Se)4F4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, P.; Zhai, H. F.; Tang, Z. J.; Li, L.; Li, Y. K.; Chen, Q.; Chen, J.; Wang, Z.; Feng, C. M.; Cao, G. H.; Xu, Z. A.

2015-07-01

We investigated the negative-chemical-pressure effect of Eu3Bi2S4-x Se x F4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 2.0) by the partial substitution of S with Se. The crystalline lattice substantially expands as Se is doped, suggesting an effective negative chemical pressure. With Se/S doping, the charge-density-wave-like anomaly is suppressed, and meanwhile the superconducting transition temperature (T_c) is enhanced. For x = 2.0 , T c reaches 3.35 K and bulk superconductivity is confirmed by the strong diamagnetic signal, with shielding volume fraction over 90%. Magnetic-susceptibility, specific-heat and Hall-effect measurements reveal that the Se/S doping increases the carrier density, corresponding to the increase of the average Eu valence. Our work provides a rare paradigm of negative-chemical-pressure effect.

Excitation system for rotating synchronous machines

DOEpatents

Umans, Stephen D.; Driscoll, David J.

2002-01-01

A system for providing DC current to a rotating superconducting winding is provided. The system receives current feedback from the superconducting winding and determines an error signal based on the current feedback and a reference signal. The system determines a control signal corresponding to the error signal and provides a positive and negative superconducting winding excitation voltage based on the control signal.

Fermiology and Superconductivity of Topological Surface States in PdTe2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, O. J.; Neat, M. J.; Okawa, K.; Bawden, L.; Marković, I.; Mazzola, F.; Feng, J.; Sunko, V.; Riley, J. M.; Meevasana, W.; Fujii, J.; Vobornik, I.; Kim, T. K.; Hoesch, M.; Sasagawa, T.; Wahl, P.; Bahramy, M. S.; King, P. D. C.

2018-04-01

We study the low-energy surface electronic structure of the transition-metal dichalcogenide superconductor PdTe2 by spin- and angle-resolved photoemission, scanning tunneling microscopy, and density-functional theory-based supercell calculations. Comparing PdTe2 with its sister compound PtSe2 , we demonstrate how enhanced interlayer hopping in the Te-based material drives a band inversion within the antibonding p -orbital manifold well above the Fermi level. We show how this mediates spin-polarized topological surface states which form rich multivalley Fermi surfaces with complex spin textures. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals type-II superconductivity at the surface, and moreover shows no evidence for an unconventional component of its superconducting order parameter, despite the presence of topological surface states.

Inducing superconductivity in Weyl semimetal microstructures by selective ion sputtering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bachmann, Maja D.; Nair, Nityan; Flicker, Felix

By introducing a superconducting gap in Weyl or Dirac semimetals, the superconducting state inherits the nontrivial topology of their electronic structure. As a result, Weyl superconductors are expected to host exotic phenomena, such as nonzero-momentum pairing due to their chiral node structure, or zero-energy Majorana modes at the surface. These are of fundamental interest to improve our understanding of correlated topological systems, and, moreover, practical applications in phase-coherent devices and quantum applications have been proposed. Proximity-induced superconductivity promises to allow these experiments on nonsuperconducting Weyl semimetals. Here, we show a new route to reliably fabricate superconducting microstructures from the nonsuperconductingmore » Weyl semimetal NbAs under ion irradiation. Furthermore, the significant difference in the surface binding energy of Nb and As leads to a natural enrichment of Nb at the surface during ion milling, forming a superconducting surface layer (Tc ~ 3.5 K). Being formed from the target crystal itself, the ideal contact between the superconductor and the bulk may enable an effective gapping of the Weyl nodes in the bulk because of the proximity effect. Simple ion irradiation may thus serve as a powerful tool for the fabrication of topological quantum devices from monoarsenides, even on an industrial scale.« less

Inducing superconductivity in Weyl semimetal microstructures by selective ion sputtering

DOE PAGES

Bachmann, Maja D.; Nair, Nityan; Flicker, Felix; ...

2017-05-24

By introducing a superconducting gap in Weyl or Dirac semimetals, the superconducting state inherits the nontrivial topology of their electronic structure. As a result, Weyl superconductors are expected to host exotic phenomena, such as nonzero-momentum pairing due to their chiral node structure, or zero-energy Majorana modes at the surface. These are of fundamental interest to improve our understanding of correlated topological systems, and, moreover, practical applications in phase-coherent devices and quantum applications have been proposed. Proximity-induced superconductivity promises to allow these experiments on nonsuperconducting Weyl semimetals. Here, we show a new route to reliably fabricate superconducting microstructures from the nonsuperconductingmore » Weyl semimetal NbAs under ion irradiation. Furthermore, the significant difference in the surface binding energy of Nb and As leads to a natural enrichment of Nb at the surface during ion milling, forming a superconducting surface layer (Tc ~ 3.5 K). Being formed from the target crystal itself, the ideal contact between the superconductor and the bulk may enable an effective gapping of the Weyl nodes in the bulk because of the proximity effect. Simple ion irradiation may thus serve as a powerful tool for the fabrication of topological quantum devices from monoarsenides, even on an industrial scale.« less

Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor.

PubMed

Zhang, Peng; Yaji, Koichiro; Hashimoto, Takahiro; Ota, Yuichi; Kondo, Takeshi; Okazaki, Kozo; Wang, Zhijun; Wen, Jinsheng; Gu, G D; Ding, Hong; Shin, Shik

2018-04-13

Topological superconductors are predicted to host exotic Majorana states that obey non-Abelian statistics and can be used to implement a topological quantum computer. Most of the proposed topological superconductors are realized in difficult-to-fabricate heterostructures at very low temperatures. By using high-resolution spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the iron-based superconductor FeTe 1- x Se x ( x = 0.45; superconducting transition temperature T c = 14.5 kelvin) hosts Dirac-cone-type spin-helical surface states at the Fermi level; the surface states exhibit an s-wave superconducting gap below T c Our study shows that the surface states of FeTe 0.55 Se 0.45 are topologically superconducting, providing a simple and possibly high-temperature platform for realizing Majorana states. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Theoretical studies of superconductivity in doped BaCoSO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Shengshan; Li, Yinxiang; Zhang, Qiang; Le, Congcong; Hu, Jiangping

2018-06-01

We investigate superconductivity that may exist in the doped BaCoSO, a multi-orbital Mott insulator with a strong antiferromagnetic ground state. The superconductivity is studied in both t-J type and Hubbard type multi-orbital models by mean field approach and random phase approximation (RPA) analysis. Even if there is no C 4 rotational symmetry, it is found that the system still carries a d-wave like pairing symmetry state with gapless nodes and sign changed superconducting order parameters on Fermi surfaces. The results are largely doping insensitive. In this superconducting state, the three {t_{{2_g}}} orbitals have very different superconducting form factors in momentum space. In particular, the intra-orbital pairing of the {d_{{x^2} - {y^2}}} orbital has an s-wave like pairing form factor. The two methods also predict very different pairing strength on different parts of Fermi surfaces. These results suggest that BaCoSO and related materials can be a new ground to test and establish fundamental principles for unconventional high temperature superconductivity.

Common electronic origin of superconductivity in (Li,Fe)OHFeSe bulk superconductor and single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3 films

PubMed Central

Zhao, Lin; Liang, Aiji; Yuan, Dongna; Hu, Yong; Liu, Defa; Huang, Jianwei; He, Shaolong; Shen, Bing; Xu, Yu; Liu, Xu; Yu, Li; Liu, Guodong; Zhou, Huaxue; Huang, Yulong; Dong, Xiaoli; Zhou, Fang; Liu, Kai; Lu, Zhongyi; Zhao, Zhongxian; Chen, Chuangtian; Xu, Zuyan; Zhou, X. J.

2016-01-01

The mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity in the iron-based superconductors remains an outstanding issue in condensed matter physics. The electronic structure plays an essential role in dictating superconductivity. Recent revelation of distinct electronic structure and high-temperature superconductivity in the single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3 films provides key information on the role of Fermi surface topology and interface in inducing or enhancing superconductivity. Here we report high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurements on the electronic structure and superconducting gap of an FeSe-based superconductor, (Li0.84Fe0.16)OHFe0.98Se, with a Tc at 41 K. We find that this single-phase bulk superconductor shows remarkably similar electronic behaviours to that of the superconducting single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3 films in terms of Fermi surface topology, band structure and the gap symmetry. These observations provide new insights in understanding high-temperature superconductivity in the single-layer FeSe/SrTiO3 films and the mechanism of superconductivity in the bulk iron-based superconductors. PMID:26853801

π and 4 π Josephson Effects Mediated by a Dirac Semimetal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, W.; Pan, W.; Medlin, D. L.; Rodriguez, M. A.; Lee, S. R.; Bao, Zhi-qiang; Zhang, F.

2018-04-01

Cd3As2 is a three-dimensional topological Dirac semimetal with connected Fermi-arc surface states. It has been suggested that topological superconductivity can be achieved in the nontrivial surface states of topological materials by utilizing the superconductor proximity effect. Here we report observations of both π and 4 π periodic supercurrents in aluminum-Cd3As2 -aluminum Josephson junctions. The π period is manifested by both the magnetic-field dependence of the critical supercurrent and the appearance of half-integer Shapiro steps in the ac Josephson effect. Our macroscopic theory suggests that the π period arises from interference between the induced bulk superconductivity and the induced Fermi-arc surface superconductivity. The 4 π period is manifested by the missing first Shapiro steps and is expected for topological superconductivity.

Superconductivity of lanthanum revisited: enhanced critical temperature in the clean limit.

PubMed

Löptien, P; Zhou, L; Khajetoorians, A A; Wiebe, J; Wiesendanger, R

2014-10-22

The thickness dependence of the superconducting energy gap ΔLa of double hexagonally close packed (dhcp) lanthanum islands grown on W(110) is studied by scanning tunneling spectroscopy, from the bulk to the thin-film limit. Superconductivity is suppressed by the boundary conditions for the superconducting wavefunction on the surface and W/La interface, leading to a linear decrease of the critical temperature Tc as a function of the inverse film thickness. For the thick, bulk-like films, ΔLa and Tc are 40% larger compared to the literature values of dhcp La as measured by other techniques. This finding is reconciled by examining the effects of surface contamination as probed by modifications of the surface state, suggesting that the large Tc originates in the superior purity of the samples investigated here.

Superconductivity of lanthanum revisited: enhanced critical temperature in the clean limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löptien, P.; Zhou, L.; Khajetoorians, A. A.; Wiebe, J.; Wiesendanger, R.

2014-10-01

The thickness dependence of the superconducting energy gap ΔLa of double hexagonally close packed (dhcp) lanthanum islands grown on W(110) is studied by scanning tunneling spectroscopy, from the bulk to the thin-film limit. Superconductivity is suppressed by the boundary conditions for the superconducting wavefunction on the surface and W/La interface, leading to a linear decrease of the critical temperature Tc as a function of the inverse film thickness. For the thick, bulk-like films, ΔLa and Tc are 40% larger compared to the literature values of dhcp La as measured by other techniques. This finding is reconciled by examining the effects of surface contamination as probed by modifications of the surface state, suggesting that the large Tc originates in the superior purity of the samples investigated here.

High field superconducting magnets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hait, Thomas P. (Inventor); Shirron, Peter J. (Inventor)

2011-01-01

A superconducting magnet includes an insulating layer disposed about the surface of a mandrel; a superconducting wire wound in adjacent turns about the mandrel to form the superconducting magnet, wherein the superconducting wire is in thermal communication with the mandrel, and the superconducting magnet has a field-to-current ratio equal to or greater than 1.1 Tesla per Ampere; a thermally conductive potting material configured to fill interstices between the adjacent turns, wherein the thermally conductive potting material and the superconducting wire provide a path for dissipation of heat; and a voltage limiting device disposed across each end of the superconducting wire, wherein the voltage limiting device is configured to prevent a voltage excursion across the superconducting wire during quench of the superconducting magnet.

Anomalous expansion of the copper-apical-oxygen distance in superconducting cuprate bilayers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Hua; Yacoby, Yizhak; Butko, Vladimir Y.

2010-08-27

We have introduced an improved x-ray phase-retrieval method with unprecedented speed of convergence and precision, and used it to determine with sub-Angstrom resolution the complete atomic structure of epitaxial La{sub 2-x}Sr{sub x}CuO{sub 4} ultrathin films. We focus on superconducting heterostructures built from constituent materials that are not superconducting in bulk samples. Single-phase metallic or superconducting films are also studied for comparison. The results show that this phase-retrieval diffraction method enables accurate measurement of structural modifications in near-surface layers, which may be critically important for elucidation of surface-sensitive experiments. Specifically we find that, while the copper-apical-oxygen distance remains approximately constant inmore » single-phase films, it shows a dramatic increase from the metallic-insulating interface of the bilayer towards the surface by as much as 0.45 {angstrom}. The apical-oxygen displacement is known to have a profound effect on the superconducting transition temperature.« less

High-kinetic inductance additive manufactured superconducting microwave cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holland, Eric T.; Rosen, Yaniv J.; Materise, Nicholas; Woollett, Nathan; Voisin, Thomas; Wang, Y. Morris; Torres, Sharon G.; Mireles, Jorge; Carosi, Gianpaolo; DuBois, Jonathan L.

2017-11-01

Investigations into the microwave surface impedance of superconducting resonators have led to the development of single photon counters that rely on kinetic inductance for their operation, while concurrent progress in additive manufacturing, "3D printing," opens up a previously inaccessible design space for waveguide resonators. In this manuscript, we present results from the synthesis of these two technologies in a titanium, aluminum, vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) superconducting radio frequency resonator which exploits a design unattainable through conventional fabrication means. We find that Ti-6Al-4V has two distinct superconducting transition temperatures observable in heat capacity measurements. The higher transition temperature is in agreement with DC resistance measurements, while the lower transition temperature, not previously known in the literature, is consistent with the observed temperature dependence of the superconducting microwave surface impedance. From the surface reactance, we extract a London penetration depth of 8 ± 3 μm—roughly an order of magnitude larger than other titanium alloys and several orders of magnitude larger than other conventional elemental superconductors.

A low energy muon spin rotation and point contact tunneling study of niobium films prepared for superconducting cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junginger, Tobias; Calatroni, S.; Sublet, A.; Terenziani, G.; Prokscha, T.; Salman, Z.; Suter, A.; Proslier, T.; Zasadzinski, J.

2017-12-01

Point contact tunneling and low energy muon spin rotation are used to probe, on the same samples, the surface superconducting properties of micrometer thick niobium films deposited onto copper substrates using different sputtering techniques: diode, dc magnetron and HIPIMS. The combined results are compared to radio-frequency tests performances of RF cavities made with the same processes. Degraded surface superconducting properties are found to correlate to lower quality factors and stronger Q-slope. In addition, both techniques find evidence for surface paramagnetism on all samples and particularly on Nb films prepared by HIPIMS.

Origin of Superconductivity and Latent Charge Density Wave in NbS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heil, Christoph; Poncé, Samuel; Lambert, Henry; Schlipf, Martin; Margine, Elena R.; Giustino, Feliciano

2017-08-01

We elucidate the origin of the phonon-mediated superconductivity in 2 H -NbS2 using the ab initio anisotropic Migdal-Eliashberg theory including Coulomb interactions. We demonstrate that superconductivity is associated with Fermi surface hot spots exhibiting an unusually strong electron-phonon interaction. The electron-lattice coupling is dominated by low-energy anharmonic phonons, which place the system on the verge of a charge density wave instability. We also provide definitive evidence for two-gap superconductivity in 2 H -NbS2 , and show that the low- and high-energy peaks observed in tunneling spectra correspond to the Γ - and K -centered Fermi surface pockets, respectively. The present findings call for further efforts to determine whether our proposed mechanism underpins superconductivity in the whole family of metallic transition metal dichalcogenides.

Coherence and Chaos Phenomena in Josephson Oscillators for Superconducting Electronics.

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-01-25

represents dissipation due j+(a+/b)+ b--i(a-) to the surface resistance of the superconducting films , y is the uniform bias current normalized to the...represents series loss due series of time-dependent Fourier spatial compo- to surface resistance of the superconducting films , nents. Tis approach provides...case is that in which there is no ing films , y is the spatially uniform bias current normal- external magnetic field applied to the junction. In this

Quantum oscillations from the reconstructed Fermi surface in electron-doped cuprate superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higgins, J. S.; Chan, M. K.; Sarkar, Tarapada; McDonald, R. D.; Greene, R. L.; Butch, N. P.

2018-04-01

We have studied the electronic structure of electron-doped cuprate superconductors via measurements of high-field Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations in thin films. In optimally doped Pr2‑x Ce x CuO4±δ and La2‑x Ce x CuO4±δ , quantum oscillations indicate the presence of a small Fermi surface, demonstrating that electronic reconstruction is a general feature of the electron-doped cuprates, despite the location of the superconducting dome at very different doping levels. Negative high-field magnetoresistance is correlated with an anomalous low-temperature change in scattering that modifies the amplitude of quantum oscillations. This behavior is consistent with effects attributed to spin fluctuations.

Unexpected superconductivity at nanoscale junctions made on the topological crystalline insulator Pb0.6Sn0.4Te

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Shekhar; Aggarwal, Leena; Roychowdhury, Subhajit; Aslam, Mohammad; Gayen, Sirshendu; Biswas, Kanishka; Sheet, Goutam

2016-09-01

Discovery of exotic phases of matter from the topologically non-trivial systems not only makes the research on topological materials more interesting but also enriches our understanding of the fascinating physics of such materials. Pb0.6Sn0.4Te was recently shown to be a topological crystalline insulator. Here, we show that by forming a mesoscopic point-contact using a normal non-superconducting elemental metal on the surface of Pb0.6Sn0.4Te, a superconducting phase is created locally in a confined region under the point-contact. This happens when the bulk of the sample remains to be non-superconducting, and the superconducting phase emerges as a nano-droplet under the point-contact. The superconducting phase shows a high transition temperature Tc that varies for different point-contacts and falls in a range between 3.7 K and 6.5 K. Therefore, this Letter presents the discovery of a superconducting phase on the surface of a topological crystalline insulator, and the discovery is expected to shed light on the mechanism of induced superconductivity in topologically non-trivial systems in general.

Superconductivity mediated by quantum critical antiferromagnetic fluctuations: The rise and fall of hot spots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaoyu; Schattner, Yoni; Berg, Erez; Fernandes, Rafael M.

2017-05-01

In several unconventional superconductors, the highest superconducting transition temperature Tc is found in a region of the phase diagram where the antiferromagnetic transition temperature extrapolates to zero, signaling a putative quantum critical point. The elucidation of the interplay between these two phenomena—high-Tc superconductivity and magnetic quantum criticality—remains an important piece of the complex puzzle of unconventional superconductivity. In this paper, we combine sign-problem-free quantum Monte Carlo simulations and field-theoretical analytical calculations to unveil the microscopic mechanism responsible for the superconducting instability of a general low-energy model, called the spin-fermion model. In this approach, low-energy electronic states interact with each other via the exchange of quantum critical magnetic fluctuations. We find that even in the regime of moderately strong interactions, both the superconducting transition temperature and the pairing susceptibility are governed not by the properties of the entire Fermi surface, but instead by the properties of small portions of the Fermi surface called hot spots. Moreover, Tc increases with increasing interaction strength, until it starts to saturate at the crossover from hot-spots-dominated to Fermi-surface-dominated pairing. Our work provides not only invaluable insights into the system parameters that most strongly affect Tc, but also important benchmarks to assess the origin of superconductivity in both microscopic models and actual materials.

The structure of K3C60 and the mechanism of superconductivity.

PubMed Central

Pauling, L

1991-01-01

Analysis of the interatomic distances in the superconducting substance K3C60 indicates that each of the K atoms in tetrahedral interstices between C60 spheres accepts three electrons from C60, thus becoming quadricovalent; its four bonds resonate among the 24 adjacent carbon atoms to give a strong framework in which the negative charges are localized on these K atoms. The electric current is carried by the motion of positive charges (holes) through the network of C60 spheres and the K atoms in octahedral holes. Superconductivity is favored by the localization of the negative charges on the tetrahedral K atoms and their noninvolvement in valence-bond resonance, decreasing the rate of mutual extinction of electrons and holes. PMID:11607222

Superconductor magnetic reading and writing heads

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barnes, F.S.; Dugas, M.P.

1990-11-20

This paper describes a head for interfacing with a magnetic recording media. It comprises: a member of magnetic material forming at least a portion of a magnetic flux circuit ending with a pole face surface in interfacing relation to the media for establishing a main pole in proximity to the media in the magnetic flux circuit, magnetically responsive means in magnetically coupled relation to the magnetic flux circuit, means encasing at least a portion of the external surfaces of the member with superconductive material except for the media interfacing portion of the pole face surface. The encasing means including superconductingmore » material substantially surrounding the magnetic flux circuit in proximity to the pole face surface, and means establishing an environment for the superconductive material at a temperature for maintaining the superconductive material in its superconductive state, whereby magnetic flux in the magnetic flux circuit associated with the encasing means is concentrated within the magnetic flux circuit while placement of the pole face surface in proximity to the recording media permits sensitive magnetic flux controlled information exchanges between the media and the head.« less

Proximity-Induced Superconductivity and Quantum Interference in Topological Crystalline Insulator SnTe Thin-Film Devices.

PubMed

Klett, Robin; Schönle, Joachim; Becker, Andreas; Dyck, Denis; Borisov, Kiril; Rott, Karsten; Ramermann, Daniela; Büker, Björn; Haskenhoff, Jan; Krieft, Jan; Hübner, Torsten; Reimer, Oliver; Shekhar, Chandra; Schmalhorst, Jan-Michael; Hütten, Andreas; Felser, Claudia; Wernsdorfer, Wolfgang; Reiss, Günter

2018-02-14

Topological crystalline insulators represent a new state of matter, in which the electronic transport is governed by mirror-symmetry protected Dirac surface states. Due to the helical spin-polarization of these surface states, the proximity of topological crystalline matter to a nearby superconductor is predicted to induce unconventional superconductivity and, thus, to host Majorana physics. We report on the preparation and characterization of Nb-based superconducting quantum interference devices patterned on top of topological crystalline insulator SnTe thin films. The SnTe films show weak anti-localization, and the weak links of the superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID) exhibit fully gapped proximity-induced superconductivity. Both properties give a coinciding coherence length of 120 nm. The SQUID oscillations induced by a magnetic field show 2π periodicity, possibly dominated by the bulk conductivity.

Detection of surface impurity phases in high T.sub.C superconductors using thermally stimulated luminescence

DOEpatents

Cooke, D. Wayne; Jahan, Muhammad S.

1989-01-01

Detection of surface impurity phases in high-temperature superconducting materials. Thermally stimulated luminescence has been found to occur in insulating impurity phases which commonly exist in high-temperature superconducting materials. The present invention is sensitive to impurity phases occurring at a level of less than 1% with a probe depth of about 1 .mu.m which is the region of interest for many superconductivity applications. Spectroscopic and spatial resolution of the emitted light from a sample permits identification and location of the impurity species. Absence of luminescence, and thus of insulating phases, can be correlated with low values of rf surface resistance.

Superconducting parity effect across the Anderson limit

PubMed Central

Vlaic, Sergio; Pons, Stéphane; Zhang, Tianzhen; Assouline, Alexandre; Zimmers, Alexandre; David, Christophe; Rodary, Guillemin; Girard, Jean-Christophe; Roditchev, Dimitri; Aubin, Hervé

2017-01-01

How small can superconductors be? For isolated nanoparticles subject to quantum size effects, P.W. Anderson in 1959 conjectured that superconductivity could only exist when the electronic level spacing δ is smaller than the superconducting gap energy Δ. Here we report a scanning tunnelling spectroscopy study of superconducting lead (Pb) nanocrystals grown on the (110) surface of InAs. We find that for nanocrystals of lateral size smaller than the Fermi wavelength of the 2D electron gas at the surface of InAs, the electronic transmission of the interface is weak; this leads to Coulomb blockade and enables the extraction of electron addition energy of the nanocrystals. For large nanocrystals, the addition energy displays superconducting parity effect, a direct consequence of Cooper pairing. Studying this parity effect as a function of nanocrystal volume, we find the suppression of Cooper pairing when the mean electronic level spacing overcomes the superconducting gap energy, thus demonstrating unambiguously the validity of the Anderson criterion. PMID:28240294

Metalorganic deposition method for forming epitaxial thallium-based copper oxide superconducting films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Olsen, W.L.; Eddy, M.M.; Hammond, R.B.

1991-12-10

This patent describes a method for producing a superconducting article comprising an oriented metal oxide superconducting layer containing thallium, optionally calcium, barium and copper, the layer being at least 30 {Angstrom} and having a c-axis oriented normal to a crystalline substrate surface. It comprises coating the crystalline substrate surface with a solution of thallium, optionally calcium, barium and copper carboxylate soaps dispersed in a medium of hydrocarbons of halohydrocarbons with a stoichiometric metal ratio to form the oxide superconducting layer, prepyrolyzing the soaps coated on the substrate at a temperature of 350{degrees} C. or less in an oxygen containing atmosphere,more » and pyrolyzing the soaps at a temperature in the range of 800{degrees} - 900{degrees} C. in the presence of oxygen and an overpressure of thallium for a sufficient time to produce the superconducting layer on the substrate, wherein usable portions of the superconducting layer are epitaxial to the substrate.« less

Thermal stability analysis of a superconducting magnet considering heat flow between magnet surface and liquid helium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jang, J. Y.; Hwang, Y. J.; Ahn, M. C.; Choi, Y. S.

2018-07-01

This paper represents a numerical calculation method that enables highly-accurate simulations on temperature analysis of superconducting magnets considering the heat flow between the magnet and liquid helium during a quench. A three-dimensional (3D) superconducting magnet space was divided into many cells and the finite-difference method (FDM) was adopted to calculate the superconducting magnet temperatures governed by the heat transfer and joule heating of the each cell during a quench. To enhance the accuracy of the temperature calculations during a quench, the heat flow between the superconducting magnet surface and liquid helium, which lowers the magnet temperatures, was considered in this work. The electrical equation coupled with the governing thermal equation was also applied to calculate the change of the decay of the magnet current related to the joule heating. The proposed FDM method for temperatures calculation of a superconducting magnet during a quench process achieved results that were in good agreement with those obtained from an experiment.

Superconductive articles including cerium oxide layer

DOEpatents

Wu, X.D.; Muenchausen, R.E.

1993-11-16

A ceramic superconductor comprising a metal oxide substrate, a ceramic high temperature superconductive material, and a intermediate layer of a material having a cubic crystal structure, said layer situated between the substrate and the superconductive material is provided, and a structure for supporting a ceramic superconducting material is provided, said structure comprising a metal oxide substrate, and a layer situated over the surface of the substrate to substantially inhibit interdiffusion between the substrate and a ceramic superconducting material deposited upon said structure. 7 figures.

Superconductive articles including cerium oxide layer

DOEpatents

Wu, Xin D.; Muenchausen, Ross E.

1993-01-01

A ceramic superconductor comprising a metal oxide substrate, a ceramic high temperature superconductive material, and a intermediate layer of a material having a cubic crystal structure, said layer situated between the substrate and the superconductive material is provided, and a structure for supporting a ceramic superconducting material is provided, said structure comprising a metal oxide substrate, and a layer situated over the surface of the substrate to substantially inhibit interdiffusion between the substrate and a ceramic superconducting material deposited upon said structure.

Pressure effects on topological crystalline insulator SnTe and derived superconductor Sn{sub 0.5}In{sub 0.5}Te

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maurya, V. K.; Shruti,; Patnaik, S., E-mail: spatnaik@mail.jnu.ac.in

2016-05-23

We are reporting decrease in superconducting transition temperature accompanied by increased metallicity in indium doped SnTe superconductor. SnTe is a topological crystalline insulator and superconductivity is achieved by indium substitution in place of tin. With application of hydrostatic pressure we find negative dT{sub c}/dP of ~ -0.6K/GPa upto 2.5 GPa. The overall phenomenon is ascribed to unconventional superconductivity. Decrease in resistivity is also seen in single crystal SnTe with application of pressure but no evidence of superconductivity is observed.

Effect of atomic disorder and Ce doping on superconductivity of Ca 3 Rh 4 Sn 13 : Electric transport properties under high pressure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ślebarski, Andrzej; Goraus, Jerzy; Maśka, Maciej M.

2016-06-13

Here, we report the observation of a superconducting state below ~8 K coexistent with a spin-glass state caused by atomic disorder in Ce substituted Ca 3Rh 4Sn 13. Measurements of specific heat, resistivity, and magnetism reveal the existence of inhomogeneous superconductivity in samples doped with Ce with superconducting critical temperatures T c higher than those observed in the parent compound. For Ca 3Rh 4Sn 13, the negative value of the change in resistivity ρ with pressure P, dρ/dP correlates well with the calculated decrease in the density of states (DOS) at the Fermi energy with P. In conclusion, based onmore » band-structure calculations performed under pressure, we demonstrate how the change in DOS would affect T c of Ca 3Rh 4Sn 13 under negative lattice pressure in samples that are strongly defected by quenching.« less

Point contact tunneling spectroscopy apparatus for large scale mapping of surface superconducting properties

DOE PAGES

Groll, Nickolas; Pellin, Michael J.; Zasadzinksi, John F.; ...

2015-09-18

In this paper, we describe the design and testing of a point contact tunneling spectroscopy device that can measure material surface superconducting properties (i.e., the superconducting gap Δ and the critical temperature T C) and density of states over large surface areas with size up to mm 2. The tip lateral (X,Y) motion, mounted on a (X,Y,Z) piezo-stage, was calibrated on a patterned substrate consisting of Nb lines sputtered on a gold film using both normal (Al) and superconducting (PbSn) tips at 1.5 K. The tip vertical (Z) motion control enables some adjustment of the tip-sample junction resistance that canmore » be measured over 7 orders of magnitudes from a quasi-ohmic regime (few hundred Ω) to the tunnel regime (from tens of kΩ up to few GΩ). The low noise electronic and LabVIEW program interface are also presented. Finally, the point contact regime and the large-scale motion capabilities are of particular interest for mapping and testing the superconducting properties of macroscopic scale superconductor-based devices.« less

High-kinetic inductance additive manufactured superconducting microwave cavity

DOE PAGES

Holland, Eric T.; Rosen, Yaniv J.; Materise, Nicholas; ...

2017-11-13

We present that investigations into the microwave surface impedance of superconducting resonators have led to the development of single photon counters that rely on kinetic inductance for their operation, while concurrent progress in additive manufacturing, “3D printing,” opens up a previously inaccessible design space for waveguide resonators. In this manuscript, we present results from the synthesis of these two technologies in a titanium, aluminum, vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) superconducting radio frequency resonator which exploits a design unattainable through conventional fabrication means. Additionally, we find that Ti-6Al-4V has two distinct superconducting transition temperatures observable in heat capacity measurements. The higher transition temperature ismore » in agreement with DC resistance measurements, while the lower transition temperature, not previously known in the literature, is consistent with the observed temperature dependence of the superconducting microwave surface impedance. From the surface reactance, we extract a London penetration depth of 8 ± 3 μm—roughly an order of magnitude larger than other titanium alloys and several orders of magnitude larger than other conventional elemental superconductors.« less

High-kinetic inductance additive manufactured superconducting microwave cavity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Holland, Eric T.; Rosen, Yaniv J.; Materise, Nicholas

We present that investigations into the microwave surface impedance of superconducting resonators have led to the development of single photon counters that rely on kinetic inductance for their operation, while concurrent progress in additive manufacturing, “3D printing,” opens up a previously inaccessible design space for waveguide resonators. In this manuscript, we present results from the synthesis of these two technologies in a titanium, aluminum, vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) superconducting radio frequency resonator which exploits a design unattainable through conventional fabrication means. Additionally, we find that Ti-6Al-4V has two distinct superconducting transition temperatures observable in heat capacity measurements. The higher transition temperature ismore » in agreement with DC resistance measurements, while the lower transition temperature, not previously known in the literature, is consistent with the observed temperature dependence of the superconducting microwave surface impedance. From the surface reactance, we extract a London penetration depth of 8 ± 3 μm—roughly an order of magnitude larger than other titanium alloys and several orders of magnitude larger than other conventional elemental superconductors.« less

Effect of Electropolishing and Low-Temperature Baking on the Superconducting Properties of Large-Grain Niobium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

A. S. Dhavale, G. Ciovati, G. R. Myneni

Measurements of superconducting properties such as bulk and surface critical fields and thermal conductivity have been carried out in the temperature range from 2 K to 8 K on large-grain samples of different purity and on a high-purity fine-grain sample, for comparison. The samples were treated by electropolishing and low temperature baking (120° C, 48 h). While the residual resistivity ratio changed by a factor of ~3 among the samples, no significant variation was found in their superconducting properties. The onset field for flux penetration at 2 K, Hffp, measured within a ~30 µm depth from the surface, was ~160more » mT, close to the bulk value. The baking effect was mainly to increase the field range up to which a coherent superconducting phase persists on the surface, above the upper critical field.« less

Negative magnetoresistance of ultra-narrow superconducting nanowires in the resistive state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arutyunov, K. Yu.

2008-02-01

We present a phenomenological model that qualitatively explains negative magnetoresistance in quasi-one-dimensional superconducting channels in the resistive state. The model is based on the assumption that fluctuations of the order parameter (phase slips) are responsible for the finite effective resistance of a narrow superconducting wire sufficiently close to the critical temperature. Each fluctuation is accompanied by an instantaneous formation of a quasi-normal region, of the order of the non-equilibrium quasiparticle relaxation length, ‘pinned’ to the core of the phase slip. The effective time-averaged voltage measured in experiments is a sum of two terms. The first is the conventional contribution associated with the rate of the fluctuations via the Josephson relation. The second term is the Ohmic contribution of this quasi-normal region. Depending on the material properties of the wire, there might be a range of magnetic fields where the first term is not significantly affected, while the second term is effectively suppressed, contributing to the experimentally observed negative magnetoresistance.

High-T c superconductivity in undoped ThFeAsN.

PubMed

Shiroka, T; Shang, T; Wang, C; Cao, G-H; Eremin, I; Ott, H-R; Mesot, J

2017-07-31

Unlike the widely studied ReFeAsO series, the newly discovered iron-based superconductor ThFeAsN exhibits a remarkably high critical temperature of 30 K, without chemical doping or external pressure. Here we investigate in detail its magnetic and superconducting properties via muon-spin rotation/relaxation and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques and show that ThFeAsN exhibits strong magnetic fluctuations, suppressed below ~35 K, but no magnetic order. This contrasts strongly with the ReFeAsO series, where stoichiometric parent materials order antiferromagnetically and superconductivity appears only upon doping. The ThFeAsN case indicates that Fermi-surface modifications due to structural distortions and correlation effects are as important as doping in inducing superconductivity. The direct competition between antiferromagnetism and superconductivity, which in ThFeAsN (as in LiFeAs) occurs at already zero doping, may indicate a significant deviation of the s-wave superconducting gap in this compound from the standard s ± scenario.Exploring the interplay between the superconducting gap and the antiferromagnetic phase in Fe-based superconductors remains an open issue. Here, the authors show that Fermi-surface modifications by means of structural distortions and correlation effects are as important as doping in inducing superconductivity in undoped ThFeAsN.

Origin and Reduction of 1 / f Magnetic Flux Noise in Superconducting Devices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kumar, P.; Sendelbach, S.; Beck, M. A.

2016-10-01

Magnetic flux noise is a dominant source of dephasing and energy relaxation in superconducting qubits. The noise power spectral density varies with frequency as 1=fα, with α ≲ 1, and spans 13 orders of magnitude. Recent work indicates that the noise is from unpaired magnetic defects on the surfaces of the superconducting devices. Here, we demonstrate that adsorbed molecular O2 is the dominant contributor to magnetism in superconducting thin films. We show that this magnetism can be reduced by appropriate surface treatment or improvement in the sample vacuum environment. We observe a suppression of static spin susceptibility by more thanmore » an order of magnitude and a suppression of 1=f magnetic flux noise power spectral density of up to a factor of 5. These advances open the door to the realization of superconducting qubits with improved quantum coherence.« less

Origin and Reduction of 1 /f Magnetic Flux Noise in Superconducting Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, P.; Sendelbach, S.; Beck, M. A.; Freeland, J. W.; Wang, Zhe; Wang, Hui; Yu, Clare C.; Wu, R. Q.; Pappas, D. P.; McDermott, R.

2016-10-01

Magnetic flux noise is a dominant source of dephasing and energy relaxation in superconducting qubits. The noise power spectral density varies with frequency as 1 /fα, with α ≲1 , and spans 13 orders of magnitude. Recent work indicates that the noise is from unpaired magnetic defects on the surfaces of the superconducting devices. Here, we demonstrate that adsorbed molecular O2 is the dominant contributor to magnetism in superconducting thin films. We show that this magnetism can be reduced by appropriate surface treatment or improvement in the sample vacuum environment. We observe a suppression of static spin susceptibility by more than an order of magnitude and a suppression of 1 /f magnetic flux noise power spectral density of up to a factor of 5. These advances open the door to the realization of superconducting qubits with improved quantum coherence.

Anisotropy of the Seebeck Coefficient in the Cuprate Superconductor YBa2 Cu3 Oy : Fermi-Surface Reconstruction by Bidirectional Charge Order

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cyr-Choinière, O.; Badoux, S.; Grissonnanche, G.; Michon, B.; Afshar, S. A. A.; Fortier, S.; LeBoeuf, D.; Graf, D.; Day, J.; Bonn, D. A.; Hardy, W. N.; Liang, R.; Doiron-Leyraud, N.; Taillefer, Louis

2017-07-01

The Seebeck coefficient S of the cuprate YBa2 Cu3 Oy is measured in magnetic fields large enough to suppress superconductivity, at hole dopings p =0.11 and p =0.12 , for heat currents along the a and b directions of the orthorhombic crystal structure. For both directions, S /T decreases and becomes negative at low temperature, a signature that the Fermi surface undergoes a reconstruction due to broken translational symmetry. Above a clear threshold field, a strong new feature appears in Sb, for conduction along the b axis only. We attribute this feature to the onset of 3D-coherent unidirectional charge-density-wave modulations seen by x-ray diffraction, also along the b axis only. Because these modulations have a sharp onset temperature well below the temperature where S /T starts to drop towards negative values, we infer that they are not the cause of Fermi-surface reconstruction. Instead, the reconstruction must be caused by the quasi-2D bidirectional modulations that develop at significantly higher temperature. The unidirectional order only confers an additional anisotropy to the already reconstructed Fermi surface, also manifest as an in-plane anisotropy of the resistivity.

Evidence of incomplete annealing at 800 °C and the effects of 120 °C baking on the crystal orientation and the surface superconducting properties of cold-worked and chemically polished Nb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sung, Z.-H.; Dzyuba, A.; Lee, P. J.; Larbalestier, D. C.; Cooley, L. D.

2015-07-01

High-purity niobium rods were cold-worked by wire-drawing, followed by various combinations of chemical polishing and high-vacuum baking at 120 °C or annealing at 800 °C in order to better understand changes to the surface superconducting properties resulting from typical superconducting radio-frequency cavity processing. AC susceptibility measurements revealed an enhanced upper transition Tc at ˜ 9.3-9.4 K in all samples that was stable through all annealing steps, a value significantly above the accepted Tc of 9.23 K for pure annealed niobium. Corresponding elevations were seen in the critical fields, the ratio of the surface critical field Hc3 to the bulk upper critical field Hc2 rising to 2.3, well above the Ginzburg-Landau value of 1.695. Orientation imaging revealed an extensive dislocation rich sub-grain structure in the as-drawn rods, a small reduction of the surface strain after baking at 120 °C, and a substantial but incomplete recrystallization near the surface after annealing at 800 °C. We interpret these changes in surface superconducting and structural properties to extensive changes in the near-surface interstitial contamination produced by baking and annealing and to synergistic interactions between H and surface O introduced during electropolishing and buffered chemical polishing.

Observation of non-Fermi liquid behavior in hole-doped LiFe 1-x V xAs

DOE PAGES

Xing, L. Y.; Shi, X.; Richard, P.; ...

2016-09-28

Here we synthesized a series of V-doped LiFe 1₋xV xAs single crystals. The superconducting transition temperature T c of LiFeAs decreases rapidly at a rate of 7 K per 1% V. The Hall coefficient of LiFeAs switches from negative to positive with 4.2% V doping, showing that V doping introduces hole carriers. This observation is further confirmed by the evaluation of the Fermi surface volume measured by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), from which a 0.3 hole doping per V atom introduced is deduced. Interestingly, the introduction of holes does not follow a rigid band shift. We also show that themore » temperature evolution of the electrical resistivity as a function of doping is consistent with a crossover from a Fermi liquid to a non-Fermi liquid. Our ARPES data indicate that the non-Fermi liquid behavior is mostly enhanced when one of the hole d xz/dyz Fermi surfaces is well nested by the antiferromagnetic wave vector to the inner electron Fermi surface pocket with the d xy orbital character. In conclusion, the magnetic susceptibility of LiFe 1₋xV xAs suggests the presence of strong magnetic impurities following V doping, thus providing a natural explanation to the rapid suppression of superconductivity upon V doping.« less

Observation of non-Fermi liquid behavior in hole-doped LiFe 1-x V xAs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xing, L. Y.; Shi, X.; Richard, P.

Here we synthesized a series of V-doped LiFe 1₋xV xAs single crystals. The superconducting transition temperature T c of LiFeAs decreases rapidly at a rate of 7 K per 1% V. The Hall coefficient of LiFeAs switches from negative to positive with 4.2% V doping, showing that V doping introduces hole carriers. This observation is further confirmed by the evaluation of the Fermi surface volume measured by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), from which a 0.3 hole doping per V atom introduced is deduced. Interestingly, the introduction of holes does not follow a rigid band shift. We also show that themore » temperature evolution of the electrical resistivity as a function of doping is consistent with a crossover from a Fermi liquid to a non-Fermi liquid. Our ARPES data indicate that the non-Fermi liquid behavior is mostly enhanced when one of the hole d xz/dyz Fermi surfaces is well nested by the antiferromagnetic wave vector to the inner electron Fermi surface pocket with the d xy orbital character. In conclusion, the magnetic susceptibility of LiFe 1₋xV xAs suggests the presence of strong magnetic impurities following V doping, thus providing a natural explanation to the rapid suppression of superconductivity upon V doping.« less

Gap Symmetry of the Heavy Fermion Superconductor CeCu2Si2 at Ambient Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yu; Liu, Min; Fu, Zhaoming; Chen, Xiangrong; Yang, Fan; Yang, Yi-feng

2018-05-01

Recent observations of two nodeless gaps in superconducting CeCu2 Si2 have raised intensive debates on its exact gap symmetry, while a satisfactory theoretical basis is still lacking. Here we propose a phenomenological approach to calculate the superconducting gap functions, taking into consideration both the realistic Fermi surface topology and the intra- and interband quantum critical scatterings. Our calculations yield a nodeless s±-wave solution in the presence of strong interband pairing interaction, in good agreement with experiments. This provides a possible basis for understanding the superconducting gap symmetry of CeCu2 Si2 at ambient pressure and indicates the potential importance of multiple Fermi surfaces and interband pairing interaction in understanding heavy fermion superconductivity.

Local antiferromagnetic exchange and collaborative Fermi surface as key ingredients of high temperature superconductors

PubMed Central

Hu, Jiangping; Ding, Hong

2012-01-01

Cuprates, ferropnictides and ferrochalcogenides are three classes of unconventional high temperature superconductors, who share similar phase diagrams in which superconductivity develops after a magnetic order is suppressed, suggesting a strong interplay between superconductivity and magnetism, although the exact picture of this interplay remains elusive. Here we show that there is a direct bridge connecting antiferromagnetic exchange interactions determined in the parent compounds of these materials to the superconducting gap functions observed in the corresponding superconducting materials: in all high temperature superconductors, the Fermi surface topology matches the form factor of the pairing symmetry favored by local magnetic exchange interactions. We suggest that this match offers a principle guide to search for new high temperature superconductors. PMID:22536479

Process for Fabrication of Superconducting Vias for Electrical Connection to Groundplane in Cryogenic Detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Denis, Kevin L. (Inventor)

2018-01-01

Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for fabrication of silicon on insulator (SOI) wafers with a superconductive via for electrical connection to a groundplane. Fabrication of the SOI wafer with a superconductive via can involve depositing a superconducting groundplane onto a substrate with the superconducting groundplane having an oxidizing layer and a non-oxidizing layer. A layer of monocrystalline silicon can be bonded to the superconducting groundplane and a photoresist layer can be applied to the layer of monocrystalline silicon and the SOI wafer can be etched with the oxygen rich etching plasma, resulting in a monocrystalline silicon top layer with a via that exposes the superconducting groundplane. Then, the fabrication can involve depositing a superconducting surface layer to cover the via.

Electrostatic separation of superconducting particles from non-superconducting particles and improvement in fuel atomization by electrorheology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chhabria, Deepika

This thesis has two major topics: (1) Electrostatic Separation of Superconducting Particles from a Mixture of Non-Superconducting Particles. (2) Improvement in fuel atomization by Electrorheology. (1) Based on the basic science research, the interactions between electric field and superconductors, we have developed a new technology, which can separate superconducting granular particles from their mixture with non-superconducting particles. The electric-field induced formation of superconducting balls is important aspect of the interaction between superconducting particles and electric field. When the applied electric field exceeds a critical value, the induced positive surface energy on the superconducting particles forces them to aggregate into balls or cling to the electrodes. In fabrication of superconducting materials, especially HTSC materials, it is common to come across materials with multiple phases: some grains are in superconducting state while the others are not. Our technology is proven to be very useful in separating superconducting grains from the rest non-superconducting materials. To separate superconducting particles from normal conducting particles, we apply a suitable strong electric field. The superconducting particles cling to the electrodes, while normal conducting particles bounce between the electrodes. The superconducting particles could then be collected from the electrodes. To separate superconducting particles from insulating ones, we apply a moderate electric field to force insulating particles to the electrodes to form short chains while the superconducting particles are collected from the middle of capacitor. The importance of this technology is evidenced by the unsuccessful efforts to utilize the Meissner effect to separate superconducting particles from nonsuperconducting ones. Because the Meissner effect is proportional to the particle volume, it has been found that the Meissner effect is not useful when the superconducting particles are smaller than 45mum. One always come across multiphase superconducting materials where most superconducting grains are much smaller than 45mum. On the other hand, since our technology is based on the surface effect, it gets stronger when the particles become smaller. Our technology is thus perfect for small superconducting particles and for fabrication of HTSC materials. The area of superconductivity is expected to be very important for 21 st Century energy industry. The key for this development is the HTSC materials. We, therefore, expect that our technology will have strong impact in the area. (2) Improving engine efficiency and reducing pollutant emissions are extremely important. Here we report our fuel injection technology based on new physics principle that proper application of electrorheology can reduce the viscosity of petroleum fuels. A small device is thus introduced just before the fuel injection for the engine, producing a strong electric field to reduce the fuel viscosity, resulting in much smaller fuel droplets in atomization. As combustion starts at the interface between fuel and air and most harmful emissions are coming from incomplete burning, reducing the size of fuel droplets would increase the total surface area to start burning, leading to a cleaner and more efficient engine. This concept has been widely accepted as the discussions about future engine for efficient and clean combustion are focused on ultra-dilute mixtures at extremely high pressure to produce much finer mist of fuel for combustion. The technology is expected to have broad applications, applicable to current internal combustion engines and future engines as well.

Superconducting Properties of Lead-Bismuth Films Controlled by Ferromagnetic Nanowire Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Zuxin; Lyuksyutov, Igor F.; Wu, Wenhao; Naugle, Donald G.

2011-03-01

Superconducting properties of lead-bismuth (82% Pb and 18% Bi) alloy films deposited on ferromagnetic nanowire arrays have been investigated. Ferromagnetic Co or Ni nanowires are first electroplated into the columnar pores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes. Superconducting Pb 82 Bi 18 films are then quench-condensed onto the polished surface of the AAO membranes filled with magnetic nanowires. A strong dependence of the Pb 82 Bi 18 superconducting properties on the ratio of the superconducting film thickness to the magnetic nanowire diameter and the material variety was observed.

Superconducting properties of Pb82Bi18 films controlled by ferromagnetic nanowire arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Zuxin; Lyuksyutov, Igor F.; Wu, Wenhao; Naugle, Donald G.

2011-02-01

The superconducting properties of Pb82Bi18 alloy films deposited on ferromagnetic nanowire arrays have been investigated. Ferromagnetic Co or Ni nanowires are first electroplated into the columnar pores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes. Superconducting Pb82Bi18 films are then quench condensed onto the polished surface of the AAO membranes filled with magnetic nanowires. A strong dependence of the Pb82Bi18 superconducting properties on the ratio of the superconducting film thickness to the magnetic nanowire diameter and material variety was observed.

Synthesis of high T.sub.C superconducting coatings and patterns by melt writing and oxidation of metallic precursor alloys

DOEpatents

Gao, Wei; Vander Sande, John B.

1998-01-01

A method is provided for fabrication of superconducting oxides and superconducting oxide composites and for joining superconductors to other materials. A coating of a molten alloy containing the metallic elements of the oxide is applied to a substrate surface and oxidized to form the superconducting oxide. A material can be contacted to the molten alloy which is subsequently oxidized joining the material to the resulting superconducting oxide coating. Substrates of varied composition and shape can be coated or joined by this method.

Synthesis of high {Tc} superconducting coatings and patterns by melt writing and oxidation of metallic precursor alloys

DOEpatents

Gao, W.; Vander Sande, J.B.

1998-07-28

A method is provided for fabrication of superconducting oxides and superconducting oxide composites and for joining superconductors to other materials. A coating of a molten alloy containing the metallic elements of the oxide is applied to a substrate surface and oxidized to form the superconducting oxide. A material can be contacted to the molten alloy which is subsequently oxidized joining the material to the resulting superconducting oxide coating. Substrates of varied composition and shape can be coated or joined by this method. 5 figs.

Superconductive imaging surface magnetometer

DOEpatents

Overton, Jr., William C.; van Hulsteyn, David B.; Flynn, Edward R.

1991-01-01

An improved pick-up coil system for use with Superconducting Quantum Interference Device gradiometers and magnetometers involving the use of superconducting plates near conventional pick-up coil arrangements to provide imaging of nearby dipole sources and to deflect environmental magnetic noise away from the pick-up coils. This allows the practice of gradiometry and magnetometry in magnetically unshielded environments. One embodiment uses a hemispherically shaped superconducting plate with interior pick-up coils, allowing brain wave measurements to be made on human patients. another embodiment using flat superconducting plates could be used in non-destructive evaluation of materials.

Reorientation of the diagonal double-stripe spin structure at Fe 1+yTe bulk and thin-film surfaces

DOE PAGES

Hanke, Torben; Singh, Udai Raj; Cornils, Lasse; ...

2017-01-06

Here, establishing the relation between ubiquitous antiferromagnetism in the parent compounds of unconventional superconductors and their superconducting phase is important for understanding the complex physics in these materials. Going from bulk systems to thin films additionally affects their phase diagram. For Fe 1+yTe, the parent compound of Fe 1+ySe 1$-x$Tex superconductors, bulk-sensitive neutron diffraction revealed an in-plane oriented diagonal double-stripe antiferromagnetic spin structure. Here we show by spin-resolved scanning tunnelling microscopy that the spin direction at the surfaces of bulk Fe 1+yTe and thin films grown on the topological insulator Bi 2Te 3 is canted out of the high-symmetry directionsmore » of the surface unit cell resulting in a perpendicular spin component, keeping the diagonal double-stripe order. As the magnetism of the Fe d-orbitals is intertwined with the superconducting pairing in Fe-based materials, our results imply that the superconducting properties at the surface of the related superconducting compounds might be different from the bulk.« less

Reorientation of the diagonal double-stripe spin structure at Fe 1+yTe bulk and thin-film surfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanke, Torben; Singh, Udai Raj; Cornils, Lasse

Here, establishing the relation between ubiquitous antiferromagnetism in the parent compounds of unconventional superconductors and their superconducting phase is important for understanding the complex physics in these materials. Going from bulk systems to thin films additionally affects their phase diagram. For Fe 1+yTe, the parent compound of Fe 1+ySe 1$-x$Tex superconductors, bulk-sensitive neutron diffraction revealed an in-plane oriented diagonal double-stripe antiferromagnetic spin structure. Here we show by spin-resolved scanning tunnelling microscopy that the spin direction at the surfaces of bulk Fe 1+yTe and thin films grown on the topological insulator Bi 2Te 3 is canted out of the high-symmetry directionsmore » of the surface unit cell resulting in a perpendicular spin component, keeping the diagonal double-stripe order. As the magnetism of the Fe d-orbitals is intertwined with the superconducting pairing in Fe-based materials, our results imply that the superconducting properties at the surface of the related superconducting compounds might be different from the bulk.« less

Phenomenological view at the two-component physics of cuprates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teitel'baum, G. B.

2017-08-01

In the search for mechanisms of high- T c superconductivity it is critical to know the electronic spectrum in the pseudogap phase from which superconductivity evolves. The lack of ARPES data for every cuprate family precludes an agreement as to its structure, doping and temperature dependence and the role of charge ordering. No approach has been developed yet to address the issue theoretically, and we limit ourselves by the phenomenological analysis of the experimental data. We argue that, in the Fermi-liquid-like regime ubiquitous in underdoped cuprates, the spectrum consists of holes on the Fermi arcs and an electronic pocket in contrast to the idea of the Fermi surface reconstruction via charge ordering. At high temperatures, the electrons are dragged by holes while at lower temperatures they get decoupled. The longstanding issue of the origin of the negative Hall coefficient in YBCO and Hg1201 at low temperature is resolved: the electronic contribution prevails, as its mobility becomes temperature independent, while the mobility of holes, scattered by the shortwavelength charge density waves, decreases.

Magnesium diboride coated bulk niobium: a new approach to higher acceleration gradient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Teng; Wolak, M. A.; Xi, X. X.; Tajima, T.; Civale, L.

2016-10-01

Bulk niobium Superconducting Radio-Frequency cavities are a leading accelerator technology. Their performance is limited by the cavity loss and maximum acceleration gradient, which are negatively affected by vortex penetration into the superconductor when the peak magnetic field at the cavity wall surface exceeds the vortex penetration field (Hvp). It has been proposed that coating the inner wall of an SRF cavity with superconducting thin films increases Hvp. In this work, we utilized Nb ellipsoid to simulate an inverse SRF cavity and investigate the effect of coating it with magnesium diboride layer on the vortex penetration field. A significant enhancement of Hvp was observed. At 2.8 K, Hvp increased from 2100 Oe for an uncoated Nb ellipsoid to 2700 Oe for a Nb ellipsoid coated with ~200 nm thick MgB2 thin film. This finding creates a new route towards achieving higher acceleration gradient in SRF cavity accelerator beyond the theoretical limit of bulk Nb.

Magnesium diboride coated bulk niobium: a new approach to higher acceleration gradient.

PubMed

Tan, Teng; Wolak, M A; Xi, X X; Tajima, T; Civale, L

2016-10-24

Bulk niobium Superconducting Radio-Frequency cavities are a leading accelerator technology. Their performance is limited by the cavity loss and maximum acceleration gradient, which are negatively affected by vortex penetration into the superconductor when the peak magnetic field at the cavity wall surface exceeds the vortex penetration field (H vp ). It has been proposed that coating the inner wall of an SRF cavity with superconducting thin films increases H vp . In this work, we utilized Nb ellipsoid to simulate an inverse SRF cavity and investigate the effect of coating it with magnesium diboride layer on the vortex penetration field. A significant enhancement of H vp was observed. At 2.8 K, H vp increased from 2100 Oe for an uncoated Nb ellipsoid to 2700 Oe for a Nb ellipsoid coated with ~200 nm thick MgB 2 thin film. This finding creates a new route towards achieving higher acceleration gradient in SRF cavity accelerator beyond the theoretical limit of bulk Nb.

Magnesium diboride coated bulk niobium: a new approach to higher acceleration gradient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Civale, Leonardo; Tan, Teng; Wolak, M.; Xi, Xiaoxing; Tajima, Tsuyoshi

Bulk niobium Superconducting Radio-Frequency cavities are a leading accelerator technology. Their performance is limited by the cavity loss and maximum acceleration gradient, which are negatively affected by vortex penetration into the superconductor when the peak magnetic field at the cavity wall surface exceeds the vortex penetration field (Hvp). It has been proposed that coating the inner wall of an SRF cavity with superconducting thin films increases Hvp. In this work, we utilized Nb ellipsoids to simulate an inverse SRF cavity and investigate the effect of coating it with magnesium diboride layer on the vortex penetration field. A significant enhancement of Hvp was observed. At 2.8 K, Hvp increased from 2100 Oe for an uncoated Nb ellipsoid to 2700 Oe for a Nb ellipsoid coated with 200 nm thick MgB2 thin film. This finding creates a new route towards achieving higher acceleration gradient in SRF cavity accelerator beyond the theoretical limit of bulk Nb.

Magnesium diboride coated bulk niobium: a new approach to higher acceleration gradient

PubMed Central

Tan, Teng; Wolak, M. A.; Xi, X. X.; Tajima, T.; Civale, L.

2016-01-01

Bulk niobium Superconducting Radio-Frequency cavities are a leading accelerator technology. Their performance is limited by the cavity loss and maximum acceleration gradient, which are negatively affected by vortex penetration into the superconductor when the peak magnetic field at the cavity wall surface exceeds the vortex penetration field (Hvp). It has been proposed that coating the inner wall of an SRF cavity with superconducting thin films increases Hvp. In this work, we utilized Nb ellipsoid to simulate an inverse SRF cavity and investigate the effect of coating it with magnesium diboride layer on the vortex penetration field. A significant enhancement of Hvp was observed. At 2.8 K, Hvp increased from 2100 Oe for an uncoated Nb ellipsoid to 2700 Oe for a Nb ellipsoid coated with ~200 nm thick MgB2 thin film. This finding creates a new route towards achieving higher acceleration gradient in SRF cavity accelerator beyond the theoretical limit of bulk Nb. PMID:27775087

Magnesium diboride coated bulk niobium: a new approach to higher acceleration gradient

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tan, Teng; Wolak, M. A.; Xi, X. X.

2016-10-24

Bulk niobium Superconducting Radio-Frequency cavities are a leading accelerator technology. Their performance is limited by the cavity loss and maximum acceleration gradient, which are negatively affected by vortex penetration into the superconductor when the peak magnetic field at the cavity wall surface exceeds the vortex penetration field (H vp). It has been proposed that coating the inner wall of an SRF cavity with superconducting thin films increases H vp. In this work, we utilized Nb ellipsoid to simulate an inverse SRF cavity and investigate the effect of coating it with magnesium diboride layer on the vortex penetration field. A significantmore » enhancement of H vp was observed. At 2.8 K, H vp increased from 2100 Oe for an uncoated Nb ellipsoid to 2700 Oe for a Nb ellipsoid coated with ~200 nm thick MgB 2 thin film. In conclusion, this finding creates a new route towards achieving higher acceleration gradient in SRF cavity accelerator beyond the theoretical limit of bulk Nb.« less

Review of 2D superconductivity: the ultimate case of epitaxial monolayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brun, Christophe; Cren, Tristan; Roditchev, Dimitri

2017-01-01

The purpose of this review is to focus from an experimental point-of-view on the new physical properties of some of the thinnest superconducting films that can be fabricated and studied in situ nowadays with state-of-the-art methods. An important characteristic of the films we address is that the underlying electronic system forms a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Up to now there are only few of these systems. Such true 2D superconductors can be divided into two classes: surface-confined or interface-confined films. Because the second types of films are burried below the surface, they are not accessible to purely surface-sensitive techniques like angular-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) or scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). As a consequence the bandstructure characteristics of the 2DEG cannot be probed nor the local superconducting properties. On the other hand, in situ prepared surface-confined films are nowadays accessible not only to ARPES and STS but also to electrical transport measurements. As a consequence surface-confined systems represent at present the best archetypes on which can be summarized the new properties emerging in ultimately thin superconducting films hosting a 2DEG, probed by both macroscopic and microscopic measurement techniques. The model system we will widely refer to consists of a single atomic plane of a conventional superconductor, like for example lead (Pb), grown on top of a semiconducting substrate, like Si(111). In the introductory part 1 we first introduce the topic and give historical insights into this field. Then in the section 2, we introduce useful concepts worked out in studies of so-called ‘granular’ and ‘homogeneous’ superconducting thin films that will be necessary to understand the role of non-magnetic disorder on 2DEG superconductors. In this section, we also briefly review the superconducting properties of crystalline Pb/Si(111) ultrathin films grown under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions in order to illustrate their specific properties related to quantum-size effects. In the next section 3 we review the growth methods and structural properties of the presented 2DEG surface-confined superconductors. In section 4, we review the electronic structure and Fermi surface properties as measured by macroscopic ARPES and confront them to ab initio DFT calculations based on the characterized atomic structures of the monolayers. The following section 5 reviews the macroscopic properties inferred from in situ electrical transport measurements methods, including attempts to study the Berezinsky-Kosterlitz-Thouless 2D regime. In the last section 6, we summarize the emerging local spectroscopic properties measured by STS. These latter demonstrate variations of the local superconducting properties at a scale much shorter than the superconducting coherence length due to a combined effect of non-magnetic disorder and two-dimensionality. Further peculiar local spectroscopic effects are presented giving evidence for the presence of a mixed singlet-triplet superconducting order parameter induced by the presence of a strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling term at the surface. These local signatures will be discussed along with ARPES and transport measurements in parallel high magnetic field on closely related systems. Finally, we present in anisotropic Pb and In monolayers the peculiar role played by atomic steps on vortex properties, leading to the observation by STS of mixed Abrikosov-Josephson vortices in agreement with in situ macroscopic transport measurements. From the overview of all recent experimental and theoretical results it appears that these surface 2D superconductors, such as one monolayer of Pb on Si(111), are ideal templates to engineer and realize topological superconductivity.

Optical surface properties and their RF limitations of European XFEL cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wenskat, Marc

2017-10-01

The inner surface of superconducting cavities plays a crucial role to achieve highest accelerating fields and low losses. The industrial fabrication of cavities for the European X-ray Free Electron Laser and the International Linear Collider HiGrade Research Project allowed for an investigation of this interplay. For the serial inspection of the inner surface, the optical inspection robot ’optical bench for automated cavity inspection with high resolution on short timescales’ OBACHT was constructed and to analyze the large amount of data, represented in the images of the inner surface, an image processing and analysis code was developed and new variables to describe the cavity surface were obtained. This quantitative analysis identified vendor-specific surface properties which allow the performance of quality control and assurance during production. In addition, a strong negative correlation of ρ =-0.93 with a significance of 6 σ of the integrated grain boundary area \\sum {A} versus the maximal achievable accelerating field {{E}}{acc,\\max } has been found.

Full-switching FSF-type superconducting spin-triplet magnetic random access memory element

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenk, D.; Morari, R.; Zdravkov, V. I.; Ullrich, A.; Khaydukov, Yu.; Obermeier, G.; Müller, C.; Sidorenko, A. S.; von Nidda, H.-A. Krug; Horn, S.; Tagirov, L. R.; Tidecks, R.

2017-11-01

In the present work a superconducting Co/CoOx/Cu41Ni59 /Nb/Cu41Ni59 nanoscale thin film heterostructure is investigated, which exhibits a superconducting transition temperature, Tc, depending on the history of magnetic field applied parallel to the film plane. In more detail, around zero applied field, Tc is lower when the field is changed from negative to positive polarity (with respect to the cooling field), compared to the opposite case. We interpret this finding as the result of the generation of the odd-in-frequency triplet component of superconductivity arising at noncollinear orientation of the magnetizations in the Cu41Ni59 layer adjacent to the CoOx layer. This interpretation is supported by superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry, which revealed a correlation between details of the magnetic structure and the observed superconducting spin-valve effects. Readout of information is possible at zero applied field and, thus, no permanent field is required to stabilize both states. Consequently, this system represents a superconducting magnetic random access memory element for superconducting electronics. By applying increased transport currents, the system can be driven to the full switching mode between the completely superconducting and the normal state.

Topological superconductivity in an ultrathin, magnetically-doped topological insulator proximity coupled to a conventional superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Youngseok; Philip, Timothy M.; Park, Moon Jip; Gilbert, Matthew J.

2016-12-01

As a promising candidate system to realize topological superconductivity, the system of a 3D topological insulator (TI) grown on top of the s -wave superconductor has been extensively studied. To access the topological superconductivity experimentally, the 3D TI sample must be thin enough to allow for Cooper pair tunneling to the exposed surface of TI. The use of magnetically ordered dopants to break time-reversal symmetry may allow the surface of a TI to host Majorana fermion, which are believed to be a signature of topological superconductivity. In this work, we study a magnetically-doped thin film TI-superconductor hybrid system. Considering the proximity induced order parameter in thin film of TI, we analyze the gap closing points of the Hamiltonian and draw the phase diagram as a function of relevant parameters: the hybridization gap, Zeeman energy, and chemical potential of the TI system. Our findings provide a useful guide in choosing relevant parameters to facilitate the observation of topological superconductivity in thin film TI-superconductor hybrid systems. In addition, we further perform numerical analysis on a TI proximity coupled to an s -wave superconductor and find that, due to the spin-momentum locked nature of the surface states in TI, the induced s -wave order parameter of the surface states persists even at large magnitude of the Zeeman energy.

Topological Superconductivity on the Surface of Fe-Based Superconductors.

PubMed

Xu, Gang; Lian, Biao; Tang, Peizhe; Qi, Xiao-Liang; Zhang, Shou-Cheng

2016-07-22

As one of the simplest systems for realizing Majorana fermions, the topological superconductor plays an important role in both condensed matter physics and quantum computations. Based on ab initio calculations and the analysis of an effective 8-band model with superconducting pairing, we demonstrate that the three-dimensional extended s-wave Fe-based superconductors such as Fe_{1+y}Se_{0.5}Te_{0.5} have a metallic topologically nontrivial band structure, and exhibit a normal-topological-normal superconductivity phase transition on the (001) surface by tuning the bulk carrier doping level. In the topological superconductivity (TSC) phase, a Majorana zero mode is trapped at the end of a magnetic vortex line. We further show that the surface TSC phase only exists up to a certain bulk pairing gap, and there is a normal-topological phase transition driven by the temperature, which has not been discussed before. These results pave an effective way to realize the TSC and Majorana fermions in a large class of superconductors.

Fabrication of Circuit QED Quantum Processors, Part 1: Extensible Footprint for a Superconducting Surface Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruno, A.; Michalak, D. J.; Poletto, S.; Clarke, J. S.; Dicarlo, L.

Large-scale quantum computation hinges on the ability to preserve and process quantum information with higher fidelity by increasing redundancy in a quantum error correction code. We present the realization of a scalable footprint for superconducting surface code based on planar circuit QED. We developed a tileable unit cell for surface code with all I/O routed vertically by means of superconducting through-silicon vias (TSVs). We address some of the challenges encountered during the fabrication and assembly of these chips, such as the quality of etch of the TSV, the uniformity of the ALD TiN coating conformal to the TSV, and the reliability of superconducting indium contact between the chips and PCB. We compare measured performance to a detailed list of specifications required for the realization of quantum fault tolerance. Our demonstration using centimeter-scale chips can accommodate the 50 qubits needed to target the experimental demonstration of small-distance logical qubits. Research funded by Intel Corporation and IARPA.

Bulk and surface loss in superconducting transmon qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dial, Oliver; McClure, Douglas T.; Poletto, Stefano; Keefe, G. A.; Rothwell, Mary Beth; Gambetta, Jay M.; Abraham, David W.; Chow, Jerry M.; Steffen, Matthias

2016-04-01

Decoherence of superconducting transmon qubits is purported to be consistent with surface loss from two-level systems on the substrate surface. Here, we present a study of surface loss in transmon devices, explicitly designed to have varying sensitivities to different surface loss contributors. Our experiments also encompass two particular different sapphire substrates, which reveal the onset of a yet unknown additional loss mechanism outside of surface loss for one of the substrates. Tests across different wafers and devices demonstrate substantial variation, and we emphasize the importance of testing large numbers of devices for disentangling different sources of decoherence.

Chiral d -wave superconductivity in a triangular surface lattice mediated by long-range interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Xiaodong; Ayral, Thomas; Zhong, Zhicheng; Parcollet, Olivier; Manske, Dirk; Hansmann, Philipp

2018-04-01

Adatom systems on the Si(111) surface have recently attracted an increasing attention as strongly correlated systems with a rich phase diagram. We study these materials by a single band model on the triangular lattice, including 1 /r long-range interaction. Employing the recently proposed TRILEX method, we find an unconventional superconducting phase of chiral d -wave symmetry in hole-doped systems. Contrary to usual scenarios where charge and spin fluctuations are seen to compete, here the superconductivity is driven simultaneously by both charge and spin fluctuations and crucially relies on the presence of the long-range tail of the interaction. We provide an analysis of the relevant collective bosonic modes and predict how a cumulative charge and spin paring mechanism leads to superconductivity in doped silicon adatom materials.

Structural differences between superconducting and non-superconducting CaCuO2/SrTiO3 interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zarotti, Francesca; Di Castro, Daniele; Felici, Roberto; Balestrino, Giuseppe

2018-06-01

A study of the interface structure of superconducting and non-superconducting CaCuO2/SrTiO3 heterostructures grown on NdGaO3(110) substrates is reported. Using the combination of high resolution x-ray reflectivity and surface diffraction, the crystallographic structure of superconducting and non-superconducting samples has been investigated. The analysis has demonstrated the excellent sharpness of the CaCuO2/SrTiO3 interface (roughness smaller than one perovskite unit cell). Furthermore, we were able to discriminate between the superconducting and the non-superconducting phase. In the former case, we found an increase of the spacing between the topmost Ca plane of CaCuO2 block and the first TiO2 plane of the overlaying STO block, relative to the non-superconducting case. These results are in agreement with the model that foresees a strong oxygen incorporation in the interface Ca plane in the superconducting heterostructures.

Reduced impedance and superconductivity of SnAgCu solder alloy at high frequency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Wei; Basaran, Cemal

2012-10-01

Skin effect of lead-free solder joints is investigated over a wide frequency band. Contrary to common believe that `effective impedance of solder alloys increases with frequency', resistance tends to saturate when frequency reaches a critical value, 10 MHz for SAC solder alloys. Negative surface impedance growth rate is observed when employs square waveform AC current loading at high current density. Further increased frequency causes a dramatic reduction of effective resistance. At 11 MHz with current density of 106 A/cm2, effective resistance of solder alloy drops to near zero value.

Tunneling study of cavity grade Nb : possible magnetic scattering at the surface.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Prolier, T.; Zasadzinski, J. F.; Cooley, L.

Tunneling spectroscopy was performed on Nb pieces prepared by the same processes used to etch and clean superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. Air exposed, electropolished Nb exhibited a surface superconducting gap {Delta} = 1.55 meV, which is characteristic of a clean, bulk Nb. However, the tunneling density of states (DOS) was significantly broadened. The Nb pieces, which were treated with the same mild baking used to improve the Q slope in SRF cavities, reveal a sharper DOS. Good fits to the DOS were obtained by using the Shiba theory, suggesting that magnetic scattering of quasiparticles is the origin of themore » gapless surface superconductivity and a heretofore unrecognized contributor to the Q-slope problem of Nb SRF cavities.« less

Simulation of nonlinear superconducting rf losses derived from characteristic topography of etched and electropolished niobium surfaces

DOE PAGES

Xu, Chen; Reece, Charles E.; Kelley, Michael J.

2016-03-22

A simplified numerical model has been developed to simulate nonlinear superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) losses on Nb surfaces. This study focuses exclusively on excessive surface resistance (R s) losses due to the microscopic topographical magnetic field enhancements. When the enhanced local surface magnetic field exceeds the superconducting critical transition magnetic field H c, small volumes of surface material may become normal conducting and increase the effective surface resistance without inducing a quench. We seek to build an improved quantitative characterization of this qualitative model. Using topographic data from typical buffered chemical polish (BCP)- and electropolish (EP)-treated fine grain niobium, we havemore » estimated the resulting field-dependent losses and extrapolated this model to the implications for cavity performance. The model predictions correspond well to the characteristic BCP versus EP high field Q 0 performance differences for fine grain niobium. Lastly, we describe the algorithm of the model, its limitations, and the effects of this nonlinear loss contribution on SRF cavity performance.« less

Superconducting pairing of topological surface states in bismuth selenide films on niobium

PubMed Central

Zhang, Can; Tsuzuki, Akihiro

2018-01-01

A topological insulator film coupled to a simple isotropic s-wave superconductor substrate can foster helical pairing of the Dirac fermions associated with the topological surface states. Experimental realization of such a system is exceedingly difficult, however using a novel “flip-chip” technique, we have prepared single-crystalline Bi2Se3 films with predetermined thicknesses in terms of quintuple layers (QLs) on top of Nb substrates fresh from in situ cleavage. Our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements of the film surface disclose superconducting gaps and coherence peaks of similar magnitude for both the topological surface states and bulk states. The ARPES spectral map as a function of temperature and film thickness up to 10 QLs reveals key characteristics relevant to the mechanism of coupling between the topological surface states and the superconducting Nb substrate; the effective coupling length is found to be much larger than the decay length of the topological surface states. PMID:29719866

Method for producing smooth inner surfaces

DOEpatents

Cooper, Charles A.

2016-05-17

The invention provides a method for preparing superconducting cavities, the method comprising causing polishing media to tumble by centrifugal barrel polishing within the cavities for a time sufficient to attain a surface smoothness of less than 15 nm root mean square roughness over approximately a 1 mm.sup.2 scan area. The method also provides for a method for preparing superconducting cavities, the method comprising causing polishing media bound to a carrier to tumble within the cavities. The method also provides for a method for preparing superconducting cavities, the method comprising causing polishing media in a slurry to tumble within the cavities.

Preparation of MgB2 superconducting microbridges by focused ion beam direct milling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xuena; Li, Yanli; Xu, Zhuang; Kong, Xiangdong; Han, Li

2017-01-01

MgB2 superconducting microbridges were prepared by focused ion beam (FIB) direct milling on MgB2 films. The surface topography of the microbridges were observed using SEM and AFM and the superconductivity was measured in this paper. Lots of cracks and holes were found near the milled area. And the superconducting transition temperature was decreased a lot and the bridges prepared were not superconducting due to ion damage after milled with large dose. Through these works, we explored the effect regular of FIB milling and experimental parameters on the performance of microbridges.

Evidence of incomplete annealing at 800 °C and the effects of 120 °C baking on the crystal orientation and the surface superconducting properties of cold-worked and chemically polished Nb

DOE PAGES

Sung, Z. -H.; Dzyuba, A.; Lee, P. J.; ...

2015-07-01

High-purity niobium rods were cold-worked by wire-drawing, followed by various combinations of chemical polishing and high-vacuum baking at 120 °C or annealing at 800 °C in order to better understand changes to the surface superconducting properties resulting from typical superconducting radio-frequency cavity processing. AC susceptibility measurements revealed an enhanced upper transition T c at ~ 9.3–9.4 K in all samples that was stable through all annealing steps, a value significantly above the accepted T c of 9.23 K for pure annealed niobium. Corresponding elevations were seen in the critical fields, the ratio of the surface critical field H c3 tomore » the bulk upper critical field H c2 rising to 2.3, well above the Ginzburg–Landau value of 1.695. Orientation imaging revealed an extensive dislocation rich sub-grain structure in the as-drawn rods, a small reduction of the surface strain after baking at 120 °C, and a substantial but incomplete recrystallization near the surface after annealing at 800 °C. We interpret these changes in surface superconducting and structural properties to extensive changes in the near-surface interstitial contamination produced by baking and annealing and to synergistic interactions between H and surface O introduced during electropolishing and buffered chemical polishing.« less

Evidence of incomplete annealing at 800 °C and the effects of 120 °C baking on the crystal orientation and the surface superconducting properties of cold-worked and chemically polished Nb

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sung, Z. -H.; Dzyuba, A.; Lee, P. J.

High-purity niobium rods were cold-worked by wire-drawing, followed by various combinations of chemical polishing and high-vacuum baking at 120 °C or annealing at 800 °C in order to better understand changes to the surface superconducting properties resulting from typical superconducting radio-frequency cavity processing. AC susceptibility measurements revealed an enhanced upper transition T c at ~ 9.3–9.4 K in all samples that was stable through all annealing steps, a value significantly above the accepted T c of 9.23 K for pure annealed niobium. Corresponding elevations were seen in the critical fields, the ratio of the surface critical field H c3 tomore » the bulk upper critical field H c2 rising to 2.3, well above the Ginzburg–Landau value of 1.695. Orientation imaging revealed an extensive dislocation rich sub-grain structure in the as-drawn rods, a small reduction of the surface strain after baking at 120 °C, and a substantial but incomplete recrystallization near the surface after annealing at 800 °C. We interpret these changes in surface superconducting and structural properties to extensive changes in the near-surface interstitial contamination produced by baking and annealing and to synergistic interactions between H and surface O introduced during electropolishing and buffered chemical polishing.« less

Superconductivity of lanthanum revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loeptien, Peter; Zhou, Lihui; Wiebe, Jens; Khajetoorians, Alexander Ako; Wiesendanger, Roland

2014-03-01

The thickness dependence of the superconductivity in clean hexagonal lanthanum films grown on tungsten (110) is studied by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). Fitting of the measured spectra to BCS theory yields the superconducting energy gaps from which the critical temperatures are determined. For the case of thick, bulk-like films, the bulk energy gap and critical temperature of dhcp lanthanum turn out to be considerably higher as compared to values from the literature measured by other techniques. In thin films the superconductivity is quenched by the boundary condition for the superconducting wavefunction imposed by the substrate and surface, leading to a linear decrease of the superconducting transition temperature as a function of the inverse film thickness. This opens up the possibility to grow lanthanum films with defined superconducting properties.

Chiral superconductors.

PubMed

Kallin, Catherine; Berlinsky, John

2016-05-01

Chiral superconductivity is a striking quantum phenomenon in which an unconventional superconductor spontaneously develops an angular momentum and lowers its free energy by eliminating nodes in the gap. It is a topologically non-trivial state and, as such, exhibits distinctive topological modes at surfaces and defects. In this paper we discuss the current theory and experimental results on chiral superconductors, focusing on two of the best-studied systems, Sr2RuO4, which is thought to be a chiral triplet p-wave superconductor, and UPt3, which has two low-temperature superconducting phases (in zero magnetic field), the lower of which is believed to be chiral triplet f-wave. Other systems that may exhibit chiral superconductivity are also discussed. Key signatures of chiral superconductivity are surface currents and chiral Majorana modes, Majorana states in vortex cores, and the possibility of half-flux quantum vortices in the case of triplet pairing. Experimental evidence for chiral superconductivity from μSR, NMR, strain, polar Kerr effect and Josephson tunneling experiments are discussed.

Multiple topological electronic phases in superconductor MoC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Angus; Smith, Adam D.; Schwinn, Madison; Lu, Qiangsheng; Chang, Tay-Rong; Xie, Weiwei; Jeng, Horng-Tay; Bian, Guang

2018-05-01

The search for a superconductor with non-s -wave pairing is important not only for understanding unconventional mechanisms of superconductivity but also for finding new types of quasiparticles such as Majorana bound states. Materials with both topological band structure and superconductivity are promising candidates as p +i p superconducting states can be generated through pairing the spin-polarized topological surface states. In this work, the electronic and phonon properties of the superconductor molybdenum carbide (MoC) are studied with first-principles methods. Our calculations show that nontrivial band topology and s -wave Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductivity coexist in two structural phases of MoC, namely the cubic α and hexagonal γ phases. The α phase is a strong topological insulator and the γ phase is a topological nodal-line semimetal with drumhead surface states. In addition, hole doping can stabilize the crystal structure of the α phase and elevate the transition temperature in the γ phase. Therefore, MoC in different structural forms can be a practical material platform for studying topological superconductivity.

Superconductivity in ABa 2Cu 3O 7-x compounds, where A = (R 1) x(R 2) 1-x and R1, R2 = Y, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Yb, Zr, Nb AND La

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poddar, A.; Mandal, P.; Choudhury, P.; Das, A. N.; Ghosh, B.

1988-06-01

The electrical resistance has been measured for the titled compounds. All the compounds show superconductivity at about 90 K except La-system whose superconducting behavior depends much on the preparation procedure. Magnetization measurements has been made at 77 K and the Hmax (field at which negative magnetization is maximum) values for the above systems are in the range 170 - 320 Oe.

Fabrication techniques for superconducting readout loops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Payne, J. E.

1982-01-01

Procedures for the fabrication of superconducting readout loops out of niobium on glass substrates were developed. A computer program for an existing fabrication system was developed. Both positive and negative resist procedures for the production of the readout loops were investigated. Methods used to produce satisfactory loops are described and the various parameters affecting the performance of the loops are analyzed.

Effects of Surface Electron Doping and Substrate on the Superconductivity of Epitaxial FeSe Films.

PubMed

Zhang, W H; Liu, X; Wen, C H P; Peng, R; Tan, S Y; Xie, B P; Zhang, T; Feng, D L

2016-03-09

Superconductivity in FeSe is greatly enhanced in films grown on SrTiO3 substrates, although the mechanism behind remains unclear. Recently, surface potassium (K) doping has also proven able to enhance the superconductivity of FeSe. Here, by using scanning tunneling microscopy, we compare the K doping dependence of the superconductivity in FeSe films grown on two substrates: SrTiO3 (001) and graphitized SiC (0001). For thick films (20 unit cells (UC)), the optimized superconducting (SC) gaps are of similar size (∼9 meV) regardless of the substrate. However, when the thickness is reduced to a few UC, the optimized SC gap is increased up to ∼15 meV for films on SrTiO3, whereas it remains unchanged for films on SiC. This clearly indicates that the FeSe/SrTiO3 interface can further enhance the superconductivity, beyond merely doping electrons. Intriguingly, we found that this interface enhancement decays exponentially as the thickness increases, with a decay length of 2.4 UC, which is much shorter than the length scale for relaxation of the lattice strain, pointing to interfacial electron-phonon coupling as the likely origin.

Lifshitz transitions and zero point lattice fluctuations in sulfur hydride showing near room temperature superconductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bianconi, Antonio; Jarlborg, Thomas

2015-11-01

Emerets's experiments on pressurized sulfur hydride have shown that H3S metal has the highest known superconducting critical temperature Tc = 203 K. The Emerets data show pressure induced changes of the isotope coefficient between 0.25 and 0.5, in disagreement with Eliashberg theory which predicts a nearly constant isotope coefficient.We assign the pressure dependent isotope coefficient to Lifshitz transitions induced by pressure and zero point lattice fluctuations. It is known that pressure could induce changes of the topology of the Fermi surface, called Lifshitz transitions, but were neglected in previous papers on the H3S superconductivity issue. Here we propose thatH3S is a multi-gap superconductor with a first condensate in the BCS regime (located in the large Fermi surface with high Fermi energy) which coexists with second condensates in the BCS-BEC crossover regime (located on the Fermi surface spots with small Fermi energy) near the and Mpoints.We discuss the Bianconi-Perali-Valletta (BPV) superconductivity theory to understand superconductivity in H3S since the BPV theory includes the corrections of the chemical potential due to pairing and the configuration interaction between different condensates, neglected by the Eliashberg theory. These two terms in the BPV theory give the shape resonance in superconducting gaps, similar to Feshbach resonance in ultracold fermionic gases, which is known to amplify the critical temperature. Therefore this work provides some key tools useful in the search for new room temperature superconductors.

Development of a ferromagnetic component in the superconducting state of Fe-excess Fe1.12Te1-xSex by electronic charge redistribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Wen-Hsien; Karna, Sunil K.; Hsu, Han; Li, Chi-Yen; Lee, Chi-Hung; Sankar, Raman; Cheng Chou, Fang

2015-06-01

The general picture established so far for the links between superconductivity and magnetic ordering in iron chalcogenide Fe1+y(Te1-xSex) is that the substitution of Se for Te directly drives the system from the antiferromagnetic end into the superconducting regime. Here, we report on the observation of a ferromagnetic component that developed together with the superconducting transition in Fe-excess Fe1.12Te1-xSex crystals using neutron and x-ray diffractions, resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and magnetization measurements. The superconducting transition is accompanied by a negative thermal expansion of the crystalline unit cell and an electronic charge redistribution, where a small portion of the electronic charge flows from around the Fe sites toward the Te/Se sites. First-principles calculations show consistent results, revealing that the excess Fe ions play a more significant role in affecting the magnetic property in the superconducting state than in the normal state and the occurrence of an electronic charge redistribution through the superconducting transition.

Pressure-induced reinforcement of interfacial superconductivity in a Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Junying; Heuckeroth, Claire; Deng, Yuhang; He, Qinglin; Liu, Hong Chao; Liang, Jing; Wang, Jiannong; Sou, Iam Keong; Schilling, James S.; Lortz, Rolf

2017-12-01

We investigate the hydrostatic pressure dependence of interfacial superconductivity occurring at the atomically sharp interface between two non-superconducting materials: the topological insulator (TI) Bi2Te3 and the parent compound Fe1+yTe of the chalcogenide iron-based superconductors. Under pressure, a significant increase in the superconducting transition temperature Tc is observed. We interpret our data in the context of a pressure-induced enhanced coupling of the Fe1+yTe interfacial layer with the Bi2Te3 surface state, which modifies the electronic properties of the interface layer in a way that superconductivity emerges and becomes further enhanced under pressure. This demonstrates the important role of the TI in the interfacial superconducting mechanism.

Evidence for topologically protected surface states and a superconducting phase in [Tl4](Tl(1-x)Sn(x))Te3 using photoemission, specific heat, and magnetization measurements, and density functional theory.

PubMed

Arpino, K E; Wallace, D C; Nie, Y F; Birol, T; King, P D C; Chatterjee, S; Uchida, M; Koohpayeh, S M; Wen, J-J; Page, K; Fennie, C J; Shen, K M; McQueen, T M

2014-01-10

We report the discovery of surface states in the perovskite superconductor [Tl4]TlTe3 (Tl5Te3) and its nonsuperconducting tin-doped derivative [Tl4](Tl0.4Sn0.6)Te3 as observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Density functional theory calculations predict that the surface states are protected by a Z2 topology of the bulk band structure. Specific heat and magnetization measurements show that Tl5Te3 has a superconducting volume fraction in excess of 95%. Thus Tl5Te3 is an ideal material in which to study the interplay of bulk band topology and superconductivity.

Topologically nontrivial electronic states in CaSn3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Sunny; Juneja, Rinkle; Shinde, Ravindra; Singh, Abhishek K.

2017-06-01

Based on the first-principles calculations, we theoretically propose topologically non-trivial states in a recently experimentally discovered superconducting material CaSn3. When the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is ignored, the material is a host to three-dimensional topological nodal-line semimetal states. Drumhead like surface states protected by the coexistence of time-reversal and mirror symmetry emerge within the two-dimensional regions of the surface Brillouin zone connecting the nodal lines. When SOC is included, unexpectedly, each nodal line evolves into two Weyl nodes (W1 and W2) in this centrosymmetric material. Berry curvature calculations show that these nodes occur in a pair and act as either a source or a sink of Berry flux. This material also has unique surface states in the form of Fermi arcs, which unlike other known Weyl semimetals forms closed loops of surface states on the Fermi surface. Our theoretical realization of topologically non-trivial states in a superconducting material paves the way towards unraveling the interconnection between topological physics and superconductivity.

High-temperature superconductivity in space-charge regions of lanthanum cuprate induced by two-dimensional doping

PubMed Central

Baiutti, F.; Logvenov, G.; Gregori, G.; Cristiani, G.; Wang, Y.; Sigle, W.; van Aken, P. A.; Maier, J.

2015-01-01

The exploitation of interface effects turned out to be a powerful tool for generating exciting material properties. Such properties include magnetism, electronic and ionic transport and even superconductivity. Here, instead of using conventional homogeneous doping to enhance the hole concentration in lanthanum cuprate and achieve superconductivity, we replace single LaO planes with SrO dopant planes using atomic-layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy (two-dimensional doping). Electron spectroscopy and microscopy, conductivity measurements and zinc tomography reveal such negatively charged interfaces to induce layer-dependent superconductivity (Tc up to 35 K) in the space-charge zone at the side of the planes facing the substrate, where the strontium (Sr) profile is abrupt. Owing to the growth conditions, the other side exhibits instead a Sr redistribution resulting in superconductivity due to conventional doping. The present study represents a successful example of two-dimensional doping of superconducting oxide systems and demonstrates its power in this field. PMID:26481902

Crystal structure, magnetic susceptibility and thermopower of superconducting and non-superconducting Nd 1.85Ce 0.15CuO 4+y

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magelschots, I.; Andersen, N. H.; Lebech, B.; Wisniewski, A.; Jacobsen, C. S.

1992-12-01

An experimental study of superconducting and non-superconducting Nd 1.85Ce 0.15CuO 4+ y, including structure determination by neutron powder diffraction, recording of oxygen changes by gas volumetry, and susceptibility and thermoelectric measurements, is reported. Difference neutron diffraction patterns from samples prepared on-line at the spectrometer show that the structures of superconducting and non-superconducting samples are identical within the limits set by the statistical errors of our data. Simultaneous gas volumetric measurements reveal that Δy<0.03 (1) when the sample is oxidized from the superconducting to the non-superconducting state. Structural refinements confirm that Nd 1.85Ce 0.15CuO 4+ y has the T‧-type tetragonal structure reported in the literature, but additional oxygen may be located on the apical O(3) oxygen site of the T-type structure, with a total oxygen content of 4+ y=4.03 (5). Consistent with this result, we find very small values of the thermoelectric power indicating that Nd 1.85Ce 0.15CuO 4+ y is close to the formal threshold, yc=0.075, between electron and hole conduction, but surprisingly, the thermoelectric power of the superconducting sample is positive, while it is negative in the non-superconducting sample below 210 K.

ONR Far East Scientific Bulletin, Volume 7, Number 4, October-December 1982,

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-12-01

transition metal compounds (2), - ESR and relaxation (3), - rare earth and actinides (3), - magnetics and superconductivity (3), - transition metal...34Itinerant Electron Magnetism ," by T. Moriya, - "Organic Superconductivity ," by D. Jerome, and - "Recent Developments in Solid Earth Sciences," by...compounds, low dimension systems, random systems, surface magnetism , magnetism and superconductivity , Kondo problem, diamagnetism and nuclear

Effect of Impurities on the Josephson Current through Helical Metals: Exploiting a Neutrino Paradigm.

PubMed

Ghaemi, Pouyan; Nair, V P

2016-01-22

In this Letter we study the effect of time-reversal symmetric impurities on the Josephson supercurrent through two-dimensional helical metals such as on a topological insulator surface state. We show that, contrary to the usual superconducting-normal metal-superconducting junctions, the suppression of the supercurrent in the superconducting-helical metal-superconducting junction is mainly due to fluctuations of impurities in the junctions. Our results, which are a condensed matter realization of a part of the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein effect for neutrinos, show that the relationship between normal state conductance and the critical current of Josephson junctions is significantly modified for Josephson junctions on the surface of topological insulators. We also study the temperature dependence of the supercurrent and present a two fluid model which can explain some of the recent experimental results in Josephson junctions on the edge of topological insulators.

Effect of Impurities on the Josephson Current through Helical Metals: Exploiting a Neutrino Paradigm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghaemi, Pouyan; Nair, V. P.

2016-01-01

In this Letter we study the effect of time-reversal symmetric impurities on the Josephson supercurrent through two-dimensional helical metals such as on a topological insulator surface state. We show that, contrary to the usual superconducting-normal metal-superconducting junctions, the suppression of the supercurrent in the superconducting-helical metal-superconducting junction is mainly due to fluctuations of impurities in the junctions. Our results, which are a condensed matter realization of a part of the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein effect for neutrinos, show that the relationship between normal state conductance and the critical current of Josephson junctions is significantly modified for Josephson junctions on the surface of topological insulators. We also study the temperature dependence of the supercurrent and present a two fluid model which can explain some of the recent experimental results in Josephson junctions on the edge of topological insulators.

Attaching Thiolated Superconductor Grains on Gold Surfaces for Nanoelectronics Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Los Santos Valladares, Luis; Bustamante Dominguez, Angel; Llandro, Justin; Suzuki, Seiichi; Mitrelias, Thanos; Bellido Quispe, Richard; Barnes, Crispin H. W.; Majima, Yutaka

2010-09-01

We report that the high critical temperature superconductor (HTCS) LaCaBaCu3O7 in the form of nanograins can be linked to Au(111) surfaces through self assembled monolayers (SAMs) of HS-C8H16-HS [octane (di)thiol]. We show that La1113 particles (100 nm mean diameter) can be functionalized by octane (di)thiol without affecting their superconducting critical temperature (TC=80 K). X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) analysis reveals that the thiol functional heads link the superconducting grain surfaces creating sulfonates and we deduce that bonding between the S atoms and Cu(1) atoms of the La1113 structure would be formed. We suggest a design for a superconducting transistor fabricated by immobilized La1113 nanograins in between two gold electrodes which could be controlled by an external magnetic field gate.

In situ/non-contact superfluid density measurement apparatus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nam, Hyoungdo; Su, Ping-Hsang; Shih, Chih-Kang

2018-04-01

We present a double-coil apparatus designed to operate with in situ capability, which is strongly desired for superconductivity studies on recently discovered two-dimensional superconductors. Coupled with a scanning tunneling microscope, the study of both local and global superconductivity [for superconducting gap and superfluid density (SFD), respectively] is possible on an identical sample without sample degradations due to damage, contamination, or oxidation in an atmosphere. The performance of the double-coil apparatus was tested on atomically clean surfaces of non-superconducting Si(111)-7 × 7 and on superconducting films of 100 nm-thick Pb and 1.4 nm-ultrathin Pb. The results clearly show the normal-to-superconductor phase transition for Pb films with a strong SFD.

Thin Film Approaches to the SRF Cavity Problem Fabrication and Characterization of Superconducting Thin Films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beringer, Douglas

Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities are responsible for the acceleration of charged particles to relativistic velocities in most modern linear accelerators, such as those employed at high-energy research facilities like Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory’s CEBAF and the LHC at CERN. Recognizing SRF as primarily a surface phenomenon enables the possibility of applying thin films to the interior surface of SRF cavities, opening a formidable tool chest of opportunities by combining and designing materials that offer greater performance benefit. Thus, while improvements in radio frequency cavity design and refinements in cavity processing techniques have improved accelerator performance and efficiency – 1.5more » GHz bulk niobium SRF cavities have achieved accelerating gradients in excess of 35 MV/m – there exist fundamental material bounds in bulk superconductors limiting the maximally sustained accelerating field gradient (≈ 45 MV/m for Nb) where inevitable thermodynamic breakdown occurs. With state of the art Nb based cavity design fast approaching these theoretical limits, novel material innovations must be sought in order to realize next generation SRF cavities. One proposed method to improve SRF performance is to utilize thin film superconducting-insulating-superconducting (SIS) multilayer structures to effectively magnetically screen a bulk superconducting layer such that it can operate at higher field gradients before suffering critically detrimental SRF losses. This dissertation focuses on the production and characterization of thin film superconductors for such SIS layers for radio frequency applications. Correlated studies on structure, surface morphology and superconducting properties of epitaxial Nb and MgB2 thin films are presented.« less

Orbital-dependent electron correlation effects in iron-based superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, Ming

The iron chalcogenide superconductors constitute arguably one of the most intriguing families of the iron-based high temperature superconductors given their ability to superconduct at comparable temperatures as the iron pnictides, despite the lack of similarities in their magnetic structures and Fermi surface topologies. In particular, the lack of hole Fermi pockets at the Brillouin zone center posts a challenge to the previous proposal of spin fluctuation mediated pairing via Fermi surface nesting. In this talk, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements, I will present evidence that show that instead of Fermi surface topology, strong electron correlation observed in electron bandwidth is an important ingredient for superconductivity in the iron chalcogenides. Specifically, I will show i) there exists universal strong orbital-selective renormalization effects and proximity to an orbital-selective Mott phase in Fe1+yTe1-xSex, AxFe2-ySe2, and monolayer FeSe film on SrTiO3, and ii) in RbxFe2(Se1-zSz)2 , where sulfur substitution for selenium continuously suppresses superconductivity down to zero, little change occurs in the Fermi surface topology while a substantial reduction of electron correlation is observed in an expansion of the overall bandwidth, implying that electron correlation is one of the key tuning parameters for superconductivity in these materials.

Electronic structure and relaxation dynamics in a superconducting topological material

DOE PAGES

Neupane, Madhab; Ishida, Yukiaki; Sankar, Raman; ...

2016-03-03

Topological superconductors host new states of quantum matter which show a pairing gap in the bulk and gapless surface states providing a platform to realize Majorana fermions. Recently, alkaline-earth metal Sr intercalated Bi2Se3 has been reported to show superconductivity with a Tc~3K and a large shielding fraction. Here we report systematic normal state electronic structure studies of Sr0.06Bi2Se3 (Tc~2.5K) by performing photoemission spectroscopy. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we observe a quantum well confined two-dimensional (2D) state coexisting with a topological surface state in Sr0.06Bi2Se3. Furthermore, our time-resolved ARPES reveals the relaxation dynamics showing different decay mechanism between the excitedmore » topological surface states and the two-dimensional states. Our experimental observation is understood by considering the intra-band scattering for topological surface states and an additional electron phonon scattering for the 2D states, which is responsible for the superconductivity. Our first-principles calculations agree with the more effective scattering and a shorter lifetime of the 2D states. In conclusion, our results will be helpful in understanding low temperature superconducting states of these topological materials.« less

Superconducting proximity effect in MBE grown Nb-InAs junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kan, Carolyn; Xue, Chi; Law, Stephanie; Eckstein, James

2013-03-01

Several proposals for the realization of Majorana fermions rely on excellent quality proximity coupling between a superconductor and a high-mobility semiconductor. We examine the long-range proximity coupling between MBE-grown InAs and in situ grown superconducting overlayers by fabricating transport devices, and investigate the effect of substrate choice and growth conditions on the quality of the MBE InAs. GaAs is commonly available as a high quality insulating substrate. Overcoming its lattice mismatch with InAs using GaSb and AlSb layers results in locally smooth terraced surfaces, but global spiral dislocation structures also appear and have a negative impact on the InAs mobility. Growing InAs on homoepitaxial GaSb results in improved morphology and increases the mean free path. We compare the proximity effect in devices made both ways. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Division of Materials Sciences under Award No. DE-FG02 07ER46453, through the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Orbital superconductivity, defects, and pinned nematic fluctuations in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe 0.45 Te 0.55

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sarkar, Saheli; Van Dyke, John; Sprau, Peter O.

We demonstrate that the differential conductance, dI/dV, measured via spectroscopic imaging scanning tunneling microscopy in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe0.45Te0.55, possesses a series of characteristic features that allow one to extract the orbital structure of the superconducting gaps. This yields nearly isotropic superconducting gaps on the two holelike Fermi surfaces, and a strongly anisotropic gap on the electronlike Fermi surface. Moreover, we show that the pinning of nematic fluctuations by defects can give rise to a dumbbell-like spatial structure of the induced impurity bound states, and explains the related C-2 symmetry in the Fourier transformed differential conductance.

Negative Magnetoresistance in Amorphous Indium Oxide Wires

PubMed Central

Mitra, Sreemanta; Tewari, Girish C; Mahalu, Diana; Shahar, Dan

2016-01-01

We study magneto-transport properties of several amorphous Indium oxide nanowires of different widths. The wires show superconducting transition at zero magnetic field, but, there exist a finite resistance at the lowest temperature. The R(T) broadening was explained by available phase slip models. At low field, and far below the superconducting critical temperature, the wires with diameter equal to or less than 100 nm, show negative magnetoresistance (nMR). The magnitude of nMR and the crossover field are found to be dependent on both temperature and the cross-sectional area. We find that this intriguing behavior originates from the interplay between two field dependent contributions. PMID:27876859

Josephson Metamaterial with a Widely Tunable Positive or Negative Kerr Constant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wenyuan; Huang, W.; Gershenson, M. E.; Bell, M. T.

2017-11-01

We report on the microwave characterization of a novel one-dimensional Josephson metamaterial composed of a chain of asymmetric superconducting quantum interference devices with nearest-neighbor coupling through common Josephson junctions. This metamaterial demonstrates a strong Kerr nonlinearity, with a Kerr constant tunable over a wide range, from positive to negative values, by a magnetic flux threading the superconducting quantum interference devices. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theory of nonlinear effects in Josephson chains. The metamaterial is very promising as an active medium for Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifiers; its use facilitates phase matching in a four-wave-mixing process for efficient parametric gain.

A novel approach to characterizing the surface topography of niobium superconducting radio frequency (SRF) accelerator cavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hui Tian, Guilhem Ribeill, Chen Xu, Charles E. Reece, Michael J. Kelley

2011-03-01

As superconducting niobium radio-frequency (SRF) cavities approach fundamental material limits, there is increased interest in understanding the details of topographical influences on realized performance limitations. Micro- and nano-roughness are implicated in both direct geometrical field enhancements as well as complications of the composition of the 50 nm surface layer in which the super-currents typically flow. Interior surface chemical treatments such as buffered chemical polishing (BCP) and electropolishing (EP) used to remove mechanical damage leave surface topography, including pits and protrusions of varying sharpness. These may promote RF magnetic field entry, locally quenching superconductivity, so as to degrade cavity performance. Amore » more incisive analysis of surface topography than the widely used average roughness is needed. In this study, a power spectral density (PSD) approach based on Fourier analysis of surface topography data acquired by both stylus profilometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM) is introduced to distinguish the scale-dependent smoothing effects, resulting in a novel qualitative and quantitative description of Nb surface topography. The topographical evolution of the Nb surface as a function of different steps of well-controlled EP is discussed. This study will greatly help to identify optimum EP parameter sets for controlled and reproducible surface levelling of Nb for cavity production.« less

Fermiology of the strongly spin-orbit coupled superconductor Sn(1-x)In(x)Te: implications for topological superconductivity.

PubMed

Sato, T; Tanaka, Y; Nakayama, K; Souma, S; Takahashi, T; Sasaki, S; Ren, Z; Taskin, A A; Segawa, Kouji; Ando, Yoichi

2013-05-17

We have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy on the strongly spin-orbit coupled low-carrier density superconductor Sn(1-x)In(x)Te (x = 0.045) to elucidate the electronic states relevant to the possible occurrence of topological superconductivity, as recently reported for this compound based on point-contact spectroscopy. The obtained energy-band structure reveals a small holelike Fermi surface centered at the L point of the bulk Brillouin zone, together with a signature of a topological surface state, indicating that this material is a doped topological crystalline insulator characterized by band inversion and mirror symmetry. A comparison of the electronic states with a band-noninverted superconductor possessing a similar Fermi surface structure, Pb(1-x)Tl(x)Te, suggests that the anomalous behavior in the superconducting state of Sn(1-x)In(x)Te is related to the peculiar orbital characteristics of the bulk valence band and/or the presence of a topological surface state.

Superconducting topological surface states in the noncentrosymmetric bulk superconductor PbTaSe2.

PubMed

Guan, Syu-You; Chen, Peng-Jen; Chu, Ming-Wen; Sankar, Raman; Chou, Fangcheng; Jeng, Horng-Tay; Chang, Chia-Seng; Chuang, Tien-Ming

2016-11-01

The search for topological superconductors (TSCs) is one of the most urgent contemporary problems in condensed matter systems. TSCs are characterized by a full superconducting gap in the bulk and topologically protected gapless surface (or edge) states. Within each vortex core of TSCs, there exists the zero-energy Majorana bound states, which are predicted to exhibit non-Abelian statistics and to form the basis of the fault-tolerant quantum computation. To date, no stoichiometric bulk material exhibits the required topological surface states (TSSs) at the Fermi level ( E F ) combined with fully gapped bulk superconductivity. We report atomic-scale visualization of the TSSs of the noncentrosymmetric fully gapped superconductor PbTaSe 2 . Using quasi-particle scattering interference imaging, we find two TSSs with a Dirac point at E ≅ 1.0 eV, of which the inner TSS and the partial outer TSS cross E F , on the Pb-terminated surface of this fully gapped superconductor. This discovery reveals PbTaSe 2 as a promising candidate for TSC.

Chemical Bonding and Thermodynamics in Superconductivity and Superfluidity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Love, Peter

2012-05-01

Superconductivity and superfluidity are physical states that occur in a variety of chemical and physical systems. These physical states share a common type of real, or virtual, chemical bonding. Each of the systems discussed herein contain at least one real, or effective, coordinate covalent bond. This is formed from an electron pair donor species and an electron pair acceptor species. When the electronegativity difference between the electron pair donor and acceptor species is sufficiently small, the resultant coordinate covalent bond density can be substantial. If delocalized, this bond density can result in a significant increase in the electron pair orbital volume relative to that of the parent species, and an increase in the valence shell orbital entropy. In terms of the normalized Gibbs-Helmholtz equation, this results in a concomitant decrease in free energy of the delocalized electronic system. A decrease in free energy to negative values can support a boson state, and superconductivity. A clear example of these principles is the occurrence of superconductivity in the ceramic material, MgB2. These generalizations apply to superconducting elements, high temperature superconductors, superconducting alloys, and equivalently to superfluid 4He.

Nonmagnetic impurity resonances as a signature of sign-reversal pairing in FeAs-based superconductors.

PubMed

Zhang, Degang

2009-10-30

The energy band structure of FeAs-based superconductors is fitted by a tight-binding model with two Fe ions per unit cell and two degenerate orbitals per Fe ion. Based on this, superconductivity with extended s-wave pairing symmetry of the form cosk(x)+cosk(y) is examined. The local density of states near an impurity is also investigated by using the T-matrix approach. For the nonmagnetic scattering potential, we found that there exist two major resonances inside the gap. The height of the resonance peaks depends on the strength of the impurity potential. These in-gap resonances are originated in the Andreev's bound states due to the quasiparticle scattering between the hole Fermi surfaces around Gamma point with positive order parameter and the electron Fermi surfaces around M point with negative order parameter.

Engineering Room-temperature Superconductors Via ab-initio Calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulian, Mamikon; Melkonyan, Gurgen; Gulian, Armen

The BCS, or bosonic model of superconductivity, as Little and Ginzburg have first argued, can bring in superconductivity at room temperatures in the case of high-enough frequency of bosonic mode. It was further elucidated by Kirzhnitset al., that the condition for existence of high-temperature superconductivity is closely related to negative values of the real part of the dielectric function at finite values of the reciprocal lattice vectors. In view of these findings, the task is to calculate the dielectric function for real materials. Then the poles of this function will indicate the existence of bosonic excitations which can serve as a "glue" for Cooper pairing, and if the frequency is high enough, and the dielectric matrix is simultaneously negative, this material is a good candidate for very high-Tc superconductivity. Thus, our approach is to elaborate a methodology of ab-initio calculation of the dielectric function of various materials, and then point out appropriate candidates. We used the powerful codes (TDDF with the DP package in conjunction with ABINIT) for computing dielectric responses at finite values of the wave vectors in the reciprocal lattice space. Though our report is concerned with the particular problem of superconductivity, the application range of the data processing methodology is much wider. The ability to compute the dielectric function of existing and still non-existing (though being predicted!) materials will have many more repercussions not only in fundamental sciences but also in technology and industry.

PREFACE: Anisotropic and multiband pairing: from borides to multicomponent superconductivity Anisotropic and multiband pairing: from borides to multicomponent superconductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Annett, James; Kusmartsev, Feodor; Bianconi, Antonio

2009-01-01

In 2001, the discovery of superconductivity in MgB2 rapidly led to the understanding that its complex multi-sheeted Fermi surface had two distinct values of the gap parameter Δ, each with its own characteristic temperature dependence. While the theory of multigap superconductivity had been developed long ago, this was the first well studied example where multigap behaviour was observed clearly, and indeed is essential to understand the full superconducting properties of the material. Following this discovery, evidence for multigap behaviour has appeared in a number of materials, including cuprates, ruthenates, and most recently the iron pnictides. As well as multigap pairing on different Fermi-surface sheets, strong gap anisotropy in k-space and strong modulations of the gap in real space (e.g. stripes and phase separation models) are also important in cuprates. The aim of this special section is to present a selection of high-quality papers from experts in these diverse systems, showing the links and common physical issues arising from the existence of multi-component Cooper pairing. The papers collected together for the special section provide a snapshot of the current state of the understanding of multi-component superconductivity in a wide range of materials. In a model motivated by MgB2, Tanaka and Eschrig describe Abrikosov vortex lattice in a two-gap superconductor, examining how the vortex structure is modified by three-dimensionality or quasi two-dimensionality of the Fermi surface. The multi-sheeted Fermi surfaces of the nickel borocarbides are probed using angle-resolved positron annihilation spectroscopy, described by Dugdale et al, leading to a full three-dimensional picture of the complex Fermi surface in this superconducting material. Possible evidence for multigap superconductivity in the iron pnictides, obtained using Andreev point contact spectroscopy, is described by Samuely et al. The iron pnictides are also the subject of the article by Caivano et al, in which it is proposed that the Feschbach resonance mechanism operating near to a quantum critical point may lead to stripe-like fluctuations in these materials. A number of papers describe multigap-related effects in high-Tc superconductors. In particular, Atkinson shows how the existence of CuO chain states at the Fermi surface leads to a set of resonances in the induced gap in the chain layer, which have a pronounced effect on the vortex core shape. Kristoffel et al discuss the existence of the two coherence lengths in two-gap superconductors, and describe how this leads to spatially periodic fluctuations, with possible application to high-temperature superconductivity. Kugel et al describe a scenario for phase separation due to long-range Coulomb forces leading to microstrain and nanoscale inhomogeneities in high-Tc cuprates. Kusmartsev and Saarela also argue that charge over-screening may lead to 'Coulomb bubbles' in high-Tc superconductors. Finally, Wysokiński et al describe multigap effects in strontium ruthenate, in particular the effects on the NMR relaxation rate spectra, which are obtained for NMR on different nuclear species.

Superconducting proximity effect in a topological insulator using Fe(Te, Se)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, He; Rachmilowitz, Bryan; Ren, Zheng; Han, Ruobin; Schneeloch, J.; Zhong, Ruidan; Gu, Genda; Wang, Ziqiang; Zeljkovic, Ilija

2018-06-01

Interest in the superconducting proximity effect has recently been reignited by theoretical predictions that it could be used to achieve topological superconductivity. Low-Tc superconductors have predominantly been used in this effort, but small energy scales of ˜1 meV have hindered the characterization of the emergent electronic phase, limiting it to extremely low temperatures. In this work, we use molecular beam epitaxy to grow topological insulator B i2T e3 in a range of thicknesses on top of a high-Tc superconductor Fe(Te,Se). Using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, we detect Δind as high as ˜3.5 meV, which is the largest reported gap induced by proximity to an s -wave superconductor to date. We find that Δind decays with B i2T e3 thickness, but remains finite even after the topological surface states have been formed. Finally, by imaging the scattering and interference of surface state electrons, we provide a microscopic visualization of the fully gapped B i2T e3 surface state due to Cooper pairing. Our results establish Fe-based high-Tc superconductors as a promising new platform for realizing high-Tc topological superconductivity.

Engineering of an ultra-thin molecular superconductor by charge transfer

DOEpatents

Hla, Saw Wai; Hassanien, Abdelrahim; Kendal, Clark

2016-06-07

A method of forming a superconductive device of a single layer of (BETS).sub.2GaCl.sub.4 molecules on a substrate surface which displays a superconducting gap that increases exponentially with the length of the molecular chain is provided.

Magnetic stability of oxygen defects on the SiO 2 surface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adelstein, Nicole; Lee, Donghwa; DuBois, Jonathan L.

2017-02-21

The magnetic stability of E' centers and the peroxy radical on the surface of α-quartz is investigated with first-principles calculations to understand their role in magnetic flux noise in superconducting qubits (SQs) and superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) fabricated on amorphous silica substrates. Paramagnetic E' centers are common in both stoichiometric and oxygen deficient silica and quartz, and we calculate that they are more common on the surface than the bulk. However, we find the surface defects are magnetically stable in their paramagnetic ground state and thus will not contribute to 1/f noise through fluctuation at millikelvin temperatures.

Effects of Co and Mn doping in K0.8Fe2-ySe2 revisited.

PubMed

Zhou, Tingting; Chen, Xiaolong; Guo, Jiangang; Jin, Shifeng; Wang, Gang; Lai, Xiaofang; Ying, Tianping; Zhang, Han; Shen, Shijie; Wang, Shunchong; Zhu, Kaixing

2013-07-10

Accumulated evidence indicates that phase separation occurs in potassium intercalated iron selenides, a superconducting phase coexisting with the antiferromagnetic phase K2Fe4Se5, the so-called '245 phase'. Here, we report a comparative study of substitution effects by Co and Mn for Fe sites in K0.8Fe2-ySe2 within the phase separation scenario. Our results demonstrate that Co and Mn dopants have distinct differences in occupancy and hence in the suppression mechanism of superconductivity upon doping of Fe sites. In K0.8Fe2-xCoxSe2, Co prefers to occupy the lattice of the superconducting phase and suppresses superconductivity very quickly, obeying the magnetic pair-breaking mechanism or the collapse of the Fermi surface nesting mechanism. In contrast, in K0.8Fe1.7-xMnxSe2, Mn shows no preferential occupancy in the superconducting phase or the 245 phase. The suppression of superconductivity can be attributed to restraining of the superconducting phase and meanwhile inducing another non-superconducting phase by Mn doping.

Superconductivity in epitaxially grown self-assembled indium islands: progress towards hybrid superconductor/semiconductor optical sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gehl, Michael; Gibson, Ricky; Zandbergen, Sander

Currently, superconducting qubits lead the way in potential candidates for quantum computing. This is a result of the robust nature of superconductivity and the non-linear Josephson effect which make possible many types of qubits. At the same time, transferring quantum information over long distances typically relies on the use of photons as the elementary qubit. Converting between stationary electronic qubits in superconducting systems and traveling photonic qubits is a challenging yet necessary goal for the interface of quantum computing and communication. The most promising path to achieving this goal appears to be the integration of superconductivity with optically active semiconductors,more » with quantum information being transferred between the two by means of the superconducting proximity effect. Obtaining good interfaces between superconductor and semiconductor is the next obvious step for improving these hybrid systems. As a result, we report on our observation of superconductivity in self-assembled indium structures grown epitaxially on the surface of semiconductor material.« less

Superconductivity at 7.4 K in few layer graphene by Li-intercalation.

PubMed

Tiwari, Anand P; Shin, Soohyeon; Hwang, Eunhee; Jung, Soon-Gil; Park, Tuson; Lee, Hyoyoung

2017-11-08

Superconductivity in graphene has been highly sought after for its promise in various device applications and for general scientific interest. Ironically, the simple electronic structure of graphene, which is responsible for novel quantum phenomena, hinders the emergence of superconductivity. Theory predicts that doping the surface of the graphene effectively alters the electronic structure, thus promoting propensity towards Cooper pair instability (Profeta et al (2012) Nat. Phys. 8 131-4; Nandkishore et al (2012) Nat. Phys. 8 158-63) [1, 2]. Here we report the emergence of superconductivity at 7.4 K in Li-intercalated few-layer-graphene (FLG). The absence of superconductivity in 3D Li-doped graphite underlines that superconductivity in Li-FLG arises from the novel electronic properties of the 2D graphene layer. These results are expected to guide future research on graphene-based superconductivity, both in theory and experiments. In addition, easy control of the Li-doping process holds promise for various device applications.

Superconductivity in epitaxially grown self-assembled indium islands: progress towards hybrid superconductor/semiconductor optical sources

DOE PAGES

Gehl, Michael; Gibson, Ricky; Zandbergen, Sander; ...

2016-02-01

Currently, superconducting qubits lead the way in potential candidates for quantum computing. This is a result of the robust nature of superconductivity and the non-linear Josephson effect which make possible many types of qubits. At the same time, transferring quantum information over long distances typically relies on the use of photons as the elementary qubit. Converting between stationary electronic qubits in superconducting systems and traveling photonic qubits is a challenging yet necessary goal for the interface of quantum computing and communication. The most promising path to achieving this goal appears to be the integration of superconductivity with optically active semiconductors,more » with quantum information being transferred between the two by means of the superconducting proximity effect. Obtaining good interfaces between superconductor and semiconductor is the next obvious step for improving these hybrid systems. As a result, we report on our observation of superconductivity in self-assembled indium structures grown epitaxially on the surface of semiconductor material.« less

Possibility of Exciton Mediated Superconductivity in Nano-Sized Sn/Si Core-Shell Clusters: A Process Technology towards Heterogeneous Material in Nano-Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurokawa, Yuichiro; Hihara, Takehiko; Ichinose, Ikuo; Sumiyama, Kenji

2012-07-01

We have produced Sn/Si core-shell cluster assemblies by a plasma-gas-condensation cluster beam deposition apparatus. For the sample with Si content = 12 at. %, the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity exhibits a metallic behavior above 10 K and the onset of superconducting transition below 6.1 K. With decreasing temperature, the thermomagnetic curve for the sample with Si content = 8 at. % begins to decrease steadily toward negative value below 7.7 K, indicating the Meissner effect. An increase in the transition temperature, TC is attributable to exciton-type superconductivity.

Orbital superconductivity, defects, and pinned nematic fluctuations in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe 0.45 Te 0.55

DOE PAGES

Sarkar, Saheli; Van Dyke, John; Sprau, Peter O.; ...

2017-08-09

We demonstrate that the differential conductance, dI/dV , measured via spectroscopic imaging scanning tunneling microscopy in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe0.45Te0.55, possesses a series of characteristic features that allow one to extract the orbital structure of the superconducting gaps. This yields nearly isotropic superconducting gaps on the two hole-like Fermi surfaces, and a strongly anisotropic gap on the electron-like Fermi surface. Moreover, we show that the pinning of nematic fluctuations by defects can give rise to a dumbbell-like spatial structure of the induced impurity bound states, and explains the related C 2-symmetry in the Fourier transformed differential conductance.

Orbital superconductivity, defects, and pinned nematic fluctuations in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe 0.45 Te 0.55

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sarkar, Saheli; Van Dyke, John; Sprau, Peter O.

We demonstrate that the differential conductance, dI/dV , measured via spectroscopic imaging scanning tunneling microscopy in the doped iron chalcogenide FeSe0.45Te0.55, possesses a series of characteristic features that allow one to extract the orbital structure of the superconducting gaps. This yields nearly isotropic superconducting gaps on the two hole-like Fermi surfaces, and a strongly anisotropic gap on the electron-like Fermi surface. Moreover, we show that the pinning of nematic fluctuations by defects can give rise to a dumbbell-like spatial structure of the induced impurity bound states, and explains the related C 2-symmetry in the Fourier transformed differential conductance.

Superconductivity and charge density wave in ZrTe 3–xSe x

DOE PAGES

Zhu, Xiangde; Ning, Wei; Li, Lijun; ...

2016-06-02

Charge density wave (CDW), the periodic modulation of the electronic charge density, will open a gap on the Fermi surface that commonly leads to decreased or vanishing conductivity. On the other hand superconductivity, a commonly believed competing order, features a Fermi surface gap that results in infinite conductivity. Here we report that superconductivity emerges upon Se doping in CDW conductor ZrTe 3 when the long range CDW order is gradually suppressed. Superconducting critical temperature T c(x) in ZrTe 3–xSe x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) increases up to 4 K plateau for 0.04 ≤ x ≤ 0.07. Further increase inmore » Se content results in diminishing T c and filametary superconductivity. The CDW modes from Raman spectra are observed in x = 0.04 and 0.1 crystals, where signature of ZrTe 3 CDW order in resistivity vanishes. As a result, the electronic-scattering for high T c crystals is dominated by local CDW fluctuations at high temperatures, the resistivity is linear up to highest measured T = 300 K and contributes to substantial in-plane anisotropy.« less

Anisotropic superconductivity in β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6: STM spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nomura, K.; Muraoka, R.; Matsunaga, N.; Ichimura, K.; Yamada, J.

2009-03-01

We have investigated the gap symmetry in the superconducting phase of β-(BDA-TTP)2SbF6 with use of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The tunneling spectra obtained on the conducting surface show a clear superconducting gap structure. Its functional form is of V-shaped similarly to κ-(BEDT-TTF)2X and suggests the anisotropic superconducting gap with line nodes. For lateral surfaces the shape of tunneling spectra varies from the U-shape with relatively large gap to the V-shape with small gap depending on the tunneling direction alternately twice between directional angle 0 and π. From the analysis of conductance curve taking the k dependence of the tunneling probability into account, it is found that the gap has maximum near the a* and c* axes and the nodes appear along near a*+c* and the a-c* directions. These indicate that the d like superconducting pair is formed in this system as the case of κ-(BEDT-TTF)2X. This node direction is consistent with the theoretical prediction based on the spin fluctuation mechanism. However, the zero-bias conductance peak has not been observed yet.

Three-dimensional superconducting gap in FeSe from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kushnirenko, Y. S.; Fedorov, A. V.; Haubold, E.; Thirupathaiah, S.; Wolf, T.; Aswartham, S.; Morozov, I.; Kim, T. K.; Büchner, B.; Borisenko, S. V.

2018-05-01

We present a systematic angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the superconducting gap in FeSe. The gap function is determined in a full Brillouin zone including all Fermi surfaces and kz dependence. We find significant anisotropy of the superconducting gap in all momentum directions. While the in-plane anisotropy can be explained by both nematicity-induced pairing anisotropy and orbital-selective pairing, the kz anisotropy requires an additional refinement of the theoretical approaches.

A network of superconducting gravimeters detects submicrogal coseismic gravity changes.

PubMed

Imanishi, Yuichi; Sato, Tadahiro; Higashi, Toshihiro; Sun, Wenke; Okubo, Shuhei

2004-10-15

With high-resolution continuous gravity recordings from a regional network of superconducting gravimeters, we have detected permanent changes in gravity acceleration associated with a recent large earthquake. Detected changes in gravity acceleration are smaller than 10(-8) meters seconds(-2) (1 micro-Galileo, about 10(-9) times the surface gravity acceleration) and agree with theoretical values calculated from a dislocation model. Superconducting gravimetry can contribute to the studies of secular gravity changes associated with tectonic processes.

Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy studies of the heavy-electron superconductor TlNi2Se2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilfert, Stefan; Schmitt, Martin; Schmidt, Henrik; Mauerer, Tobias; Sessi, Paolo; Wang, Hangdong; Mao, Qianhui; Fang, Minghu; Bode, Matthias

2018-01-01

We report on the structural and superconducting electronic properties of the heavy-electron superconductor TlNi2Se2 . By using a variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (VT-STM) the coexistence of (√{2 }×√{2 }) R 45∘ and (2 ×1 ) surface reconstructions is observed. Similar to earlier observations on the "122" family of Fe-based superconductors, we find that their respective surface fraction strongly depends on the temperature during cleavage, the measurement temperature, and the sample's history. Cleaving at low temperature predominantly results in the (√{2 }×√{2 }) R 45∘ -reconstructed surface. A detailed analysis of the (√{2 }×√{2 }) R 45∘ -reconstructed domains identifies (2 ×1 ) -ordered dimers, tertramers, and higher order even multimers as domain walls. Higher cleaving temperatures and the warming of low-temperature-cleaved samples increases the relative weight of the (2 ×1 ) surface reconstruction. By slowly increasing the sample temperature Ts inside the VT-STM we find that the (√{2 }×√{2 }) R 45∘ surface reconstructions transforms into the (2 ×1 ) structure at Ts=123 K. We identify the polar nature of the TlNi2Se2 (001) surface as the most probable driving mechanism of the two reconstructions, as both lead to a charge density ρ =0.5 e- , thereby avoiding divergent electrostatic potentials and the resulting "polar catastrophe." Low-temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) performed with normal metal and superconducting probe tips shows a superconducting gap which is best fit with an isotropic s wave. We could not detect any correlation between the local surface reconstruction, suggesting that the superconductivity is predominantly governed by TlNi2Se2 bulk properties. Correspondingly, temperature- and field-dependent data reveal that both the critical temperature and critical magnetic field are in good agreement with bulk values obtained earlier from transport measurements. In the superconducting state the formation of an Abrikosov lattice is observed without any zero bias anomaly at the vortex core.

Stoichiometry and thickness dependence of superconducting properties of niobium nitride thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beebe, Melissa R., E-mail: mrbeebe@email.wm.edu; Beringer, Douglas B.; Burton, Matthew C.

2016-03-15

The current technology used in linear particle accelerators is based on superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities fabricated from bulk niobium (Nb), which have smaller surface resistance and therefore dissipate less energy than traditional nonsuperconducting copper cavities. Using bulk Nb for the cavities has several advantages, which are discussed elsewhere; however, such SRF cavities have a material-dependent accelerating gradient limit. In order to overcome this fundamental limit, a multilayered coating has been proposed using layers of insulating and superconducting material applied to the interior surface of the cavity. The key to this multilayered model is to use superconducting thin films tomore » exploit the potential field enhancement when these films are thinner than their London penetration depth. Such field enhancement has been demonstrated in MgB{sub 2} thin films; here, the authors consider films of another type-II superconductor, niobium nitride (NbN). The authors present their work correlating stoichiometry and superconducting properties in NbN thin films and discuss the thickness dependence of their superconducting properties, which is important for their potential use in the proposed multilayer structure. While there are some previous studies on the relationship between stoichiometry and critical temperature T{sub C}, the authors are the first to report on the correlation between stoichiometry and the lower critical field H{sub C1}.« less

Probing the unconventional superconducting state of LiFeAs by quasiparticle interference.

PubMed

Hänke, Torben; Sykora, Steffen; Schlegel, Ronny; Baumann, Danny; Harnagea, Luminita; Wurmehl, Sabine; Daghofer, Maria; Büchner, Bernd; van den Brink, Jeroen; Hess, Christian

2012-03-23

A crucial step in revealing the nature of unconventional superconductivity is to investigate the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy has proven a powerful technique to probe this symmetry by measuring the quasiparticle interference (QPI) which sensitively depends on the superconducting pairing mechanism. A particularly well-suited material to apply this technique is the stoichiometric superconductor LiFeAs as it features clean, charge neutral cleaved surfaces without surface states and a relatively high T(c)∼18  K. Our data reveal that in LiFeAs the quasiparticle scattering is governed by a van Hove singularity at the center of the Brillouin zone which is in stark contrast to other pnictide superconductors where nesting is crucial for both scattering and s(±) superconductivity. Indeed, within a minimal model and using the most elementary order parameters, calculations of the QPI suggest a dominating role of the holelike bands for the quasiparticle scattering. Our theoretical findings do not support the elementary singlet pairing symmetries s(++), s(±), and d wave. This brings to mind that the superconducting pairing mechanism in LiFeAs is based on an unusual pairing symmetry such as an elementary p wave (which provides optimal agreement between the experimental data and QPI simulations) or a more complex order parameter (e.g., s+id wave symmetry).

Superconducting Thin Films for the Enhancement of Superconducting Radio Frequency Accelerator Cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burton, Matthew C.

Bulk niobium (Nb) superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities are currently the preferred method for acceleration of charged particles at accelerating facilities around the world. However, bulk Nb cavities have poor thermal conductance, impose material and design restrictions on other components of a particle accelerator, have low reproducibility and are approaching the fundamental material-dependent accelerating field limit of approximately 50MV/m. Since the SRF phenomena occurs at surfaces within a shallow depth of ˜1 microm, a proposed solution to this problem has been to utilize thin film technology to deposit superconducting thin films on the interior of cavities to engineer the active SRF surface in order to achieve cavities with enhanced properties and performance. Two proposed thin film applications for SRF cavities are: 1) Nb thin films coated on bulk cavities made of suitable castable metals (such as copper or aluminum) and 2) multilayer films designed to increase the accelerating gradient and performance of SRF cavities. While Nb thin films on copper (Cu) cavities have been attempted in the past using DC magnetron sputtering (DCMS), such cavities have never performed at the bulk Nb level. However, new energetic condensation techniques for film deposition, such as High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS), offer the opportunity to create suitably thick Nb films with improved density, microstructure and adhesion compared to traditional DCMS. Clearly use of such novel technique requires fundamental studies to assess surface evolution and growth modes during deposition and resulting microstructure and surface morphology and the correlation with RF superconducting properties. Here we present detailed structure-property correlative research studies done on Nb/Cu thin films and NbN- and NbTiN-based multilayers made using HiPIMS and DCMS, respectively.

Buffer architecture for biaxially textured structures and method of fabricating same

DOEpatents

Norton, David P.; Park, Chan; Goyal, Amit

2004-04-06

The invention relates to an article with an improved buffer layer architecture comprising a substrate having a metal surface, and an epitaxial buffer layer on the surface of the substrate. The epitaxial buffer layer comprises at least one of the group consisting of ZrO.sub.2, HfO.sub.2, and compounds having at least one of Ca and a rare earth element stabilizing cubic phases of ZrO.sub.2 and/or HfO.sub.2. The article can also include a superconducting layer deposited on the epitaxial buffer layer. The article can also include an epitaxial capping layer between the epitaxial buffer layer and the superconducting layer. A method for preparing an epitaxial article comprises providing a substrate with a metal surface, depositing on the metal surface an epitaxial buffer layer comprising at least one material selected from the group consisting of ZrO.sub.2, HfO.sub.2, and compounds having at least one of Ca and a rare earth element stabilizing cubic phases of at least one of ZrO.sub.2 and HfO.sub.2. The epitaxial layer depositing step occurs in a vacuum with a background pressure of no more than 1.times.10.sup.-5 Torr. The method can further comprise depositing a superconducting layer on the epitaxial layer, and depositing an epitaxial capping layer between the epitaxial buffer layer and the superconducting layer.

Search for unconventional superconductors among the YTE 2Si2 compounds (TE  =  Cr, Co, Ni, Rh, Pd, Pt)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pikul, A. P.; Samsel–Czekała, M.; Chajewski, G.; Romanova, T.; Hackemer, A.; Gorzelniak, R.; Wiśniewski, P.; Kaczorowski, D.

2017-05-01

Motivated by the recent discovery of exotic superconductivity in YFe2Ge2 we undertook reinvestigation of formation and physical properties of yttrium-based 1:2:2 silicides. Here we report on syntheses and crystal structures of the YTE 2Si2 compounds with TE  =  Cr, Co, Ni, Rh, Pd and Pt, and their low-temperature physical properties measurements, supplemented by results of fully relativistic full-potential local-orbital minimum basis band structure calculations. We confirm that most of the members of that family crystallize in a tetragonal ThCr2Si2-type structure (space group I4/mmm) and have three-dimensional Fermi surface, while only one of them (YPt2Si2) forms with a closely-related primitive CaBe2Ge2-type unit cell (space group P4/nmm) and possess quasi-two-dimensional Fermi surface sheets. Physical measurements indicated that BCS-like superconductivity is observed only in YPt2Si2 (T c  =  1.54 K) and YPd2Si2 (T c  =  0.43 K), while no superconducting phase transition was found in other systems at least down to 0.35 K. Thermal analysis showed no polymorphism in both superconducting phases. No clear relation between the superconductivity and the crystal structure (and dimensionality of the Fermi surface) was observed.

Determination of bulk and surface superconducting properties of N 2-doped cold worked, heat treated and electro-polished SRF grade niobium

DOE PAGES

Chetri, Santosh; Larbalestier, David C.; Lee, Peter J.; ...

2015-12-01

In this study, nitrogen-doped cavities show significant performance improvement in the medium accelerating field regime due to a lowered RF surface resistivity. However, the mechanism of enhancement has not been clearly explained. Our experiments explore how N 2-doping influences Nb bulk and surface superconducting properties, and compare the N 2-doped properties with those obtained previously with conventionally treated samples. High purity Nb-rod was mechanically deformed and post treated based on a typical SRF cavity treatment recipe. The onset of flux penetration at H c1, and the upper and the surface critical fields, H c2 and H c3, were characterized bymore » magnetic hysteresis and AC susceptibility techniques. The surface depth profile responsible for superconductivity was examined by changing AC amplitude in AC susceptibility, and the microstructure was directly observed with EBSD-OIM. We are also investigating surface chemistry for detailed composition using XPS. We have found that N 2-doping at 800 °C significantly reduces the H c3/H c2 ratio towards the ideal value of ~1.7, and conclude that AC susceptibility is capable of following changes to the surface properties induced by N 2-doping.« less

Introduction to Superconducting RF Structures and the Effect of High Pressure Rinsing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tajima, Tsuyoshi

2016-06-30

This presentation begins by describing RF superconductivity and SRF accelerating structures. Then the use of superconducting RF structures in a number of accelerators around the world is reviewed; for example, the International Linear Collider (ILC) will use ~16,000 SRF cavities with ~2,000 cryomodules to get 500 GeV e⁺/e⁻ colliding energy. Field emission control was (and still is) a very important practical issue for SRF cavity development. It has been found that high-pressure ultrapure water rinsing as a final cleaning step after chemical surface treatment resulted in consistent performance of single- and multicell superconducting cavities.

Superconducting cable connections and methods

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

van der Laan, Daniel Cornelis

2017-09-05

Superconducting cable connector structures include a terminal body (or other structure) onto which the tapes from the superconducting cable extend. The terminal body (or other structure) has a diameter that is sufficiently larger than the diameter of the former of the superconducting cable, so that the tapes spread out over the outer surface of the terminal body. As a result, gaps are formed between tapes on the terminal body (or other structure). Those gaps are filled with solder (or other suitable flowable conductive material), to provide a current path of relatively high conductivity in the radial direction. Other connector structuresmore » omit the terminal body.« less

Coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in YBCO nanoparticles.

PubMed

Zhu, Zhonghua; Gao, Daqiang; Dong, Chunhui; Yang, Guijin; Zhang, Jing; Zhang, Jinlin; Shi, Zhenhua; Gao, Hua; Luo, Honggang; Xue, Desheng

2012-03-21

Nanoparticles of superconducting YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-δ) were synthesized via a citrate pyrolysis technique. Room temperature ferromagnetism was revealed in the samples by a vibrating sample magnetometer. Electron spin resonance spectra at selected temperatures indicated that there is a transition from the normal to the superconducting state at temperatures below 100 K. The M-T curves with various applied magnetic fields showed that the superconducting transition temperatures are 92 K and 55 K for the air-annealed and the post-annealed samples, respectively. Compared to the air-annealed sample, the saturation magnetization of the sample by reheating the air-annealed one in argon atmosphere is enhanced but its superconductivity is weakened, which implies that the ferromagnetism maybe originates from the surface oxygen defects. By superconducting quantum interference device measurements, we further confirmed the ferromagnetic behavior at high temperatures and interesting upturns in field cooling magnetization curves within the superconducting region are found. We attributed the upturn phenomena to the coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity at low temperatures. Room temperature ferromagnetism of superconducting YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-δ) nanoparticles has been observed in some previous related studies, but the issue of the coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity within the superconducting region is still unclear. In the present work, it will be addressed in detail. The cooperation phenomena found in the spin-singlet superconductors will help us to understand the nature of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in more depth.

Superconducting states of topological surface states in β-PdBi2 investigated by STM/STS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwaya, Katsuya; Okawa, Kenjiro; Hanaguri, Tetsuo; Kohsaka, Yuhki; Machida, Tadashi; Sasagawa, Takao

We investigate superconducting (SC) states of topological surface states in β-PdBi2 using very low temperature STM. Characteristic quasiparticle interference patterns strongly support the existence of the spin-polarized surface states at the Fermi level in the normal state. A fully-opened SC gap well described by the conventional BCS model is observed, indicating the SC gap opening at the spin-polarized Fermi surfaces. Considering a possible mixing of odd- and even parity orbital functions in C4v group symmetry lowered from D4h near the surface, we suggest that the SC gap consists of the mixture of s- and p-wave SC gap functions in the two-dimensional state.

Two superconducting transitions in single-crystal La 2 - x Ba x CuO 4

DOE PAGES

Tee, X. Y.; Ito, T.; Ushiyama, T.; ...

2017-02-27

Here, we use spatially-resolved transport techniques to investigate the superconducting properties of single crystals La 2-xBa xCuO 4. We also found a superconducting transition temperature T cs associated with the ab-plane surface region which is considerably higher than the bulk T c. This effect is pronounced in the region of charge carrier doping x with strong spin-charge stripe correlations, reaching T cs = 36 K or 1.64T c.

Analysis of Nb 3Sn surface layers for superconducting radio frequency cavity applications

DOE PAGES

Becker, Chaoyue; Posen, Sam; Groll, Nickolas; ...

2015-02-23

Here, we present an analysis of Nb 3Sn surface layers grown on a bulk Nb coupon prepared at the same time and by the same vapor diffusion process used to make Nb 3Sn coatings on 1.3 GHz Nb cavities. Tunneling spectroscopy reveal a well developed, homogeneous superconducting density of states at the surface with a gap value distribution centered around 2.7 ± 0.4 meV and superconducting critical temperature's (T c) up to 16.3K. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) performed on cross sections of the sample's surface shows a ~ 2 microns thick Nb 3Sn surface layer. The elemental composition map exhibitsmore » a Nb:Sn ratio of 3:1 with buried substoichiometric regions with a ratio of 5:1. Synchrotron diffraction experiments indicate a polycrystalline Nb 3Sn film and confirm the presence of Nb rich regions that occupies about a third of the coating volume. These low T c regions could play an important role in the dissipation mechanisms occurring during RF tests of Nb 3Sn -coated Nb cavities and open the way for further improving a very promising alternative to pure Nb cavities for particle accelerators.« less

Unconventional superconductivity and surface pairing symmetry in half-Heusler compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qing-Ze; Yu, Jiabin; Liu, Chao-Xing

2018-06-01

Signatures of nodal line/point superconductivity [Kim et al., Sci. Adv. 4, eaao4513 (2018), 10.1126/sciadv.aao4513; Brydon et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 177001 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.177001] have been observed in half-Heusler compounds, such as LnPtBi (Ln = Y, Lu). Topologically nontrivial band structures, as well as topological surface states, have also been confirmed by angular-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in these compounds [Liu et al., Nat. Commun. 7, 12924 (2016), 10.1038/ncomms12924]. In this paper, we present a systematical classification of possible gap functions of bulk states and surface states in half-Heusler compounds and the corresponding topological properties based on the representations of crystalline symmetry group. Different from all the previous studies based on the four band Luttinger model, our study starts with the six-band Kane model, which involves both four p-orbital type of Γ8 bands and two s-orbital type of Γ6 bands. Although the Γ6 bands are away from the Fermi energy, our results reveal the importance of topological surface states, which originate from the band inversion between Γ6 and Γ8 bands, in determining surface properties of these compounds in the superconducting regime by combining topological bulk state picture and nontrivial surface state picture.

Superconductivity in interacting interfaces of cuprate-based heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Castro, Daniele; Balestrino, Giuseppe

2018-07-01

Low dimensional superconducting systems have been the subject of numerous studies in the recent past, with the aim of achieving a higher and higher critical temperature (T c ). The recent improvement in film deposition techniques has allowed the realization of artificial heterostructures, with atomically flat surfaces and interfaces, where novel properties appear that are not present in the single constituent. For instance, quasi-2D superconductivity was found at the interface between different oxides. In this review we analyze, in particular, the quasi-2D superconductivity occurring at the interface between two non-superconducting oxides, mostly cuprates. Throughout a comparison of the superconducting properties of different oxide heterostructures and superlattices, we propose a phenomenological explanation of the behavior of the T c as a function of the number of conducting CuO2 planes. This is achieved by introducing two different interactions between the superconducting 2D sheets. This interpretation is finally extended also to standard high T c cuprates, contributing to the solution of the long-standing question of the dependence of T c on the number of CuO2 planes in these systems.

Superconductivity pairing mechanism from cobalt impurity doping in FeSe: Spin (s±) or orbital (s++) fluctuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urata, T.; Tanabe, Y.; Huynh, K. K.; Yamakawa, Y.; Kontani, H.; Tanigaki, K.

2016-01-01

In high-superconducting transition temperature (Tc) iron-based superconductors, interband sign reversal (s±) and sign preserving (s++) s -wave superconducting states have been primarily discussed as the plausible superconducting mechanism. We study Co impurity scattering effects on the superconductivity in order to achieve an important clue on the pairing mechanism using single-crystal Fe1 -xCoxSe and depict a phase diagram of a FeSe system. Both superconductivity and structural transition/orbital order are suppressed by the Co replacement on the Fe sites and disappear above x = 0.036. These correlated suppressions represent a common background physics behind these physical phenomena in the multiband Fermi surfaces of FeSe. By comparing experimental data and theories so far proposed, the suppression of Tc against the residual resistivity is shown to be much weaker than that predicted in the case of general sign reversal and full gap s± models. The origin of the superconducting paring in FeSe is discussed in terms of its multiband electronic structure.

Cooperative Search of Autonomous Vehicles for Unknown Targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Sheng Qing; Yu, Jian Qiao; Zhang, Si Yu

2013-01-01

We study the orbital-dependent superconducting pairing in a five-orbital t-J1-J2 model for iron pnictides. Depending on the orbital selectivity of electron correlations and the orbital characters along the Fermi surface, the superconducting gap in an A_{1g} pairing state may exhibit anisotropy. This anisotropy varies with the degree of J1-J2 magnetic frustration. We have also calculated the dynamical spin susceptibility in the superconducting state. The frequency dependence of the susceptibility at the antiferromagnetic wavevector (\\pi,0) shows a resonance, whose width is enhanced by the orbital dependence of the superconducting gap; when the latter is sufficiently strong, the resonance peak may be split into two. We discuss the implications of our results on the recent angle-resolved photoemission and neutron-scattering measurements in several superconducting iron pnictides.

Metal-insulator quantum critical point beneath the high Tc superconducting dome.

PubMed

Sebastian, Suchitra E; Harrison, N; Altarawneh, M M; Mielke, C H; Liang, Ruixing; Bonn, D A; Hardy, W N; Lonzarich, G G

2010-04-06

An enduring question in correlated systems concerns whether superconductivity is favored at a quantum critical point (QCP) characterized by a divergent quasiparticle effective mass. Despite such a scenario being widely postulated in high T(c) cuprates and invoked to explain non-Fermi liquid transport signatures, experimental evidence is lacking for a critical divergence under the superconducting dome. We use ultrastrong magnetic fields to measure quantum oscillations in underdoped YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+x), revealing a dramatic doping-dependent upturn in quasiparticle effective mass at a critical metal-insulator transition beneath the superconducting dome. Given the location of this QCP under a plateau in T(c) in addition to a postulated QCP at optimal doping, we discuss the intriguing possibility of two intersecting superconducting subdomes, each centered at a critical Fermi surface instability.

Room-temperature growth of thin films of niobium on strontium titanate (0 0 1) single-crystal substrates for superconducting joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimizu, Yuhei; Tonooka, Kazuhiko; Yoshida, Yoshiyuki; Furuse, Mitsuho; Takashima, Hiroshi

2018-06-01

With the eventual aim of forming joints between superconducting wires of YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO), thin films of Nb were grown at room-temperature on SrTiO3 (STO) (0 0 1), a single-crystal substrate that shows good lattice matching with YBCO. The crystallinity, surface morphology, and superconducting properties of the Nb thin films were investigated and compared with those of similar films grown on a silica glass substrate. The Nb thin films grew with an (hh0) orientation on both substrates. The crystallinity of the Nb thin films on the STO substrate was higher than that on the silica glass substrate. X-ray diffraction measurements and observation of the surface morphology by atomic-force microscopy indicated that Nb grew in the plane along the [1 0 0] and [0 1 0] directions of the STO substrate. This growth mode relaxes strain between Nb and STO, and is believed to lead to the high crystallinity observed. As a result, the Nb thin films on the STO substrates showed lower electric resistivity and a higher superconducting transition temperature than did those on the silica glass substrates. The results of this study should be useful in relation to the production of superconducting joints.

Neutron diffraction study and anomalous negative thermal expansion in non-superconducting PrFe1-xRuxAsO

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yiu, Yuen; Garlea, Vasile O; McGuire, Michael A

2012-01-01

Neutron powder diraction has been used to investigate the structural and magnetic behavior of the isoelectronically doped Fe pnictide material PrFe1-xRuxAsO. Substitution of Ru for Fe sup- presses the structural and magnetic phase transitions that occur in the undoped compound PrFeAsO. Contrary to the behavior usually observed in 1111 pnictide materials, the suppression of both the structural and magnetic transitions does not result in the emergence of superconductivity or any other new ground state. Interestingly, PrFeAsO itself shows an unusual negative thermal expansion (NTE) along the c-axis, from 60K down to at least 4K; this does not occur in superconductingmore » samples such as those formed by doping with fluorine on the oxygen site. We nd that NTE is present for all concentrations of PrFe1-xRuxAsO with x ranging from 0.05 to 0.75. These results suggest that the absence of superconductivity in these materials could be related to the presence of NTE.« less

Superconducting quantum circuits at the surface code threshold for fault tolerance.

PubMed

Barends, R; Kelly, J; Megrant, A; Veitia, A; Sank, D; Jeffrey, E; White, T C; Mutus, J; Fowler, A G; Campbell, B; Chen, Y; Chen, Z; Chiaro, B; Dunsworth, A; Neill, C; O'Malley, P; Roushan, P; Vainsencher, A; Wenner, J; Korotkov, A N; Cleland, A N; Martinis, John M

2014-04-24

A quantum computer can solve hard problems, such as prime factoring, database searching and quantum simulation, at the cost of needing to protect fragile quantum states from error. Quantum error correction provides this protection by distributing a logical state among many physical quantum bits (qubits) by means of quantum entanglement. Superconductivity is a useful phenomenon in this regard, because it allows the construction of large quantum circuits and is compatible with microfabrication. For superconducting qubits, the surface code approach to quantum computing is a natural choice for error correction, because it uses only nearest-neighbour coupling and rapidly cycled entangling gates. The gate fidelity requirements are modest: the per-step fidelity threshold is only about 99 per cent. Here we demonstrate a universal set of logic gates in a superconducting multi-qubit processor, achieving an average single-qubit gate fidelity of 99.92 per cent and a two-qubit gate fidelity of up to 99.4 per cent. This places Josephson quantum computing at the fault-tolerance threshold for surface code error correction. Our quantum processor is a first step towards the surface code, using five qubits arranged in a linear array with nearest-neighbour coupling. As a further demonstration, we construct a five-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state using the complete circuit and full set of gates. The results demonstrate that Josephson quantum computing is a high-fidelity technology, with a clear path to scaling up to large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum circuits.

Dependence of the microwave surface resistance of superconducting niobium on the magnitude of the rf field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Romanenko, A.; Grassellino, A.

Utilizing difference in temperature dependencies we decoupled Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) and residual components of the microwave surface resistance of superconducting niobium at all rf fields up to B{sub rf}{approx}115 mT. We reveal that the residual resistance decreases with field at B{sub rf} Less-Than-Or-Equivalent-To 40 mT and strongly increases in chemically treated niobium at B{sub rf}>80 mT. We find that BCS surface resistance is weakly dependent on field in the clean limit, whereas a strong and peculiar field dependence emerges after 120 Degree-Sign C vacuum baking.

Imaging Josephson vortices on the surface superconductor Si(111)-(√7×√3)-In using a scanning tunneling microscope.

PubMed

Yoshizawa, Shunsuke; Kim, Howon; Kawakami, Takuto; Nagai, Yuki; Nakayama, Tomonobu; Hu, Xiao; Hasegawa, Yukio; Uchihashi, Takashi

2014-12-12

We have studied the superconducting Si(111)-(√7×√3)-In surface using a ³He-based low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. Zero-bias conductance images taken over a large surface area reveal that vortices are trapped at atomic steps after magnetic fields are applied. The crossover behavior from Pearl to Josephson vortices is clearly identified from their elongated shapes along the steps and significant recovery of superconductivity within the cores. Our numerical calculations combined with experiments clarify that these characteristic features are determined by the relative strength of the interterrace Josephson coupling at the atomic step.

Low temperature laser scanning microscopy of a superconducting radio-frequency cavity

DOE PAGES

Ciovati, G.; Anlage, Steven M.; Baldwin, C.; ...

2012-03-16

An apparatus was created to obtain, for the first time, 2D maps of the surface resistance of the inner surface of an operating superconducting radio-frequency niobium cavity by a low-temperature laser scanning microscopy technique. This allows identifying non-uniformities of the surface resistance with a spatial resolution of about one order of magnitude better than with earlier methods. A signal-to-noise ratio of about 10 dB was obtained with 240 mW laser power and 1 Hz modulation frequency. The various components of the apparatus, the experimental procedure and results are discussed in details in this contribution.

Millimeter-wave surface resistance of laser-ablated YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) superconducting films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miranda, F. A.; Gordon, W. L.; Bhasin, K. B.; Warner, J. D.

1990-01-01

The millimeter-wave surface resistance of YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) superconducting films was measured in a gold-plated copper host cavity at 58.6 GHz between 25 and 300 K. High-quality laser-ablated films of 1.2-micron thickness were deposited on SrTiO3 and LaGaO3 substrates. Their transition temperatures were 90.0 and 88.9 K, with a surface resistance at 70 K of 82 and 116 milliohms, respectively. These values are better than the values for the gold-plated cavity at the same temperature and frequency.

Superconductivity Series in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides by Ionic Gating

PubMed Central

Shi, Wu; Ye, Jianting; Zhang, Yijin; Suzuki, Ryuji; Yoshida, Masaro; Miyazaki, Jun; Inoue, Naoko; Saito, Yu; Iwasa, Yoshihiro

2015-01-01

Functionalities of two-dimensional (2D) crystals based on semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have now stemmed from simple field effect transistors (FETs) to a variety of electronic and opto-valleytronic devices, and even to superconductivity. Among them, superconductivity is the least studied property in TMDs due to methodological difficulty accessing it in different TMD species. Here, we report the systematic study of superconductivity in MoSe2, MoTe2 and WS2 by ionic gating in different regimes. Electrostatic gating using ionic liquid was able to induce superconductivity in MoSe2 but not in MoTe2 because of inefficient electron accumulation limited by electronic band alignment. Alternative gating using KClO4/polyethylene glycol enabled a crossover from surface doping to bulk doping, which induced superconductivities in MoTe2 and WS2 electrochemically. These new varieties greatly enriched the TMD superconductor families and unveiled critical methodology to expand the capability of ionic gating to other materials. PMID:26235962

Superconductivity Series in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides by Ionic Gating.

PubMed

Shi, Wu; Ye, Jianting; Zhang, Yijin; Suzuki, Ryuji; Yoshida, Masaro; Miyazaki, Jun; Inoue, Naoko; Saito, Yu; Iwasa, Yoshihiro

2015-08-03

Functionalities of two-dimensional (2D) crystals based on semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have now stemmed from simple field effect transistors (FETs) to a variety of electronic and opto-valleytronic devices, and even to superconductivity. Among them, superconductivity is the least studied property in TMDs due to methodological difficulty accessing it in different TMD species. Here, we report the systematic study of superconductivity in MoSe2, MoTe2 and WS2 by ionic gating in different regimes. Electrostatic gating using ionic liquid was able to induce superconductivity in MoSe2 but not in MoTe2 because of inefficient electron accumulation limited by electronic band alignment. Alternative gating using KClO4/polyethylene glycol enabled a crossover from surface doping to bulk doping, which induced superconductivities in MoTe2 and WS2 electrochemically. These new varieties greatly enriched the TMD superconductor families and unveiled critical methodology to expand the capability of ionic gating to other materials.

Time-reversal symmetry-breaking superconductivity in epitaxial bismuth/nickel bilayers.

PubMed

Gong, Xinxin; Kargarian, Mehdi; Stern, Alex; Yue, Di; Zhou, Hexin; Jin, Xiaofeng; Galitski, Victor M; Yakovenko, Victor M; Xia, Jing

2017-03-01

Superconductivity that spontaneously breaks time-reversal symmetry (TRS) has been found, so far, only in a handful of three-dimensional (3D) crystals with bulk inversion symmetry. We report an observation of spontaneous TRS breaking in a 2D superconducting system without inversion symmetry: the epitaxial bilayer films of bismuth and nickel. The evidence comes from the onset of the polar Kerr effect at the superconducting transition in the absence of an external magnetic field, detected by the ultrasensitive loop-less fiber-optic Sagnac interferometer. Because of strong spin-orbit interaction and lack of inversion symmetry in a Bi/Ni bilayer, superconducting pairing cannot be classified as singlet or triplet. We propose a theoretical model where magnetic fluctuations in Ni induce the superconducting pairing of the [Formula: see text] orbital symmetry between the electrons in Bi. In this model, the order parameter spontaneously breaks the TRS and has a nonzero phase winding number around the Fermi surface, thus making it a rare example of a 2D topological superconductor.

Determination of surface resistance and magnetic penetration depth of superconducting YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) thin films by microwave power transmission measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhasin, K. B.; Warner, J. D.; Miranda, F. A.; Gordon, W. L.; Newman, H. S.

1991-01-01

A novel waveguide power transmission measurement technique was developed to extract the complex conductivity of superconducting thin films at microwave frequencies. The microwave conductivity was taken of two laser ablated YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) thin films on LaAlO3 with transition temperatures of approximately 86.3 and 82 K, respectively, in the temperature range 25 to 300 K. From the conductivity values, the penetration depth was found to be approximately 0.54 and 0.43 micron, and the surface resistance (R sub s) to be approximately 24 and 36 micro-Ohms at 36 GHz and 76 K for the two films under consideration. The R sub s values were compared with those obtained from the change in the Q-factor of a 36 GHz Te sub 011-mode (OFHC) copper cavity by replacing one of its end walls with the superconducting sample. This technique allows noninvasive characterization of high transition superconducting thin films at microwave frequencies.

Determination of surface resistance and magnetic penetration depth of superconducting YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) thin films by microwave power transmission measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhasin, K. B.; Warner, J. D.; Miranda, F. A.; Gordon, W. L.; Newman, H. S.

1990-01-01

A novel waveguide power transmission measurement technique was developed to extract the complex conductivity of superconducting thin films at microwave frequencies. The microwave conductivity was taken of two laser ablated YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) thin films on LaAlO3 with transition temperatures of approx. 86.3 and 82 K, respectively, in the temperature range 25 to 300 K. From the conductivity values, the penetration depth was found to be approx. 0.54 and 0.43 micron, and the surface resistance (R sub s) to be approx. 24 and 36 micro-Ohms at 36 GHz and 76 K for the two films under consideration. The R sub s values were compared with those obtained from the change in the Q-factor of a 36 GHz Te sub 011-mode (OFHC) copper cavity by replacing one of its end walls with the superconducting sample. This technique allows noninvasive characterization of high transition temperature superconducting thin films at microwave frequencies.

Superconductivity and ferromagnetism in topological insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Duming

Topological insulators, a new state of matter discovered recently, have attracted great interest due to their novel properties. They are insulating inside the bulk, but conducting at the surface or edges. This peculiar behavior is characterized by an insulating bulk energy gap and gapless surface or edge states, which originate from strong spin-orbit coupling and time-reversal symmetry. The spin and momentum locked surface states not only provide a model system to study fundamental physics, but can also lead to applications in spintronics and dissipationless electronics. While topological insulators are interesting by themselves, more exotic behaviors are predicted when an energy gap is induced at the surface. This dissertation explores two types of surface state gap in topological insulators, a superconducting gap induced by proximity effect and a magnetic gap induced by chemical doping. The first three chapters provide introductory theory and experimental details of my research. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the theoretical background of topological insulators. Chapter 2 is dedicated to material synthesis principles and techniques. I will focus on two major synthesis methods: molecular beam epitaxy for the growth of Bi2Se3 thin films and chemical vapor deposition for the growth of Bi2Se3 nanoribbons and nanowires. Material characterization is discussed in Chapter 3. I will describe structural, morphological, magnetic, electrical, and electronic characterization techniques used to study topological insulators. Chapter 4 discusses the experiments on proximity-induced superconductivity in topological insulator (Bi2Se3) nanoribbons. This work is motivated by the search for the elusive Majorana fermions, which act as their own antiparticles. They were proposed by Ettore Majorara in 1937, but have remained undiscovered. Recently, Majorana's concept has been revived in condensed matter physics: a condensed matter analog of Majorana fermions is predicted to exist when topological insulators are interfaced with superconductors. The observation of Majorana fermions would not only be fundamentally important, but would also lead to applications in fault-tolerant topological quantum computation. By interfacing topological insulator nanoribbons with superconducting electrodes, we observe distinct signatures of proximity-induced superconductivity, which is found to be present in devices with channel lengths that are much longer than the normal transport characteristic lengths. This might suggest preferential coupling of the proximity effect to a ballistic surface channel of the topological insulator. In addition, when the electrodes are in the superconducting state, we observe periodic magnetoresistance oscillations which suggest the formation of vortices in the proximity-induced region of the nanoribbons. Our results demonstrate that proximity-induced superconductivity and vortices can be realized in our nanoribbon geometry, which accomplishes a first important step towards the search for Majorana fermions in condensed matter. In Chapter 5, I will discuss experiments on a magnetically-doped topological insulator (Mn-doped Bi2Se3) to induce a surface state gap. The metallic Dirac cone surface states of a topological insulator are expected to be protected against small perturbations by time-reversal symmetry. However, these surface states can be dramatically modified and a finite energy gap can be opened at the Dirac point by breaking the time-reversal symmetry via magnetic doping. The interplay between magnetism and topological surface states is predicted to yield novel phenomena of fundamental interest such as a topological magneto-electric effect, a quantized anomalous Hall effect, and the induction of magnetic monopoles. Our systematic measurements reveal a close correlation between the onset of ferromagnetism and quantum corrections to diffusive transport, which crosses over from the symplectic (weak anti-localization) to the unitary (weak localization) class. A comprehensive interpretation of data obtained from electrical transport, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry, and scanning tunneling microscopy indicates that the ferromagnetism responsible for modifications in the surface states occurs in nanoscale regions on the surface where magnetic atoms segregate during sample growth. This suggests that some aspects of the observed magnetoconductance may indeed originate from surface transport despite the non-ideal nature of the samples. These observations are consistent with the prediction of a time-reversal symmetry breaking gap, which is further supported by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements.

Electroplating of the superconductive boride MgB2 from molten salts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abe, Hideki; Yoshii, Kenji; Nishida, Kenji; Imai, Motoharu; Kitazawa, Hideaki

2005-02-01

An electroplating technique of the superconductive boride MgB2 onto graphite substrates is reported. Films of MgB2 with a thickness of tens micrometer were fabricated on the planar and curved surfaces of graphite substrates by means of electrolysis on a mixture of magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, and magnesium borate fused at 600 °C under an Ar atmosphere. The electrical resistivity and magnetization measurements revealed that the electroplated MgB2 films undergo a superconducting transition with the critical temperature (Tc) of 36 K.

Buffer layers for REBCO films for use in superconducting devices

DOEpatents

Goyal, Amit; Wee, Sung-Hun

2014-06-10

A superconducting article includes a substrate having a biaxially textured surface. A biaxially textured buffer layer, which can be a cap layer, is supported by the substrate. The buffer layer includes a double perovskite of the formula A.sub.2B'B''O.sub.6, where A is rare earth or alkaline earth metal and B' and B'' are different transition metal cations. A biaxially textured superconductor layer is deposited so as to be supported by the buffer layer. A method of making a superconducting article is also disclosed.

Superconducting NbTiN thin films for superconducting radio frequency accelerator cavity applications

DOE PAGES

Burton, Matthew C.; Beebe, Melissa R.; Yang, Kaida; ...

2016-02-12

Current superconducting radio frequency technology, used in various particle accelerator facilities across the world, is reliant upon bulk niobium superconducting cavities. Due to technological advancements in the processing of bulk Nb cavities, the facilities have reached accelerating fields very close to a material-dependent limit, which is close to 50 MV/m for bulk Nb. One possible solution to improve upon this fundamental limitation was proposed a few years ago by Gurevich [Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 012511 (2006)], consisting of the deposition of alternating thin layers of superconducting and insulating materials on the interior surface of the cavities. The use of type-IImore » superconductors with Tc > Tc Nb and H c > HcNb, (e.g., Nb 3Sn, NbN, or NbTiN) could potentially greatly reduce the surface resistance (Rs) and enhance the accelerating field, if the onset of vortex penetration is increased above Hc Nb, thus enabling higher field gradients. Although Nb 3Sn may prove superior, it is not clear that it can be grown as a suitable thin film for the proposed multilayer approach, since very high temperature is typically required for its growth, hindering achieving smooth interfaces and/or surfaces. On the other hand, since NbTiN has a smaller lower critical field (H c1) and higher critical temperature (T c) than Nb and increased conductivity compared to NbN, it is a promising candidate material for this new scheme. Here, the authors present experimental results correlating filmmicrostructure with superconducting properties on NbTiN thin film coupon samples while also comparing filmsgrown with targets of different stoichiometry. In conclusion, it is worth mentioning that the authors have achieved thin films with bulk-like lattice parameter and transition temperature while also achieving H c1 values larger than bulk for films thinner than their London penetration depths.« less

The Fluctuating Bond Model, a Glue for Cuprate Superconductivity?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newns, Dennis

2008-03-01

Twenty years of research have yet to produce a consensus on the origin of high temperature superconductivity (HTS). The mechanism of HTS - which originates in the CuO2 plane, common to all HTS families - can be constrained by some key experimental facts regarding superconducting and pseudogap behaviors. Superconductivity, involving a Tc of order 100 K, exhibits an unusual d-wave superconducting gap, with Fermi liquid nodal excitations, and an anomalous doping- dependent oxygen isotope shift. A ``pseudogap,'' also with d-symmetry, leads to a dip in the density of states below a characteristic temperature scale T^*, which has a negative isotope shift; we associate the pseudogap with the recently observed spatially inhomogeneous (nanometer- scale) C4 symmetry breaking. The isotope shifts and other evidence imply a key role for oxygen vibrations, but conventional BCS single-phonon coupling is essentially forbidden by symmetry and by the on-site Coulomb interaction U. In a novel approach, we introduce a model based on a strong, local, nonlinear interaction between electrons within the Cu-O-Cu bond in the CuO2 plane, and the oxygen vibrational degrees of freedom, termed the Fluctuating Bond Model (FBM) [D.M. Newns and C.C. Tsuei, Nature Physics 3, 184 (2007)]. In mean field the model predicts a phase manifesting broken C4 symmetry, with a d-type pseudogap, and an upper phase boundary in temperature, with a negative isotope shift, which we identify with T^*. An intrinsic d-wave pairing tendency is found, leading to a transition temperature dome and an anomalous isotope shift similar to that found experimentally. The softening in the oxygen vibrational frequency below Tc, seen in Raman and neutron spectra, has a natural explanation in the FBM. Recent ab initio calculations have been implemented which provide microscopic support for the model.

Superconductivity in single crystalline YPd2Ge2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chajewski, G.; Wiśniewski, P.; Hackemer, A.; Pikul, A. P.; Kaczorowski, D.

2018-05-01

Single crystals of the YPd2Ge2 compound, crystallizing in the body-centered tetragonal ThCr2Si2-type structure, were studied by means of low-temperature magnetization, specific heat and electrical resistivity measurements. The zero-field data confirmed bulk and intrinsic superconductivity of the compound with the critical temperature 1.14 K, while the experiments performed in magnetic fields revealed a non-trivial character of the superconducting state. In particular, low and close to each other critical fields μ0Hc1 and μ0Hc2 (of about 20-30 mT) and field-induced first-order phase transition occurring only in the field parallel to the ab plane suggest possible cross-over from the type-I to type-II/1 superconductivity. Moreover, YPd2Ge2 exhibits robust surface superconductivity with the critical field μ0Hc3 about 20 times larger than μ0Hc1 and μ0Hc2.

Characterizing superconducting thin films using AC Magnetic Susceptibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahoney, C. H.; Porzio, J.; Sullivan, M. C.

2014-03-01

We present our work on using ac magnetic susceptibility to determine the critical temperature of superconducting thin films. In ac magnetic susceptibility, the thin film is placed between two coils. One coil carries an ac signal, creating a varying external magnetic field. We measure the voltage induced in the pick-up coil on the opposite side of the sample and measure how the sample magnetization changes as the temperature changes. We will present our work to use ac susceptibility to determine critical temperature and superconducting volume fraction. Using our own analysis program, we are able to accurately locate the critical temperatures of the samples and determine the transition width. For the superconducting volume fraction, we etch samples in order to control the thicknesses of the sample and measure how much of the material grown on the surface is superconducting. Supported by NFS grant DMR-1305637.

Single-Gap Superconductivity and Dome of Superfluid Density in Nb-Doped SrTiO 3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiemann, Markus; Beutel, Manfred H.; Dressel, Martin; Lee-Hone, Nicholas R.; Broun, David M.; Fillis-Tsirakis, Evangelos; Boschker, Hans; Mannhart, Jochen; Scheffler, Marc

2018-06-01

SrTiO3 exhibits a superconducting dome upon doping with Nb, with a maximum critical temperature Tc≈0.4 K . Using microwave stripline resonators at frequencies from 2 to 23 GHz and temperatures down to 0.02 K, we probe the low-energy optical response of superconducting SrTiO3 with a charge carrier concentration from 0.3 to 2.2 ×1020 cm-3 , covering the majority of the superconducting dome. We find single-gap electrodynamics even though several electronic bands are superconducting. This is explained by a single energy gap 2 Δ due to gap homogenization over the Fermi surface consistent with the low level of defect scattering in Nb-doped SrTiO3 . Furthermore, we determine Tc, 2 Δ , and the superfluid density as a function of charge carrier concentration, and all three quantities exhibit the characteristic dome shape.

Superconducting thin films of (100) and (111) oriented indium doped topological crystalline insulator SnTe

DOE PAGES

Si, W.; Zhang, C.; Wu, L.; ...

2015-09-01

Recent discovery of the topological crystalline insulator SnTe has triggered a search for topological superconductors, which have potential application to topological quantum computing. The present work reports on the superconducting properties of indium doped SnTe thin films. The (100) and (111) oriented thin films were epitaxially grown by pulsed-laser deposition on (100) and (111) BaF2 crystalline substrates respectively. The onset superconducting transition temperatures are about 3.8 K for (100) and 3.6 K for (111) orientations, slightly lower than that of the bulk. Magneto-resistive measurements indicate that these thin films may have upper critical fields higher than that of the bulk.more » With large surface-to-bulk ratio, superconducting indium doped SnTe thin films provide a rich platform for the study of topological superconductivity and potential device applications based on topological superconductors.« less

Superconducting thin films of (100) and (111) oriented indium doped topological crystalline insulator SnTe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Si, Weidong, E-mail: wds@bnl.gov, E-mail: qiangli@bnl.gov; Zhang, Cheng; Wu, Lijun

2015-08-31

Recent discovery of the topological crystalline insulator SnTe has triggered a search for topological superconductors, which have potential application to topological quantum computing. The present work reports on the superconducting properties of indium doped SnTe thin films. The (100) and (111) oriented thin films were epitaxially grown by pulsed-laser deposition on (100) and (111) BaF{sub 2} crystalline substrates, respectively. The onset superconducting transition temperatures are about 3.8 K for (100) and 3.6 K for (111) orientations, slightly lower than that of the bulk. Magneto-resistive measurements indicate that these thin films may have upper critical fields higher than that of the bulk. Withmore » large surface-to-bulk ratio, superconducting indium doped SnTe thin films provide a rich platform for the study of topological superconductivity and potential device applications based on topological superconductors.« less

Edge-mode superconductivity in a two-dimensional topological insulator.

PubMed

Pribiag, Vlad S; Beukman, Arjan J A; Qu, Fanming; Cassidy, Maja C; Charpentier, Christophe; Wegscheider, Werner; Kouwenhoven, Leo P

2015-07-01

Topological superconductivity is an exotic state of matter that supports Majorana zero-modes, which have been predicted to occur in the surface states of three-dimensional systems, in the edge states of two-dimensional systems, and in one-dimensional wires. Localized Majorana zero-modes obey non-Abelian exchange statistics, making them interesting building blocks for topological quantum computing. Here, we report superconductivity induced in the edge modes of semiconducting InAs/GaSb quantum wells, a two-dimensional topological insulator. Using superconducting quantum interference we demonstrate gate-tuning between edge-dominated and bulk-dominated regimes of superconducting transport. The edge-dominated regime arises only under conditions of high-bulk resistivity, which we associate with the two-dimensional topological phase. These experiments establish InAs/GaSb as a promising platform for the confinement of Majoranas into localized states, enabling future investigations of non-Abelian statistics.

Origin of superconductivity in KFe2As2 under positive and negative pressures and relation to other Fe-based families

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valenti, Roser

KFe2As2 shows an intricate behavior as a function of pressure. At ambient pressure the system is superconductor with a low critical temperature Tc=3.4 K and follows a V-shaped pressure dependence of Tc for moderate pressures with a local minimum at a pressure of 1.5 GPa. Under high pressures Pc=15 GPa, KFe2As2 exhibits a structural phase transition from a tetragonal to a collapsed tetragonal phase accompanied by a boost of the superconducting critical temperature up to 12 K. On the other hand, negative pressures realized through substitution of K by Cs or Rb decrease Tc down to 2.25K. In this talk we will discuss recent progress on the understanding of the microscopic origin of this pressure-dependent behavior by considering a combination of ab initio density functional theory with dynamical mean field theory and spin fluctuation theory calculations. We will argue that a Lifshitz transition associated with the structural collapse changes the pairing symmetry from d-wave (tetragonal) to s+/- (collapsed tetragonal) at high pressures while at ambient and negative pressures correlation effects appear to be detrimental for superconductivity. Further, we shall establish cross-links to the chalcogenide family, in particular FeSe under pressure. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) is gratefully acknowledged for financial support.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

den Hartog, S.; Kapteyn, C.; van Wees, B.

We have investigated transport in a cross-shaped two-dimensional electron gas with superconducting electrodes coupled to two opposite arms. Multiterminal resistances, measured as a function of the superconducting phase difference and the magnetic flux, are analyzed in terms of an extended Landauer-B{umlt u}ttiker transport formalism. We show that extended reciprocity relations hold. Correlations between transport coefficients are obtained from, e.g., (negative) three-terminal and nonlocal resistances. Energy spectroscopy reveals a reentrant behavior of the transport coefficients around the Thouless energy. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}

Suppression of superconductivity in disordered interacting wires.

PubMed

Pesin, D A; Andreev, A V

2006-09-15

We study superconductivity suppression due to thermal fluctuations in disordered wires using the replica nonlinear sigma-model (NLsigmaM). We show that in addition to the thermal phase slips there is another type of fluctuations that result in a finite resistivity. These fluctuations are described by saddle points in NLsigmaM and cannot be treated within the Ginzburg-Landau approach. The contribution of such fluctuations to the wire resistivity is evaluated with exponential accuracy. The magnetoresistance associated with this contribution is negative.

Temperature and Microstructural Effects on the Superconducting Properties of Niobium Thin Films

DOE PAGES

Beebe, Melissa R.; Valente-Feliciano, Anne -Marie; Beringer, Douglas B.; ...

2016-11-23

Here, superconducting thin films have a wide range of dc and RF applications, from detectors to superconducting radio frequency. Amongst the most used materials, niobium (Nb) has the highest critical temperature (TC) and highest lower critical field (HC1) of the elemental superconductors and can be deposited on a variety of substrates, making Nb thin films very appealing for such applications. Here, we present temperature-dependent dc studies on the critical temperature and critical fields of Nb thin films grown on copper and r-plane sapphire surfaces. Additionally, we correlate the dc superconducting properties of these films with their microstructure, which allows formore » the possibility of tailoring future films for a specific application.« less

Electromagnetic launch of lunar material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Snow, William R.; Kolm, Henry H.

1992-01-01

Lunar soil can become a source of relatively inexpensive oxygen propellant for vehicles going from low Earth orbit (LEO) to geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) and beyond. This lunar oxygen could replace the oxygen propellant that, in current plans for these missions, is launched from the Earth's surface and amounts to approximately 75 percent of the total mass. The reason for considering the use of oxygen produced on the Moon is that the cost for the energy needed to transport things from the lunar surface to LEO is approximately 5 percent the cost from the surface of the Earth to LEO. Electromagnetic launchers, in particular the superconducting quenchgun, provide a method of getting this lunar oxygen off the lunar surface at minimal cost. This cost savings comes from the fact that the superconducting quenchgun gets its launch energy from locally supplied, solar- or nuclear-generated electrical power. We present a preliminary design to show the main features and components of a lunar-based superconducting quenchgun for use in launching 1-ton containers of liquid oxygen, one every 2 hours. At this rate, nearly 4400 tons of liquid oxygen would be launched into low lunar orbit in a year.

Superconducting order parameter fluctuations in NbN/NiCu and NbTiN/NiCu bilayer nanostripes for photon detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aichner, Bernd; Jausner, Florian; Zechner, Georg; Mühlgassner, Rita; Lang, Wolfgang; Klimov, Andrii; Puźniak, Roman; Słysz, Wojciech; Guziewicz, Marek; Kruszka, Renata; Wegrzecki, Maciej; Sobolewski, Roman

2017-05-01

Thermodynamic fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter in NbN/NiCu and NbTiN/NiCu superconductor/ferromagnet (S/F) thin bilayers patterned to microbridges are investigated. Plain NbN and NbTiN films served as reference materials for the analyses. The samples were grown using dc-magnetron sputtering on chemically cleaned sapphire single-crystal substrates. After rapid thermal annealing at high temperatures, the superconducting films were coated with NiCu overlays, using co-sputtering. The positive magnetoresistance of the superconducting single layers is very small in the normal state but with a sharp upturn close to the superconducting transition, a familiar signature of superconducting fluctuations. The fluctuation-enhanced conductivity (paraconductivity) of the NbN and NbTiN single layer films is slightly larger than the prediction of the parameter-free Aslamazov-Larkin theory for order-parameter fluctuations in two-dimensional superconductors. The addition of a ferromagnetic top layer, however, changes the magnetotransport properties significantly. The S/F bilayers show a negative magnetoresistance up to almost room temperature, while the signature of fluctuations is similar to that in the plain films, demonstrating the relevance of both ferromagnetic and superconducting effects in the S/F bilayers. The paraconductivity is reduced below theoretical predictions, in particular in the NbTiN/NiCu bilayers. Such suppression of the fluctuation amplitude in S/F bilayers could be favorable to reduce dark counts in superconducting photon detectors and lead the way to enhance their performance.

Dependence of superconductivity in CuxBi2Se3 on quenching conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneeloch, J. A.; Zhong, R. D.; Xu, Z. J.; Gu, G. D.; Tranquada, J. M.

2015-04-01

Topological superconductivity, implying gapless protected surface states, has recently been proposed to exist in the compound CuxBi2Se3 . Unfortunately, low diamagnetic shielding fractions and considerable inhomogeneity have been reported in this compound. In an attempt to understand and improve on the finite superconducting volume fractions, we have investigated the effects of various growth and postannealing conditions. With a melt-growth (MG) method, diamagnetic shielding fractions of up to 56% in Cu0.3Bi2Se3 have been obtained, the highest value reported for this method. We investigate the efficacy of various quenching and annealing conditions, finding that quenching from temperatures above 560∘C is essential for superconductivity, whereas quenching from lower temperatures or not quenching at all is detrimental. A modified floating zone (FZ) method yielded large single crystals but little superconductivity. Even after annealing and quenching, FZ-grown samples had much less chance of being superconducting than MG-grown samples. From the low shielding fractions in FZ-grown samples and the quenching dependence, we suggest that a metastable secondary phase having a small volume fraction in most of the samples may be responsible for the superconductivity.

Fully gapped superconductivity with no sign change in the prototypical heavy-fermion CeCu2Si2.

PubMed

Yamashita, Takuya; Takenaka, Takaaki; Tokiwa, Yoshifumi; Wilcox, Joseph A; Mizukami, Yuta; Terazawa, Daiki; Kasahara, Yuichi; Kittaka, Shunichiro; Sakakibara, Toshiro; Konczykowski, Marcin; Seiro, Silvia; Jeevan, Hirale S; Geibel, Christoph; Putzke, Carsten; Onishi, Takafumi; Ikeda, Hiroaki; Carrington, Antony; Shibauchi, Takasada; Matsuda, Yuji

2017-06-01

In exotic superconductors, including high- T c copper oxides, the interactions mediating electron Cooper pairing are widely considered to have a magnetic rather than a conventional electron-phonon origin. Interest in this exotic pairing was initiated by the 1979 discovery of heavy-fermion superconductivity in CeCu 2 Si 2 , which exhibits strong antiferromagnetic fluctuations. A hallmark of unconventional pairing by anisotropic repulsive interactions is that the superconducting energy gap changes sign as a function of the electron momentum, often leading to nodes where the gap goes to zero. We report low-temperature specific heat, thermal conductivity, and magnetic penetration depth measurements in CeCu 2 Si 2 , demonstrating the absence of gap nodes at any point on the Fermi surface. Moreover, electron irradiation experiments reveal that the superconductivity survives even when the electron mean free path becomes substantially shorter than the superconducting coherence length. This indicates that superconductivity is robust against impurities, implying that there is no sign change in the gap function. These results show that, contrary to long-standing belief, heavy electrons with extremely strong Coulomb repulsions can condense into a fully gapped s-wave superconducting state, which has an on-site attractive pairing interaction.

Dependence of superconductivity in Cu x Bi 2 Se 3 on quenching conditions

DOE PAGES

Schneeloch, J. A.; Zhong, R. D.; Xu, Z. J.; ...

2015-04-20

Topological superconductivity, implying gapless protected surface states, has recently been proposed to exist in the compound Cu xBi₂Se₃. Unfortunately, low diamagnetic shielding fractions and considerable inhomogeneity have been reported in this compound. In an attempt to understand and improve on the finite superconducting volume fractions, we have investigated the effects of various growth and post-annealing conditions. With a melt-growth (MG) method, diamagnetic shielding fractions of up to 56% in Cu₀̣₃Bi₂Se₃ have been obtained, the highest value reported for this method. We investigate the efficacy of various quenching and annealing conditions, finding that quenching from temperatures above 560°C is essential formore » superconductivity, whereas quenching from lower temperatures or not quenching at all is detrimental. A modified floating zone (FZ) method yielded large single crystals but little superconductivity. Even after annealing and quenching, FZ-grown samples had much less chance of being superconducting than MG-grown samples. Thus, from the low shielding fractions in FZ-grown samples and the quenching dependence, we suggest that a metastable secondary phase having a small volume fraction in most of the samples may be responsible for the superconductivity.« less

Cryogenic Selective Surface - How Cold Can We Go?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youngquist, Robert; Nurge, Mark

2015-01-01

Selective surfaces have wavelength dependent emissivitya bsorption. These surfaces can be designed to reflect solar radiation, while maximizing infrared emittance, yielding a cooling effect even in sunlight. On earth cooling to -50 C below ambient has been achieved, but in space, outside of the atmosphere, theory using ideal materials has predicted a maximum cooling to 40 K! If this result holds up for real world materials and conditions, then superconducting systems and cryogenic storage can be achieved in space without active cooling. Such a result would enable long term cryogenic storage in deep space and the use of large scale superconducting systems for such applications as galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) shielding and large scale energy storage.

Thin Film Approaches to the SRF Cavity Problem: Fabrication and Characterization of Superconducting Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beringer, Douglas B.

Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities are responsible for the acceleration of charged particles to relativistic velocities in most modern linear accelerators, such as those employed at high-energy research facilities like Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory's CEBAF and the LHC at CERN. Recognizing SRF as primarily a surface phenomenon enables the possibility of applying thin films to the interior surface of SRF cavities, opening a formidable tool chest of opportunities by combining and designing materials that offer greater benefit. Thus, while improvements in radio frequency cavity design and refinements in cavity processing techniques have improved accelerator performance and efficiency - 1.5 GHz bulk niobium SRF cavities have achieved accelerating gradients in excess of 35 MV/m - there exist fundamental material bounds in bulk superconductors limiting the maximally sustained accelerating field gradient (approximately 45 MV/m for Niobium) where inevitable thermodynamic breakdown occurs. With state of the art niobium based cavity design fast approaching these theoretical limits, novel material innovations must be sought in order to realize next generation SRF cavities. One proposed method to improve SRF performance is to utilize thin film superconducting-insulating-superconducting (SIS) multilayer structures to effectively magnetically screen a bulk superconducting layer such that it can operate at higher field gradients before suffering critically detrimental SRF losses. This dissertation focuses on the production and characterization of thin film superconductors for such SIS layers for radio-frequency applications.

CRADA Final Report, 2011S003, Faraday Technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Faraday Technologies

2012-12-12

This Phase I SBIR program addressed the need for an improved manufacturing process for electropolishing niobium RF superconducting cavities for the International Linear Collider (ILC). The ILC is a proposed particle accelerator that will be used to gain a deeper understanding of the forces of energy and matter by colliding beams of electrons and positrons at nearly the speed of light. The energy required for this to happen will be achieved through the use of advanced superconducting technology, specifically ~16,000 RF superconducting cavities operating at near absolute zero. The RF superconductor cavities will be fabricated from highly pure Nb, whichmore » has an extremely low surface resistance at 2 Kelvin when compared to other materials. To take full advantage of the superconducting properties of the Nb cavities, the inner surface must be a) polished to a microscale roughness < 0.1 µm with removal of at least 100 µm of material, and b) cleaned to be free of impurities that would degrade performance of the ILC. State-of-the-art polishing uses either chemical polishing or electropolishing, both of which require hydrofluoric acid to achieve breakdown of the strong passive film on the surface. In this Phase I program, Faraday worked with its collaborators at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) to demonstrate the feasibility of an electropolishing process for pure niobium, utilizing an environmentally benign alternative to chemical or electrochemical polishing electrolytes containing hydrofluoric acid. Faraday utilized a 31 wt% aqueous sulfuric acid solution (devoid of hydrofluoric acid) in conjunction with the FARADAYICSM Process, which uses pulse/pulse reverse fields for electropolishing, to demonstrate the ability to electropolish niobium to the desired surface finish. The anticipated benefits of the FARADAYICSM Electropolishing process will be a simpler, safer, and less expensive method capable of surface finishing high purity niobium cavities. Another potential benefit would be for the medical industry that uses hydrofluoric acid to electropolish niobium-alloy materials. The FARADAYICSM Electropolishing process will eliminate the environmental hazards posed by the use of hydrofluoric acid employed by chemical polishing and conventional electropolishing. Further, improved performance benefits may be possible. The overall objective of the Phase I program was to demonstrate that FARADAYIC Electropolishing of niobium cavities in electrolytes free of hydrofluoric acid can meet the RF superconducting performance criteria of those cavities. The FARADAYIC Electropolishing Process developed in the Phase I program was used to polish 50 mm Nb disks to a surface roughness (RA) of < 1 nm over a small area through process and post-processing optimization. An excellent level of surface cleanliness was achieved. While the desired 2K RF performance has not yet been achieved, Faraday believes that surface oxide state can be controlled through manipulation of the process parameters, to meet the 2K RF standard. Faraday is establishing apparatus and facilities infrastructure for single-cell SRF cavity electropolishing, through a synergistic effort with the Fermi National Accelerator Facility (Fermilab) to scale-up electropolishing of superconducting RF cavities. Faraday proposes to commercialize the subject technology via an IP based strategic relationship with a partner with established market channels within two primary commercialization avenues: 1) the superconducting particle accelerator community, 2) the medical device and implant market. Faraday will initially maintain Low Rate Initial Production capabilities for an application, but latterly seek a strategic partner who is solely dedicated to high rate production.« less

Ginzburg-Landau Theory for Flux Phase and Superconductivity in t-J Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuboki, Kazuhiro

2018-02-01

Ginzburg-Landau (GL) equations and GL free energy for flux phase and superconductivity are derived microscopically from the t-J model on a square lattice. Order parameter (OP) for the flux phase has direct coupling to a magnetic field, in contrast to the superconducting OP which has minimal coupling to a vector potential. Therefore, when the flux phase OP has unidirectional spatial variation, staggered currents would flow in a perpendicular direction. The derived GL theory can be used for various problems in high-Tc cuprate superconductors, e.g., states near a surface or impurities, and the effect of an external magnetic field. Since the GL theory derived microscopically directly reflects the electronic structure of the system, e.g., the shape of the Fermi surface that changes with doping, it can provide more useful information than that from phenomenological GL theories.

Chemical solution deposition method of fabricating highly aligned MgO templates

DOEpatents

Paranthaman, Mariappan Parans [Knoxville, TN; Sathyamurthy, Srivatsan [Knoxville, TN; Aytug, Tolga [Knoxville, TN; Arendt, Paul N [Los Alamos, NM; Stan, Liliana [Los Alamos, NM; Foltyn, Stephen R [Los Alamos, NM

2012-01-03

A superconducting article includes a substrate having an untextured metal surface; an untextured barrier layer of La.sub.2Zr.sub.2O.sub.7 or Gd.sub.2Zr.sub.2O.sub.7 supported by and in contact with the surface of the substrate; a biaxially textured buffer layer supported by the untextured barrier layer; and a biaxially textured superconducting layer supported by the biaxially textured buffer layer. Moreover, a method of forming a buffer layer on a metal substrate includes the steps of: providing a substrate having an untextured metal surface; coating the surface of the substrate with a barrier layer precursor; converting the precursor to an untextured barrier layer; and depositing a biaxially textured buffer layer above and supported by the untextured barrier layer.

Majorana surface modes of nodal topological pairings in spin-3/2 semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Wang; Xiang, Tao; Wu, Congjun

2017-10-01

When solid state systems possess active orbital-band structures subject to spin-orbit coupling, their multicomponent electronic structures are often described in terms of effective large-spin fermion models. Their topological structures of superconductivity are beyond the framework of spin singlet and triplet Cooper pairings for spin-1/2 systems. Examples include the half-Heusler compound series of RPtBi, where R stands for a rare-earth element. Their spin-orbit coupled electronic structures are described by the Luttinger-Kohn model with effective spin-3/2 fermions and are characterized by band inversion. Recent experiments provide evidence to unconventional superconductivity in the YPtBi material with nodal spin-septet pairing. We systematically study topological pairing structures in spin-3/2 systems with the cubic group symmetries and calculate the surface Majorana spectra, which exhibit zero energy flat bands, or, cubic dispersion depending on the specific symmetry of the superconducting gap functions. The signatures of these surface states in the quasiparticle interference patterns of tunneling spectroscopy are studied, which can be tested in future experiments.

Electrical Conductivity through a Single Atomic Step Measured with the Proximity-Induced Superconducting Pair Correlation

DOE PAGES

Kim, Howon; Lin, Shi -Zeng; Graf, Matthias J.; ...

2016-09-08

Local disordered nanostructures in an atomically thick metallic layer on a semiconducting substrate play significant and decisive roles in transport properties of two-dimensional (2D) conductive systems. We measured the electrical conductivity through a step of monoatomic height in a truly microscopic manner by using as a signal the superconducting pair correlation induced by the proximity effect. The transport property across a step of a one-monolayer Pb surface metallic phase, formed on a Si(111) substrate, was evaluated by inducing the pair correlation around the local defect and measuring its response, i.e., the reduced density of states at the Fermi energy usingmore » scanning tunneling microscopy. We found that the step resistance has a significant contribution to the total resistance on a nominally flat surface. Our study also revealed that steps in the 2D metallic layer terminate the propagation of the pair correlation. Furthermore, superconductivity is enhanced between the first surface step and the superconductor–normal-metal interface by reflectionless tunneling when the step is located within a coherence length.« less

Nodal to nodeless superconducting energy-gap structure change concomitant with Fermi-surface reconstruction in the heavy-fermion compound CeCoIn 5

DOE PAGES

Kim, Hyunsoo; Tanatar, M. A.; Flint, R.; ...

2015-01-15

The London penetration depth, λ(T), was measured in single crystals of Ce 1-xR xCoIn 5, R=La, Nd and Yb down to T min ≈ 50 mK (T c/T min ~50) using a tunnel-diode resonator. In the cleanest samples Δλ(T) is best described by the power law, Δλ(T) ∝ T n, with n ~ 1, consistent with line nodes. Substitutions of Ce with La, Nd and Yb lead to similar monotonic suppressions of T c, however the effects on Δλ(T) differ. While La and Nd dopings lead to increase of the exponent n and saturation at n ~ 2, as expectedmore » for a dirty nodal superconductor, Yb doping leads to n > 3, suggesting a change from nodal to nodeless superconductivity. As a result, this superconducting gap structure change happen in the same doping range where changes of the Fermi surface topology were reported, implying that the nodal structure and Fermi surface topology are closely linked.« less

Fully gapped superconductivity in In-doped topological crystalline insulator Pb 0.5Sn 0.5Te

DOE PAGES

Du, Guan; Gu, G. D.; Du, Zengyi; ...

2015-07-27

In this study, superconductors derived from topological insulators and topological crystalline insulators by chemical doping have long been considered to be candidates as topological superconductors. Pb 0.5Sn 0.5Te is a topological crystalline insulator with mirror symmetry protected surface states on (001)-, (011)-, and (111)-oriented surfaces. The superconductor (Pb 0.5Sn 0.5) 0.7In 0.3Te is produced by In doping in Pb 0.5Sn 0.5Te, and is thought to be a topological superconductor. Here we report scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements of the superconducting state as well as the superconducting energy gap in (Pb 0.5Sn 0.5) 0.7In 0.3Te on a (001)-oriented surface. The spectrum canmore » be well fitted by an anisotropic s-wave gap function of Δ = 0.72 + 0.18cos4θ meV using Dynes model. The results show that the superconductor seems to be a fully gapped one without any in-gap states, in contradiction with the expectation of a topological superconductor.« less

Electrical Conductivity through a Single Atomic Step Measured with the Proximity-Induced Superconducting Pair Correlation.

PubMed

Kim, Howon; Lin, Shi-Zeng; Graf, Matthias J; Miyata, Yoshinori; Nagai, Yuki; Kato, Takeo; Hasegawa, Yukio

2016-09-09

Local disordered nanostructures in an atomically thick metallic layer on a semiconducting substrate play significant and decisive roles in transport properties of two-dimensional (2D) conductive systems. We measured the electrical conductivity through a step of monoatomic height in a truly microscopic manner by using as a signal the superconducting pair correlation induced by the proximity effect. The transport property across a step of a one-monolayer Pb surface metallic phase, formed on a Si(111) substrate, was evaluated by inducing the pair correlation around the local defect and measuring its response, i.e., the reduced density of states at the Fermi energy using scanning tunneling microscopy. We found that the step resistance has a significant contribution to the total resistance on a nominally flat surface. Our study also revealed that steps in the 2D metallic layer terminate the propagation of the pair correlation. Superconductivity is enhanced between the first surface step and the superconductor-normal-metal interface by reflectionless tunneling when the step is located within a coherence length.

Time-reversal symmetry-breaking superconductivity in epitaxial bismuth/nickel bilayers

DOE PAGES

Gong, Xinxin; Kargarian, Mehdi; Stern, Alex; ...

2017-03-31

Superconductivity that spontaneously breaks time-reversal symmetry (TRS) has been found, so far, only in a handful of three-dimensional (3D) crystals with bulk inversion symmetry. We report an observation of spontaneous TRS breaking in a 2D superconducting system without inversion symmetry: the epitaxial bilayer films of bismuth and nickel. The evidence comes from the onset of the polar Kerr effect at the superconducting transition in the absence of an external magnetic field, detected by the ultrasensitive loop-less fiber-optic Sagnac interferometer. Because of strong spin-orbit interaction and lack of inversion symmetry in a Bi/Ni bilayer, superconducting pairing cannot be classified as singletmore » or triplet.We propose a theoretical model where magnetic fluctuations in Ni induce the superconducting pairing of the d xy ± id x2-y2 orbital symmetry between the electrons in Bi. In this model, the order parameter spontaneously breaks the TRS and has a nonzero phase winding number around the Fermi surface, thus making it a rare example of a 2D topological superconductor.« less

Antiferromagnetism and superconductivity in the half-Heusler semimetal HoPdBi

PubMed Central

Pavlosiuk, Orest; Kaczorowski, Dariusz; Fabreges, Xavier; Gukasov, Arsen; Wiśniewski, Piotr

2016-01-01

We observed the coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetic order in the single-crystalline ternary pnictide HoPdBi, a plausible topological semimetal. The compound orders antiferromagnetically at TN = 1.9 K and exhibits superconductivity below Tc = 0.7 K, which was confirmed by magnetic, electrical transport and specific heat measurements. The specific heat shows anomalies corresponding to antiferromagnetic ordering transition and crystalline field effect, but not to superconducting transition. Single-crystal neutron diffraction indicates that the antiferromagnetic structure is characterized by the propagation vector. Temperature variation of the electrical resistivity reveals two parallel conducting channels of semiconducting and metallic character. In weak magnetic fields, the magnetoresistance exhibits weak antilocalization effect, while in strong fields and temperatures below 50 K it is large and negative. At temperatures below 7 K Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations with two frequencies appear in the resistivity. These oscillations have non-trivial Berry phase, which is a distinguished feature of Dirac fermions. PMID:26728755

Growth and patterning of laser ablated superconducting YBa2Cu3O7 films on LaAlO3 substrates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warner, J. D.; Bhasin, K. B.; Varaljay, N. C.; Bohman, D. Y.; Chorey, C. M.

1989-01-01

A high quality superconducting film on a substrate with a low dielectric constant is desired for passive microwave circuit applications. In addition, it is essential that the patterning process does not effect the superconducting properties of the thin films to achieve the highest circuit operating temperatures. YBa2Cu3O7 superconducting films were grown on lanthanum aluminate substrates using laser ablation with resulting maximum transition temperature (T sub c) of 90 K. The films were grown on a LaAlO3 which was at 775 C and in 170 mtorr of oxygen and slowly cooled to room temperature in 1 atm of oxygen. These films were then processed using photolithography and a negative photoresist with an etch solution of bromine and ethanol. Results are presented on the effect of the processing on T(sub c) of the film and the microwave properties of the patterned films.

Superconductivity in the antiperovskite Dirac-metal oxide Sr3−xSnO

PubMed Central

Oudah, Mohamed; Ikeda, Atsutoshi; Hausmann, Jan Niklas; Yonezawa, Shingo; Fukumoto, Toshiyuki; Kobayashi, Shingo; Sato, Masatoshi; Maeno, Yoshiteru

2016-01-01

Investigations of perovskite oxides triggered by the discovery of high-temperature and unconventional superconductors have had crucial roles in stimulating and guiding the development of modern condensed-matter physics. Antiperovskite oxides are charge-inverted counterpart materials to perovskite oxides, with unusual negative ionic states of a constituent metal. No superconductivity was reported among the antiperovskite oxides so far. Here we present the first superconducting antiperovskite oxide Sr3−xSnO with the transition temperature of around 5 K. Sr3SnO possesses Dirac points in its electronic structure, and we propose from theoretical analysis a possibility of a topological odd-parity superconductivity analogous to the superfluid 3He-B in moderately hole-doped Sr3−xSnO. We envision that this discovery of a new class of oxide superconductors will lead to a rapid progress in physics and chemistry of antiperovskite oxides consisting of unusual metallic anions. PMID:27941805

Temperature Dependence of Quasiparticle Spectral Weight and Coherence in High Tc Superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yang; Zhang, Jessie; Hoffman, Jennifer; Hoffman Lab Team

2014-03-01

Superconductivity arises from the Cooper pairing of quasiparticles on the Fermi surface. Understanding the formation of Cooper pairs is an essential step towards unveiling the mechanism of high Tc superconductivity. We compare scanning tunneling microscope investigations of the temperature dependence of quasiparticle spectral weight and quasiparticle interference in several families of high Tc materials. We calculate the coherent spectral weight related to superconductivity, despite the coexistence of competing orders. The relation between pairing temperature and coherent spectral weight is discussed. We acknowledge support by the New York Community Trust-George Merck Fund.

Characterization of superconducting radiofrequency breakdown by two-mode excitation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eremeev, Grigory V.; Palczewski, Ari D.

2014-01-14

We show that thermal and magnetic contributions to the breakdown of superconductivity in radiofrequency (RF) fields can be separated by applying two RF modes simultaneously to a superconducting surface. We develop a simple model that illustrates how mode-mixing RF data can be related to properties of the superconductor. Within our model the data can be described by a single parameter, which can be derived either from RF or thermometry data. Our RF and thermometry data are in good agreement with the model. We propose to use mode-mixing technique to decouple thermal and magnetic effects on RF breakdown of superconductors.

Effect of residual gas on structural, electrical and mechanical properties of niobium films deposited by magnetron sputtering deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Lanruo; Zhong, Yuan; Li, Jinjin; Cao, Wenhui; Zhong, Qing; Wang, Xueshen; Li, Xu

2018-04-01

Magnetron sputtering is an important method in the superconducting thin films deposition. The residual gas inside the vacuum chamber will directly affect the quality of the superconducting films. In this paper, niobium films are deposited by magnetron sputtering under different chamber residual gas conditions. The influence of baking and sputtering process on residual gas are studied as well. Surface morphology, electrical and mechanical properties of the films are analysed. The residual gas analysis result before the sputtering process could be regarded as a reference condition to achieve high quality superconducting thin films.

Andreev Reflection Spectroscopy of Nb-doped Bi2Se3 Topological Insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurter, C.; Finck, A. D. K.; Qiu, Y.; Huemiller, E.; Weis, A.; Atkinson, J.; Medvedeva, J.; Hor, Y. S.; van Harlingen, D. J.

2015-03-01

Doped topological insulators are speculated to realize p-wave superconductivity with unusual low energy quasiparticles, such as surface Andreev bound states. We present point contact spectroscopy of thin exfoliated flakes of Nb-doped Bi2Se3 where superconductivity persists up to ~ 1 K, compared to 3.2 K in bulk crystals. The critical magnetic field is strongly anisotropic, consistent with quasi-2D behavior. Andreev reflection measurements of devices with low resistance contacts result in prominent BTK-like behavior with an enhanced conductance plateau at low bias. For high resistance contacts, we observe a split zero bias conductance anomaly and additional features at the superconducting gap. Our results suggest that this material is a promising platform for studying topological superconductivity. We acknowledge support from Microsoft Project Q.

Orbital Selective Spin Excitations and their Impact on Superconductivity of LiFe 1 - x Co x As

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Yu; Yin, Zhiping; Wang, Xiancheng

We use neutron scattering to study spin excitations in single crystals of LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As, which is located near the boundary of the superconducting phase of LiFe 1-xCo xAs and exhibits non- Fermi-liquid behavior indicative of a quantum critical point. By comparing spin excitations of LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As with a combined density functional theory (DFT) and dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) calculation, we conclude that wave-vector correlated low energy spin excitations are mostly from the dxy orbitals, while high-energy spin excitations arise from the dyz and dxz orbitals. Unlike most iron pnictides, the strong orbital selective spin excitations in LiFeAsmore » family cannot be described by anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian. While the evolution of low-energy spin excitations of LiFe 1-xCo xAs are consistent with electron-hole Fermi surface nesting condition for the dxy orbital, the reduced superconductivity in LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As suggests that Fermi surface nesting conditions for the dyz and dxz orbitals are also important for superconductivity in iron pnictides.« less

Optimization of cathodic arc deposition and pulsed plasma melting techniques for growing smooth superconducting Pb photoemissive films for SRF injectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nietubyć, Robert; Lorkiewicz, Jerzy; Sekutowicz, Jacek; Smedley, John; Kosińska, Anna

2018-05-01

Superconducting photoinjectors have a potential to be the optimal solution for moderate and high current cw operating free electron lasers. For this application, a superconducting lead (Pb) cathode has been proposed to simplify the cathode integration into a 1.3 GHz, TESLA-type, 1.6-cell long purely superconducting gun cavity. In the proposed design, a lead film several micrometres thick is deposited onto a niobium plug attached to the cavity back wall. Traditional lead deposition techniques usually produce very non-uniform emission surfaces and often result in a poor adhesion of the layer. A pulsed plasma melting procedure reducing the non-uniformity of the lead photocathodes is presented. In order to determine the parameters optimal for this procedure, heat transfer from plasma to the film was first modelled to evaluate melting front penetration range and liquid state duration. The obtained results were verified by surface inspection of witness samples. The optimal procedure was used to prepare a photocathode plug, which was then tested in an electron gun. The quantum efficiency and the value of cavity quality factor have been found to satisfy the requirements for an injector of the European-XFEL facility.

Orbital Selective Spin Excitations and their Impact on Superconductivity of LiFe 1 - x Co x As

DOE PAGES

Li, Yu; Yin, Zhiping; Wang, Xiancheng; ...

2016-06-17

We use neutron scattering to study spin excitations in single crystals of LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As, which is located near the boundary of the superconducting phase of LiFe 1-xCo xAs and exhibits non- Fermi-liquid behavior indicative of a quantum critical point. By comparing spin excitations of LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As with a combined density functional theory (DFT) and dynamical mean field theory (DMFT) calculation, we conclude that wave-vector correlated low energy spin excitations are mostly from the dxy orbitals, while high-energy spin excitations arise from the dyz and dxz orbitals. Unlike most iron pnictides, the strong orbital selective spin excitations in LiFeAsmore » family cannot be described by anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian. While the evolution of low-energy spin excitations of LiFe 1-xCo xAs are consistent with electron-hole Fermi surface nesting condition for the dxy orbital, the reduced superconductivity in LiFe 0.88Co 0.12As suggests that Fermi surface nesting conditions for the dyz and dxz orbitals are also important for superconductivity in iron pnictides.« less

Magnetometric mapping of superconducting RF cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmitz, B.; Köszegi, J.; Alomari, K.; Kugeler, O.; Knobloch, J.

2018-05-01

A scalable mapping system for superconducting RF (SRF) cavities is presented. Currently, it combines local temperature measurement with 3D magnetic field mapping along the outer surface of the resonator. This allows for the observation of dynamic effects that have an impact on the superconducting properties of a cavity, such as the normal to superconducting phase transition or a quench. The system was developed for a single cell 1.3 GHz TESLA-type cavity, but can be easily adopted to arbitrary other cavity types. A data acquisition rate of 500 Hz for all channels simultaneously (i.e., 2 ms acquisition time for a complete map) and a magnetic field resolution of currently up to 14 mA/m/μ0 = 17 nT have been implemented. While temperature mapping is a well known technique in SRF research, the integration of magnetic field mapping opens the possibility of detailed studies of trapped magnetic flux and its impact on the surface resistance. It is shown that magnetic field sensors based on the anisotropic magnetoresistance effect can be used in the cryogenic environment with improved sensitivity compared to room temperature. Furthermore, examples of first successful combined temperature and magnetic-field maps are presented.

The dynamic process and microscopic mechanism of extraordinary terahertz transmission through perforated superconducting films

PubMed Central

Wu, J. B.; Zhang, X.; Jin, B. B.; Liu, H. T.; Chen, Y. H.; Li, Z. Y.; Zhang, C. H.; Kang, L.; Xu, W. W.; Chen, J.; Wang, H. B.; Tonouchi, M.; Wu, P. H.

2015-01-01

Superconductor is a compelling plasmonic medium at terahertz frequencies owing to its intrinsic low Ohmic loss and good tuning property. However, the microscopic physics of the interaction between terahertz wave and superconducting plasmonic structures is still unknown. In this paper, we conducted experiments of the enhanced terahertz transmission through a series of superconducting NbN subwavelength hole arrays, and employed microscopic hybrid wave model in theoretical analysis of the role of hybrid waves in the enhanced transmission. The theoretical calculation provided a good match of experimental data. In particular, we obtained the following results. When the width of the holes is far below wavelength, the enhanced transmission is mainly caused by localized resonance around individual holes. On the contrary, when the holes are large, hybrid waves scattered by the array of holes dominate the extraordinary transmission. The surface plasmon polaritions are proved to be launched on the surface of superconducting film and the excitation efficiency increases when the temperature approaches critical temperature and the working frequency goes near energy gap frequency. This work will enrich our knowledge on the microscopic physics of extraordinary optical transmission at terahertz frequencies and contribute to developing terahertz plasmonic devices. PMID:26498994

First-Principles Study of Superconductivity in Ultra- thin Pb Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noffsinger, Jesse; Cohen, Marvin L.

2010-03-01

Recently, superconductivity in ultrathin layered Pb has been confirmed in samples with as few as two atomic layers [S. Qin, J. Kim, Q. Niu, and C.-K. Shih, Science 2009]. Interestingly, the prototypical strong-coupling superconductor exhibits different Tc's for differing surface reconstructions in samples with only two monolayers. Additionally, Tc is seen to oscillate as the number of atomic layers is increased. Using first principles techniques based on Wannier functions, we analyze the electronic structure, lattice dynamics and electron-phonon coupling for varying thicknesses and surface reconstructions of layered Pb. We discuss results as they relate to superconductivity in the bulk, for which accurate calculations of superconducting properties can be compared to experiment [W. L. McMillan and J.M. Rowell, PRL 1965]. This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. DMR07-05941, the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. Computational resources have been provided by the Lawrencium computational cluster resource provided by the IT Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231)

Orbital Selective Spin Excitations and their Impact on Superconductivity of LiFe_{1-x}Co_{x}As.

PubMed

Li, Yu; Yin, Zhiping; Wang, Xiancheng; Tam, David W; Abernathy, D L; Podlesnyak, A; Zhang, Chenglin; Wang, Meng; Xing, Lingyi; Jin, Changqing; Haule, Kristjan; Kotliar, Gabriel; Maier, Thomas A; Dai, Pengcheng

2016-06-17

We use neutron scattering to study spin excitations in single crystals of LiFe_{0.88}Co_{0.12}As, which is located near the boundary of the superconducting phase of LiFe_{1-x}Co_{x}As and exhibits non-Fermi-liquid behavior indicative of a quantum critical point. By comparing spin excitations of LiFe_{0.88}Co_{0.12}As with a combined density functional theory and dynamical mean field theory calculation, we conclude that wave-vector correlated low energy spin excitations are mostly from the d_{xy} orbitals, while high-energy spin excitations arise from the d_{yz} and d_{xz} orbitals. Unlike most iron pnictides, the strong orbital selective spin excitations in the LiFeAs family cannot be described by an anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian. While the evolution of low-energy spin excitations of LiFe_{1-x}Co_{x}As is consistent with the electron-hole Fermi surface nesting conditions for the d_{xy} orbital, the reduced superconductivity in LiFe_{0.88}Co_{0.12}As suggests that Fermi surface nesting conditions for the d_{yz} and d_{xz} orbitals are also important for superconductivity in iron pnictides.

Optimization of magnet end-winding geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reusch, Michael F.; Weissenburger, Donald W.; Nearing, James C.

1994-03-01

A simple, almost entirely analytic, method for the optimization of stress-reduced magnet-end winding paths for ribbon-like superconducting cable is presented. This technique is based on characterization of these paths as developable surfaces, i.e., surfaces whose intrinsic geometry is flat. The method is applicable to winding mandrels of arbitrary geometry. Computational searches for optimal winding paths are easily implemented via the technique. Its application to the end configuration of cylindrical Superconducting Super Collider (SSC)-type magnets is discussed. The method may be useful for other engineering problems involving the placement of thin sheets of material.

Effective field theories for superconducting systems with multiple Fermi surfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Braga, P.R., E-mail: pedro.rangel.braga@gmail.com; Granado, D.R., E-mail: diegorochagrana@uerj.br; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S9, 9000 Gent

2016-11-15

In this work we investigate the description of superconducting systems with multiple Fermi surfaces. For the case of one Fermi surface we re-obtain the result that the superconductor is more precisely described as a topological state of matter. Studying the case of more than one Fermi surface, we obtain the effective theory describing a time reversal symmetric topological superconductor. These results are obtained by employing a general procedure to construct effective low energy actions describing states of electromagnetic systems interacting with charges and defects. The procedure consists in taking into account the proliferation or dilution of these charges and defectsmore » and its consequences for the low energy description of the electromagnetic response of the system. We find that the main ingredient entering the low energy characterization of the system with more than one Fermi surface is a non-conservation of the canonical supercurrent triggered by particular vortex configurations.« less

Topological aspect and transport property in multi-band spin-triplet chiral p-wave superconductor Sr2RuO4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imai, Yoshiki; Wakabayashi, Katsunori; Sigrist, Manfred

2015-03-01

Considering the superconductor Sr2RuO4, we analyze a three-band tight-binding model with one hole-like and two electron-like Fermi surfaces corresponding to the α, β and γ bands of Sr2RuO4 by means of a self-consistent Bogoliubov-de Gennes approach for ribbonshaped system to investigate topological properties and edge states. In the superconducting phase two types of gapless edge states can be identified, one of which displays an almost flat dispersion at zero energy, while the other, originating from the γ band, has a linear dispersion and constitutes a genuine chiral edge states. Not only a charge current appears at the edges but also a spin current due to the multi-band effect in the superconducting phase. In particular, the chiral edge state from the γ band is closely tied to topological properties, and the chiral p-wave superconducting states are characterized by an integer topological number, the so-called Chern number. We show that the γ band is close to a Lifshitz transition. Since the sign of the Chern number may be very sensitive to the surface condition, we consider the effect of the surface reconstruction observed in Sr2RuO4 on the topological property and show the possibility of the hole-like Fermi surface at the surface.

Tunneling study of SRF cavity-grade niobium.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Proslier, T.; Zasadzinski, J.; Cooley, L.

Niobium, with its very high H{sub C1}, has been used in superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities for accelerator systems for 40 years with continual improvement. The quality factor of cavities (Q) is governed by the surface impedance R{sub BCS}, which depends on the quasiparticle gap, delta, and the superfluid density. Both of these parameters are seriously affected by surface imperfections (metallic phases, dissolved oxygen, magnetic impurities). Loss mechanism and surface treatments of Nb cavities found to improve the Q factor are still unsolved mysteries. We present here an overview of the capabilities of the point contact tunneling spectroscopy and Atomicmore » layer deposition methods and how they can help understanding the High field Q-drop and the mild baking effect. Tunneling spectroscopy was performed on Nb pieces from the same processed material used to fabricate SRF cavities. Air exposed, electropolished Nb exhibited a surface superconducting gap Delta = 1.55 meV, characteristic of clean, bulk Nb, however the tunneling density of states (DOS) was broadened significantly. Nb pieces treated with the same mild baking used to improve the Q-slope in SRF cavities revealed a much sharper DOS. Good fits to the DOS are obtained using Shiba theory suggesting that magnetic scattering of quasiparticles is the origin of the degraded surface superconductivity and the Q-slope problem of Nb SRF cavities.« less

Quantum theory of an atom in proximity to a superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Dall, Matthias; Diniz, Igor; Dias da Silva, Luis G. G. V.; de Sousa, Rogério

2018-02-01

The impact of superconducting correlations on localized electronic states is important for a wide range of experiments in fundamental and applied superconductivity. This includes scanning tunneling microscopy of atomic impurities at the surface of superconductors, as well as superconducting-ion-chip spectroscopy of neutral ions and Rydberg states. Moreover, atomlike centers close to the surface are currently believed to be the main source of noise and decoherence in qubits based on superconducting devices. The proximity effect is known to dress atomic orbitals in Cooper-pair-like states known as Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states, but the impact of superconductivity on the measured orbital splittings and optical-noise transitions is not known. Here we study the interplay between orbital degeneracy and particle-number admixture in atomic states, beyond the usual classical spin approximation. We model the atom as a generalized Anderson model interacting with a conventional s -wave superconductor. In the limit of zero on-site Coulomb repulsion (U =0 ), we obtain YSR subgap energy levels that are identical to the ones obtained from the classical spin model. When Δ is large and U >0 , the YSR spectra are no longer quasiparticle-like, and the highly degenerate orbital subspaces are split according to their spin, orbital, and number-parity symmetry. We show that U >0 activates additional poles in the atomic Green's function, suggesting an alternative explanation for the peak splittings recently observed in scanning tunneling microscopy of orbitally-degenerate impurities in superconductors. We describe optical excitation and absorption of photons by YSR states, showing that many additional optical channels open up in comparison to the nonsuperconducting case. Conversely, the additional dissipation channels imply increased electromagnetic noise due to impurities in superconducting devices.

Induced superconductivity in the three-dimensional topological insulator HgTe.

PubMed

Maier, Luis; Oostinga, Jeroen B; Knott, Daniel; Brüne, Christoph; Virtanen, Pauli; Tkachov, Grigory; Hankiewicz, Ewelina M; Gould, Charles; Buhmann, Hartmut; Molenkamp, Laurens W

2012-11-02

A strained and undoped HgTe layer is a three-dimensional topological insulator, in which electronic transport occurs dominantly through its surface states. In this Letter, we present transport measurements on HgTe-based Josephson junctions with Nb as a superconductor. Although the Nb-HgTe interfaces have a low transparency, we observe a strong zero-bias anomaly in the differential resistance measurements. This anomaly originates from proximity-induced superconductivity in the HgTe surface states. In the most transparent junction, we observe periodic oscillations of the differential resistance as a function of an applied magnetic field, which correspond to a Fraunhofer-like pattern. This unambiguously shows that a precursor of the Josephson effect occurs in the topological surface states of HgTe.

Highlights from the previous volumes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Liu; al., Hadjihoseini Ali et; Jörg David, J.; al., Gao Zhong-Ke et; et al.

2018-01-01

Superconductivity at 7.3 K in quasi--one-dimensional RbCr3As3Rogue waves as negative entropy events durationsBiological rhythms ---What sets their amplitude?Reconstructing multi-mode networks from multivariate time series

Induced Superconductivity and Engineered Josephson Tunneling Devices in Epitaxial (111)-Oriented Gold/Vanadium Heterostructures.

PubMed

Wei, Peng; Katmis, Ferhat; Chang, Cui-Zu; Moodera, Jagadeesh S

2016-04-13

We report a unique experimental approach to create topological superconductors by inducing superconductivity into epitaxial metallic thin film with strong spin-orbit coupling. Utilizing molecular beam epitaxy technique under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, we are able to achieve (111) oriented single phase of gold (Au) thin film grown on a well-oriented vanadium (V) s-wave superconductor film with clean interface. We obtained atomically smooth Au thin films with thicknesses even down to below a nanometer showing near-ideal surface quality. The as-grown V/Au bilayer heterostructure exhibits superconducting transition at around 3.9 K. Clear Josephson tunneling and Andreev reflection are observed in S-I-S tunnel junctions fabricated from the epitaxial bilayers. The barrier thickness dependent tunneling and the associated subharmonic gap structures (SGS) confirmed the induced superconductivity in Au (111), paving the way for engineering thin film heterostructures based on p-wave superconductivity and nano devices exploiting Majorana Fermions for quantum computing.

Observation of direct evolution from antiferromagnetism to superconductivity in C u1 -xL ixFeAs (0 ≤x ≤1.0 )

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Kunkun; Yuan, Duanduan; Guo, Jiangang; Chen, Xiaolong

2018-04-01

We report the structure, antiferromagnetism, and superconductivity in C u1 -xL ixFeAs (0 ≤x ≤1.0 ) samples. A direct evolution from antiferromagnetism to superconductivity is observed as increasing doping level of Li. A phase diagram is constructed to show this evolution, which features no coexistence region between superconductivity and antiferromagnetism. This behavior shows that antiferromagnetic CuFeAs can be regarded as a parent compound to the observed superconductivity by equivalent doping, which is different from the cases with other FeAs-based superconductors. Structural analyses and first-principles calculations indicate that the anion height of F e2A s2 tetrahedral layer plays a crucial role on the physical properties. Moreover, the simple Fermi surface nesting picture adopted to explain the evolution from spin-density wave to superconductor in other FeAs-based superconductors might be not applicable to C u1 -xL ixFeAs .

Multigap superconductivity in the charge density wave superconductor LaPt2Si2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Debarchan; Gupta, Ritu; Bhattacharyya, A.; Biswas, P. K.; Adroja, D. T.; Hossain, Z.

2018-05-01

The superconducting gap structure of a charge density wave (CDW) superconductor LaPt2Si2 (Tc=1.6 K) having a quasi-two-dimensional crystal structure has been investigated using muon spin rotation/relaxation (μ SR ) measurements in transverse field (TF), zero field (ZF), and longitudinal field (LF) geometries. Rigorous analysis of TF-μ SR spectra in the superconducting state corroborates that the temperature dependence of the effective penetration depth, λL, derived from muon spin depolarization, fits to a two gap s wave model (i.e., s +s wave) suggesting that the Fermi surface contains two gaps of different magnitude rather than an isotropic gap expected for a conventional s wave superconductor. On the other hand, ZF μ SR data do not show any significant change in muon spin relaxation rate above and below the superconducting transition temperature indicating the fact that time-reversal symmetry is preserved in the superconducting state of this material.

Fully gapped superconductivity with no sign change in the prototypical heavy-fermion CeCu2Si2

PubMed Central

Yamashita, Takuya; Takenaka, Takaaki; Tokiwa, Yoshifumi; Wilcox, Joseph A.; Mizukami, Yuta; Terazawa, Daiki; Kasahara, Yuichi; Kittaka, Shunichiro; Sakakibara, Toshiro; Konczykowski, Marcin; Seiro, Silvia; Jeevan, Hirale S.; Geibel, Christoph; Putzke, Carsten; Onishi, Takafumi; Ikeda, Hiroaki; Carrington, Antony; Shibauchi, Takasada; Matsuda, Yuji

2017-01-01

In exotic superconductors, including high-Tc copper oxides, the interactions mediating electron Cooper pairing are widely considered to have a magnetic rather than a conventional electron-phonon origin. Interest in this exotic pairing was initiated by the 1979 discovery of heavy-fermion superconductivity in CeCu2Si2, which exhibits strong antiferromagnetic fluctuations. A hallmark of unconventional pairing by anisotropic repulsive interactions is that the superconducting energy gap changes sign as a function of the electron momentum, often leading to nodes where the gap goes to zero. We report low-temperature specific heat, thermal conductivity, and magnetic penetration depth measurements in CeCu2Si2, demonstrating the absence of gap nodes at any point on the Fermi surface. Moreover, electron irradiation experiments reveal that the superconductivity survives even when the electron mean free path becomes substantially shorter than the superconducting coherence length. This indicates that superconductivity is robust against impurities, implying that there is no sign change in the gap function. These results show that, contrary to long-standing belief, heavy electrons with extremely strong Coulomb repulsions can condense into a fully gapped s-wave superconducting state, which has an on-site attractive pairing interaction. PMID:28691082

Low-energy surface states in the normal state of α - PdBi 2 superconductor

DOE PAGES

Choi, Hongchul; Neupane, Madhab; Sasagawa, T.; ...

2017-08-25

Topological superconductors as characterized by Majorana surface states have been actively searched for their significance in fundamental science and technological implication. The large spin-orbit coupling in Bi-Pd binaries has stimulated extensive investigations on the topological surface states in these superconducting compounds. Here we report a study of normal-state electronic structure in a centrosymmetric α-PdBi 2 within density functional theory calculations. By investigating the electronic structure from the bulk to slab geometries in this system, we predict for the first time that α-PdBi 2 can host orbital-dependent and asymmetric Rashba surface states near the Fermi energy. This study suggests that α-PdBimore » 2 will be a good candidate to explore the relationship between superconductivity and topology in condensed matter physics.« less

Detection of surface carbon and hydrocarbons in hot spot regions of niobium superconducting rf cavities by Raman spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Cao, C.; Argonne National Lab.; Ford, D.; ...

2013-06-26

Raman microscopy/spectroscopy measurements are presented on high purity niobium (Nb) samples, including pieces from hot spot regions of a tested superconducting rf cavity that exhibit a high density of etch pits. Measured spectra are compared with density functional theory calculations of Raman-active, vibrational modes of possible surface Nb-O and Nb-H complexes. The Raman spectra inside particularly rough pits in all Nb samples show clear differences from surrounding areas, exhibiting enhanced intensity and sharp peaks. While some of the sharp peaks are consistent with calculated NbH and NbH 2 modes, there is better overall agreement with C-H modes in chain-type hydrocarbons.more » Other spectra reveal two broader peaks attributed to amorphous carbon. Niobium foils annealed to >2000°C in high vacuum develop identical Raman peaks when subjected to cold working. Regions with enhanced C and O have also been found by SEM/EDX spectroscopy in the hot spot samples and cold-worked foils, corroborating the Raman results. Such regions with high concentrations of impurities are expected to suppress the local superconductivity and this may explain the correlation between hot spots in superconducting rf (SRF) cavities and the observation of a high density of surface pits. Finally, the origin of localized high carbon and hydrocarbon regions is unclear at present but it is suggested that particular processing steps in SRF cavity fabrication may be responsible.« less

Detection of surface carbon and hydrocarbons in hot spot regions of niobium superconducting rf cavities by Raman spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cao, C.; Argonne National Lab.; Ford, D.

Raman microscopy/spectroscopy measurements are presented on high purity niobium (Nb) samples, including pieces from hot spot regions of a tested superconducting rf cavity that exhibit a high density of etch pits. Measured spectra are compared with density functional theory calculations of Raman-active, vibrational modes of possible surface Nb-O and Nb-H complexes. The Raman spectra inside particularly rough pits in all Nb samples show clear differences from surrounding areas, exhibiting enhanced intensity and sharp peaks. While some of the sharp peaks are consistent with calculated NbH and NbH 2 modes, there is better overall agreement with C-H modes in chain-type hydrocarbons.more » Other spectra reveal two broader peaks attributed to amorphous carbon. Niobium foils annealed to >2000°C in high vacuum develop identical Raman peaks when subjected to cold working. Regions with enhanced C and O have also been found by SEM/EDX spectroscopy in the hot spot samples and cold-worked foils, corroborating the Raman results. Such regions with high concentrations of impurities are expected to suppress the local superconductivity and this may explain the correlation between hot spots in superconducting rf (SRF) cavities and the observation of a high density of surface pits. Finally, the origin of localized high carbon and hydrocarbon regions is unclear at present but it is suggested that particular processing steps in SRF cavity fabrication may be responsible.« less

Electronic structures and superconductivity in LuTE2Si2 phases (TE = d-electron transition metal)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samsel-Czekała, M.; Chajewski, G.; Wiśniewski, P.; Romanova, T.; Hackemer, A.; Gorzelniak, R.; Pikul, A. P.; Kaczorowski, D.

2018-05-01

In the course of our search for unconventional superconductors amidst the 1:2:2 phases, we have re-investigated the LuTE2Si2 compounds with TE = Fe, Co, Ni, Ru, Pd and Pt. In this paper, we present the results of our fully relativistic ab initio calculations of the band structures, performed using the full-potential local-orbital code. The theoretical data are supplemented by the results of low-temperature electrical transport and specific heat measurements performed down to 0.35 K. All the materials studied but LuPt2Si2 crystallize with the body-centered tetragonal ThCr2Si2-type structure (space group I4/mmm). Their Fermi surfaces exhibit a three-dimensional multi-band character. In turn, the Pt-bearing compound adopts the primitive tetragonal CaBe2Ge2-type structure (space group P4/nmm), and its Fermi surface consists of predominantly quasi-two-dimensional sheets. Bulk superconductivity was found only in LuPd2Si2 and LuPt2Si2 (independent of the structure type and dimensionality of the Fermi surface). The key superconducting characteristics indicate a fully-gapped BCS type character. Though the electronic structure of LuFe2Si2 closely resembles that of the unconventional superconductor YFe2Ge2, this Lu-based silicide exhibits neither superconductivity nor spin fluctuations at least down to 0.35 K.

Analyse des proprietes electroniques de supraconducteurs a l'aide de la theorie de la fonctionnelle de la densite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blackburn, Simon

In this thesis, the electronic structure of different kinds of superconductors is explored with the density functional theory. A brief explanation of this theory is done in the introduction. The Hubbard model is also presented as it can be used to solve shortcomings of the theory in some materials such as cuprates. The blend of the two theories is the DFT+U which is used to describe materials with strongly correlated electrons. Afterward, a paper describing the electron-phonon coupling in the superconductor NbC1- xNx is presented. Results from this work show the role of the Fermi surface in the electron pairing mechanism leading to superconductivity. Based on these results, a model is developed explaining how the critical temperature is influenced by the change in frequency of the vibration modes. Then, quantum oscillation results based on a detailed analysis of Fermi surfaces, allowing a direct comparison with experimental data, are presented within two papers. The first one is about a material in the iron pnictide family, the LaFe2P2. Our calculations show that the Fermi surface of this material is different from the superconducting doped BaFe2As2 which explains why this material shows no sign of superconductivity. The second paper is about the heavy fermion system YbCoIn5. To do this, a new efficient method to calculate de Haas-van Alphen frequencies is developed. Finally, a paper on superconducting YBa2Cu3O6.5 is presented. Using DFT+U, the role of various magnetic orders on the Fermi surface are studied. The results allow a better understanding of the measured quantum oscillations in this material.

The 3-Dimensional Fermi Liquid Description for the Iron-Based Superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misawa, Setsuo

2018-01-01

The quasiparticles in the normal state of iron-based superconductors have been shown to behave universally as a 3-dimensional Fermi liquid. Because of interactions and the presence of sharp Fermi surfaces, the quasiparticle energy contains, as a function of the momentum \\varvec{p}, a term of the form ( p - p_0)^3 ln {( |p-p_0|/p_0)} , where p = | \\varvec{p} | and p_0 is the Fermi momentum. The electronic specific heat coefficient, magnetic susceptibility (Knight shift), electrical resistivity, Hall coefficient and thermoelectric power divided by temperature follow, as functions of temperature T, the logarithmic formula a-b T^2 ln {(T/T^*)}, a, b and T^* being constant; these formulae have been shown to explain the observed data for all iron-based superconductors. It is shown that the concept of non-Fermi liquids or anomalous metals which appears in the literature is not needed for descriptions of the present systems. When the superconducting transition temperature TC and the b / a value for the resistivity are plotted as functions of the doping content x, there appear various characteristic diagrams in which regions of positive correlation and those of negative correlation between TC and b / a are interconnected; from these diagrams, we may make speculations about the types of superconductivity and the crossover between them.

High-temperature superconductivity from fine-tuning of Fermi-surface singularities in iron oxypnictides.

PubMed

Charnukha, A; Evtushinsky, D V; Matt, C E; Xu, N; Shi, M; Büchner, B; Zhigadlo, N D; Batlogg, B; Borisenko, S V

2015-12-18

In the family of the iron-based superconductors, the REFeAsO-type compounds (with RE being a rare-earth metal) exhibit the highest bulk superconducting transition temperatures (Tc) up to 55 K and thus hold the key to the elusive pairing mechanism. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the intrinsic electronic structure of SmFe0.92Co0.08AsO (Tc = 18 K) is highly nontrivial and consists of multiple band-edge singularities in close proximity to the Fermi level. However, it remains unclear whether these singularities are generic to the REFeAsO-type materials and if so, whether their exact topology is responsible for the aforementioned record Tc. In this work, we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to investigate the inherent electronic structure of the NdFeAsO0.6F0.4 compound with a twice higher Tc = 38 K. We find a similarly singular Fermi surface and further demonstrate that the dramatic enhancement of superconductivity in this compound correlates closely with the fine-tuning of one of the band-edge singularities to within a fraction of the superconducting energy gap Δ below the Fermi level. Our results provide compelling evidence that the band-structure singularities near the Fermi level in the iron-based superconductors must be explicitly accounted for in any attempt to understand the mechanism of superconducting pairing in these materials.

Dominant Majorana bound energy and critical current enhancement in ferromagnetic-superconducting topological insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khezerlou, Maryam; Goudarzi, Hadi; Asgarifar, Samin

2017-03-01

Among the potential applications of topological insulators, we theoretically study the coexistence of proximity-induced ferromagnetic and superconducting orders in the surface states of a 3-dimensional topological insulator. The superconducting electron-hole excitations can be significantly affected by the magnetic order induced by a ferromagnet. In one hand, the surface state of the topological insulator, protected by the time-reversal symmetry, creates a spin-triplet and, on the other hand, magnetic order causes to renormalize the effective superconducting gap. We find Majorana mode energy along the ferromagnet/superconductor interface to sensitively depend on the magnitude of magnetization m zfs from superconductor region, and its slope around perpendicular incidence is steep with very low dependency on m zfs . The superconducting effective gap is renormalized by a factor η( m zfs ), and Andreev bound state in ferromagnet-superconductor/ferromagnet/ferromagnet-superconductor (FS/F/FS) Josephson junction is more sensitive to the magnitude of magnetizations of FS and F regions. In particular, we show that the presence of m zfs has a noticeable impact on the gap opening in Andreev bound state, which occurs in finite angle of incidence. This directly results in zero-energy Andreev state being dominant. By introducing the proper form of corresponding Dirac spinors for FS electron-hole states, we find that via the inclusion of m zfs , the Josephson supercurrent is enhanced and exhibits almost abrupt crossover curve, featuring the dominant zero-energy Majorana bound states.

High-temperature superconductivity from fine-tuning of Fermi-surface singularities in iron oxypnictides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charnukha, A.; Evtushinsky, D. V.; Matt, C. E.; Xu, N.; Shi, M.; Büchner, B.; Zhigadlo, N. D.; Batlogg, B.; Borisenko, S. V.

2015-12-01

In the family of the iron-based superconductors, the REFeAsO-type compounds (with RE being a rare-earth metal) exhibit the highest bulk superconducting transition temperatures (Tc) up to 55 K and thus hold the key to the elusive pairing mechanism. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the intrinsic electronic structure of SmFe0.92Co0.08AsO (Tc = 18 K) is highly nontrivial and consists of multiple band-edge singularities in close proximity to the Fermi level. However, it remains unclear whether these singularities are generic to the REFeAsO-type materials and if so, whether their exact topology is responsible for the aforementioned record Tc. In this work, we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to investigate the inherent electronic structure of the NdFeAsO0.6F0.4 compound with a twice higher Tc = 38 K. We find a similarly singular Fermi surface and further demonstrate that the dramatic enhancement of superconductivity in this compound correlates closely with the fine-tuning of one of the band-edge singularities to within a fraction of the superconducting energy gap Δ below the Fermi level. Our results provide compelling evidence that the band-structure singularities near the Fermi level in the iron-based superconductors must be explicitly accounted for in any attempt to understand the mechanism of superconducting pairing in these materials.

Space applications for high temperature superconductivity - Brief review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krishen, Kumar

1990-01-01

An overview is presented of materials and devices based on high-temperature superconductivity (HTS) that could have useful space-oriented applications. Of specific interest are applications of HTS technologies to mm and microwave systems, spaceborne and planet-surface sensors, and to magnetic subsystems for robotic, rescue, and docking maneuvers. HTS technologies can be used in optoelectronics, magnetic-field detectors, antennae, transmission/delay lines, and launch/payload coils.

JPRS Report Science & Technology Japan

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-02

Electronics •Superconducting Wiring in LSI •One Wafer Computer •Josephson Devices •SQUID Devices Infrared Sensor Magnetic Sensor •Superconducting...Guinier- de Wolff monochromatic focusing camera (CoK* radiation) and with Philips APD-10 auto-powder diffractometer (CuKÄ radiation). Pure Si was used as...crystallized and smooth surface. The values indicated in Fig. 2 were the thickness monitored by a quartz oscillating sensor located near the

Rotor assembly including superconducting magnetic coil

DOEpatents

Snitchler, Gregory L.; Gamble, Bruce B.; Voccio, John P.

2003-01-01

Superconducting coils and methods of manufacture include a superconductor tape wound concentrically about and disposed along an axis of the coil to define an opening having a dimension which gradually decreases, in the direction along the axis, from a first end to a second end of the coil. Each turn of the superconductor tape has a broad surface maintained substantially parallel to the axis of the coil.

Bandwidth and Electron Correlation-Tuned Superconductivity in Rb 0.8 Fe 2 ( Se 1 - z S z ) 2

DOE PAGES

Yi, M.; Wang, Meng; Kemper, A. F.; ...

2015-12-15

Here, we present a systematic angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the substitution dependence of the electronic structure of Rb 0.8Fe 2(Se 1-zS z) 2 (z = 0, 0.5, 1), where superconductivity is continuously suppressed into a metallic phase. Going from the nonsuperconducting Rb 0.8Fe 2S 2 to superconducting Rb 0.8Fe 2Se 2, we observe little change of the Fermi surface topology, but a reduction of the overall bandwidth by a factor of 2. Hence, for these heavily electron-doped iron chalcogenides, we have identified electron correlation as explicitly manifested in the quasiparticle bandwidth to be the important tuning parameter for superconductivity,more » and that moderate correlation is essential to achieving high T C.« less

Study on industrial wastewater treatment using superconducting magnetic separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hao; Zhao, Zhengquan; Xu, Xiangdong; Li, Laifeng

2011-06-01

The mechanism of industrial wastewater treatment using superconducting magnetic separation is investigated. Fe 3O 4 nanoparticles were prepared by liquid precipitation and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Polyacrylic acid (PAA) film was coated on the magnetic particles using plasma coating technique. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation and infrared spectrum measurement indicate that the particle surface is well coated with PAA, and the film thickness is around 1 nm. Practical paper factory wastewater treatment using the modified magnetic seeds in a superconducting magnet (SCM) was carried out. The results show that the maximum removal rate of chemical oxygen demand (COD) by SCM method can reach 76%.

Vortex properties of two-dimensional superconducting Pb films.

PubMed

Ning, Y X; Song, C L; Wang, Y L; Chen, Xi; Jia, J F; Xue, Q K; Ma, X C

2010-02-17

Using low temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) we have investigated the vortex behaviours of two-dimensional superconducting Pb films at different thicknesses. STS at the vortex core shows an evolution of electronic states with film thickness. Transition from the clean limit to the dirty limit of superconductivity is identified, which can be ascribed to the decreased electronic mean free path induced by stronger scattering from the disordered interface at smaller thicknesses. A magnetic field dependent vortex core size is observed even for such a low- κ superconductor. The weak pinning induced by surface defects leads to the formation of a distorted hexagonal vortex lattice.

Automated optical inspection and image analysis of superconducting radio-frequency cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wenskat, M.

2017-05-01

The inner surface of superconducting cavities plays a crucial role to achieve highest accelerating fields and low losses. For an investigation of this inner surface of more than 100 cavities within the cavity fabrication for the European XFEL and the ILC HiGrade Research Project, an optical inspection robot OBACHT was constructed. To analyze up to 2325 images per cavity, an image processing and analysis code was developed and new variables to describe the cavity surface were obtained. The accuracy of this code is up to 97 % and the positive predictive value (PPV) 99 % within the resolution of 15.63 μm. The optical obtained surface roughness is in agreement with standard profilometric methods. The image analysis algorithm identified and quantified vendor specific fabrication properties as the electron beam welding speed and the different surface roughness due to the different chemical treatments. In addition, a correlation of ρ = -0.93 with a significance of 6 σ between an obtained surface variable and the maximal accelerating field was found.

Pseudogap and proximity effect in the Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor.

PubMed

He, M Q; Shen, J Y; Petrović, A P; He, Q L; Liu, H C; Zheng, Y; Wong, C H; Chen, Q H; Wang, J N; Law, K T; Sou, I K; Lortz, R

2016-09-02

In the interfacial superconductor Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe, two dimensional superconductivity occurs in direct vicinity to the surface state of a topological insulator. If this state were to become involved in superconductivity, under certain conditions a topological superconducting state could be formed, which is of high interest due to the possibility of creating Majorana fermionic states. We report directional point-contact spectroscopy data on the novel Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor for a Bi2Te3 thickness of 9 quintuple layers, bonded by van der Waals epitaxy to a Fe1+yTe film at an atomically sharp interface. Our data show highly unconventional superconductivity, which appears as complex as in the cuprate high temperature superconductors. A very large superconducting twin-gap structure is replaced by a pseudogap above ~12 K which persists up to 40 K. While the larger gap shows unconventional order parameter symmetry and is attributed to a thin FeTe layer in proximity to the interface, the smaller gap is associated with superconductivity induced via the proximity effect in the topological insulator Bi2Te3.

Pseudogap and proximity effect in the Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor

PubMed Central

He, M. Q.; Shen, J. Y.; Petrović, A. P.; He, Q. L.; Liu, H. C.; Zheng, Y.; Wong, C. H.; Chen, Q. H.; Wang, J. N.; Law, K. T.; Sou, I. K.; Lortz, R.

2016-01-01

In the interfacial superconductor Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe, two dimensional superconductivity occurs in direct vicinity to the surface state of a topological insulator. If this state were to become involved in superconductivity, under certain conditions a topological superconducting state could be formed, which is of high interest due to the possibility of creating Majorana fermionic states. We report directional point-contact spectroscopy data on the novel Bi2Te3/Fe1+yTe interfacial superconductor for a Bi2Te3 thickness of 9 quintuple layers, bonded by van der Waals epitaxy to a Fe1+yTe film at an atomically sharp interface. Our data show highly unconventional superconductivity, which appears as complex as in the cuprate high temperature superconductors. A very large superconducting twin-gap structure is replaced by a pseudogap above ~12 K which persists up to 40 K. While the larger gap shows unconventional order parameter symmetry and is attributed to a thin FeTe layer in proximity to the interface, the smaller gap is associated with superconductivity induced via the proximity effect in the topological insulator Bi2Te3. PMID:27587000

Nonlocal superconducting correlations in graphene in the quantum Hall regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beconcini, Michael; Polini, Marco; Taddei, Fabio

2018-05-01

We study Andreev processes and nonlocal transport in a three-terminal graphene-superconductor hybrid system under a quantizing perpendicular magnetic field [G.-H. Lee et al., Nat. Phys. 13, 693 (2017), 10.1038/nphys4084]. We find that the amplitude of the crossed Andreev reflection (CAR) processes crucially depends on the orientation of the lattice. By employing Landauer-Büttiker scattering theory, we find that CAR is generally very small for a zigzag edge, while for an armchair edge it can be larger than the normal transmission, thereby resulting in a negative nonlocal resistance. In the case of an armchair edge and with a wide superconducting region (as compared to the superconducting coherence length), CAR exhibits large oscillations as a function of the magnetic field due to interference effects. This results in sign changes of the nonlocal resistance.

Excitation of acoustic oscillations in superconducting films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Golub, A.A.

1973-11-01

A study is made of the excitation of sound in a superconducting film by electromagnetic waves incident on the surface of the film. It is assumed that the thickness of the film d is much greater than the penetration depth of the field. If the acoustic wave is damped over a distance of the order of d, traveling acoustic waves can be excited in the superconductor; otherwise, standing waves are excited. The low-temperature contribution of acoustic oseillations to the surface resistence of pure superconductors ia calculated. At very low temperatures, the absorption of electromagnetic waves is mainly governed by themore » loss due to acoustic oscillations. (auth)« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dai, Jing; Quan, Sheng-Wen; Zhang, Bao-Cheng

The RF performance of a 1.3 GHz 9-cell superconducting niobium cavity was evaluated at cryogenic temperatures following surface processing by using the standard ILC-style recipe. The cavity is a TESLA-style 9-cell superconducting niobium cavity, with complete end group components including a higher order mode coupler, built in China for practical applications. An accelerating gradient of 28.6 MV/m was achieved at an unloaded quality factor of 4 x 10{sup 9}. The morphological property of mechanical features on the RF surface of this cavity was characterized through optical inspection. Correlation between the observed mechanical features and the RF performance of the cavitymore » is attempted.« less

Dependence of the residual surface resistance of superconducting radio frequency cavities on the cooling dynamics around T{sub c}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Romanenko, A., E-mail: aroman@fnal.gov; Grassellino, A., E-mail: annag@fnal.gov; Melnychuk, O.

We report a strong effect of the cooling dynamics through T{sub c} on the amount of trapped external magnetic flux in superconducting niobium cavities. The effect is similar for fine grain and single crystal niobium and all surface treatments including electropolishing with and without 120 °C baking and nitrogen doping. Direct magnetic field measurements on the cavity walls show that the effect stems from changes in the flux trapping efficiency: slow cooling leads to almost complete flux trapping and higher residual resistance, while fast cooling leads to the much more efficient flux expulsion and lower residual resistance.

Superconducting composite with multilayer patterns and multiple buffer layers

DOEpatents

Wu, Xin D.; Muenchausen, Ross E.

1993-01-01

An article of manufacture including a substrate, a patterned interlayer of a material selected from the group consisting of magnesium oxide, barium-titanium oxide or barium-zirconium oxide, the patterned interlayer material overcoated with a secondary interlayer material of yttria-stabilized zirconia or magnesium-aluminum oxide, upon the surface of the substrate whereby an intermediate article with an exposed surface of both the overcoated patterned interlayer and the substrate is formed, a coating of a buffer layer selected from the group consisting of cerium oxide, yttrium oxide, curium oxide, dysprosium oxide, erbium oxide, europium oxide, iron oxide, gadolinium oxide, holmium oxide, indium oxide, lanthanum oxide, manganese oxide, lutetium oxide, neodymium oxide, praseodymium oxide, plutonium oxide, samarium oxide, terbium oxide, thallium oxide, thulium oxide, yttrium oxide and ytterbium oxide over the entire exposed surface of the intermediate article, and, a ceramic superco n FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of superconducting articles having two distinct regions of superconductive material with differing in-plane orientations whereby the conductivity across the boundary between the two regions can be tailored. This invention is the result of a contract with the Department of Energy (Contract No. W-7405-ENG-36).

Origin of Pressure-induced Superconducting Phase in K xFe 2-ySe 2 studied by Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction and Spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Yamamoto, Yoshiya; Yamaoka, Hitoshi; Tanaka, Masashi; ...

2016-08-08

Pressure dependence of the electronic and crystal structures of K xFe 2–ySe 2, which has pressure-induced two superconducting domes of SC I and SC II, was investigated by x-ray emission spectroscopy and diffraction. X-ray diffraction data show that compressibility along the c-axis changes around 12 GPa, where a new superconducting phase of SC II appears. This suggests a possible tetragonal to collapsed tetragonal phase transition. X-ray emission spectroscopy data also shows the change in the electronic structure around 12 GPa. These results can be explained by the scenario that the two SC domes under pressure originate from the change ofmore » Fermi surface topology. Lastly, our results here show the pronounced increase of the density of states near the Fermi surface under pressure with a structural phase transition, which can help address our fundamental understanding for the appearance of the SC II phase.« less

Superconducting magnesium diboride films on Si with Tc0˜24 K grown via vacuum annealing from stoichiometric precursors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhai, H. Y.; Christen, H. M.; Zhang, L.; Cantoni, C.; Paranthaman, M.; Sales, B. C.; Christen, D. K.; Lowndes, D. H.

2001-10-01

Superconducting magnesium diboride films with Tc0˜24 K and sharp transition ˜1 K were prepared on Si by pulsed-laser deposition from stoichiometric MgB2 target. Contrary to previous reports, anneals at 630 °C and a background of 2×10-4Ar/4%H2 were performed without the requirement of Mg vapor or Mg cap layer. This integration of superconducting MgB2 film on Si may thus prove enabling in superconductor-semiconductor device applications. Images of surface morphology and cross-section profiles by scanning electron microscopy show that the films have a uniform surface morphology and thickness. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy study reveals these films were contaminated with oxygen, originating either from the growth environment or from sample exposure to air. The oxygen contamination may account for the low Tc for those in situ annealed films, while the use of Si as a substrate does not result in a decrease in Tc as compared to other substrates.

Origin of Pressure-induced Superconducting Phase in KxFe2-ySe2 studied by Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction and Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Yoshiya; Yamaoka, Hitoshi; Tanaka, Masashi; Okazaki, Hiroyuki; Ozaki, Toshinori; Takano, Yoshihiko; Lin, Jung-Fu; Fujita, Hidenori; Kagayama, Tomoko; Shimizu, Katsuya; Hiraoka, Nozomu; Ishii, Hirofumi; Liao, Yen-Fa; Tsuei, Ku-Ding; Mizuki, Jun'Ichiro

2016-08-01

Pressure dependence of the electronic and crystal structures of KxFe2-ySe2, which has pressure-induced two superconducting domes of SC I and SC II, was investigated by x-ray emission spectroscopy and diffraction. X-ray diffraction data show that compressibility along the c-axis changes around 12 GPa, where a new superconducting phase of SC II appears. This suggests a possible tetragonal to collapsed tetragonal phase transition. X-ray emission spectroscopy data also shows the change in the electronic structure around 12 GPa. These results can be explained by the scenario that the two SC domes under pressure originate from the change of Fermi surface topology. Our results here show the pronounced increase of the density of states near the Fermi surface under pressure with a structural phase transition, which can help address our fundamental understanding for the appearance of the SC II phase.

Two-Dimensional Superconductor with a Giant Rashba Effect: One-Atom-Layer Tl-Pb Compound on Si(111).

PubMed

Matetskiy, A V; Ichinokura, S; Bondarenko, L V; Tupchaya, A Y; Gruznev, D V; Zotov, A V; Saranin, A A; Hobara, R; Takayama, A; Hasegawa, S

2015-10-02

A one-atom-layer compound made of one monolayer of Tl and one-third monolayer of Pb on a Si(111) surface having √3×√3 periodicity was found to exhibit a giant Rashba-type spin splitting of metallic surface-state bands together with two-dimensional superconducting transport properties. Temperature-dependent angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy revealed an enhanced electron-phonon coupling for one of the spin-split bands. In situ micro-four-point-probe conductivity measurements with and without magnetic field demonstrated that the (Tl, Pb)/Si(111) system transformed into the superconducting state at 2.25 K, followed by the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless mechanism. The 2D Tl-Pb compound on Si(111) is believed to be the prototypical object for prospective studies of intriguing properties of the superconducting 2D system with lifted spin degeneracy, bearing in mind that its composition, atomic and electron band structures, and spin texture are already well established.

Development of superconducting links for the Large Hadron Collider machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballarino, Amalia

2014-04-01

In the framework of the upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) machine, new superconducting lines are being developed for the feeding of the LHC magnets. The proposed electrical layout envisages the location of the power converters in surface buildings, and the transfer of the current from the surface to the LHC tunnel, where the magnets are located, via superconducting links containing tens of cables feeding different circuits and transferring altogether more than 150 kA. Depending on the location, the links will have a length ranging from 300 m to 500 m, and they will span a vertical distance of about 80 m. An overview of the R&D program that has been launched by CERN is presented, with special attention to the development of novel types of cables made from MgB2 and high temperature superconductors (Bi-2223 and REBCO) and to the results of the tests performed on prototype links. Plans for future activities are presented, together with a timeline for potential future integration in the LHC machine.

Phase coherence and Andreev reflection in topological insulator devices

DOE PAGES

Finck, A. D. K.; Kurter, C.; Hor, Y. S.; ...

2014-11-04

Topological insulators (TIs) have attracted immense interest because they host helical surface states. Protected by time-reversal symmetry, they are robust to nonmagnetic disorder. When superconductivity is induced in these helical states, they are predicted to emulate p-wave pairing symmetry, with Majorana states bound to vortices. Majorana bound states possess non-Abelian exchange statistics that can be probed through interferometry. Here, we take a significant step towards Majorana interferometry by observing pronounced Fabry-Pérot oscillations in a TI sandwiched between a superconducting and a normal lead. For energies below the superconducting gap, we observe a doubling in the frequency of the oscillations, arisingmore » from an additional phase from Andreev reflection. When a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the TI surface, a number of very sharp and gate-tunable conductance peaks appear at or near zero energy, which has consequences for interpreting spectroscopic probes of Majorana fermions. Our results show that TIs are a promising platform for exploring phase-coherent transport in a solid-state system.« less

Spin-fluctuation-induced non-Fermi-liquid behavior with suppressed superconductivity in LiFe 1-xCo xAs

DOE PAGES

Y. M. Dai; Miao, H.; Xing, L. Y.; ...

2015-09-15

A series of LiFe 1–xCo xAs compounds with different Co concentrations by transport, optical spectroscopy, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance. We observe a Fermi-liquid to non-Fermi-liquid to Fermi-liquid (FL-NFL-FL) crossover alongside a monotonic suppression of the superconductivity with increasing Co content. In parallel to the FL-NFL-FL crossover, we find that both the low-energy spin fluctuations and Fermi surface nesting are enhanced and then diminished, strongly suggesting that the NFL behavior in LiFe 1–xCo xAs is induced by low-energy spin fluctuations that are very likely tuned by Fermi surface nesting. Our study reveals a unique phase diagram of LiFemore » 1–xCo xAs where the region of NFL is moved to the boundary of the superconducting phase, implying that they are probably governed by different mechanisms.« less

Fidelity study of the superconducting phase diagram in the two-dimensional single-band Hubbard model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, C. J.; Moritz, B.; Chen, C.-C.; Shastry, B. Sriram; Devereaux, T. P.

2011-09-01

Extensive numerical studies have demonstrated that the two-dimensional single-band Hubbard model contains much of the key physics in cuprate high-temperature superconductors. However, there is no definitive proof that the Hubbard model truly possesses a superconducting ground state or, if it does, of how it depends on model parameters. To answer these longstanding questions, we study an extension of the Hubbard model including an infinite-range d-wave pair field term, which precipitates a superconducting state in the d-wave channel. Using exact diagonalization on 16-site square clusters, we study the evolution of the ground state as a function of the strength of the pairing term. This is achieved by monitoring the fidelity metric of the ground state, as well as determining the ratio between the two largest eigenvalues of the d-wave pair/spin/charge-density matrices. The calculations show a d-wave superconducting ground state in doped clusters bracketed by a strong antiferromagnetic state at half filling controlled by the Coulomb repulsion U and a weak short-range checkerboard charge ordered state at larger hole doping controlled by the next-nearest-neighbor hopping t'. We also demonstrate that negative t' plays an important role in facilitating d-wave superconductivity.

Iron pages of HTSC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gasparov, V. A., E-mail: vgasparo@issp.ac.r

Experimental data are presented on the superconducting and electronic properties of iron-based high-temperature superconductors in the normal and superconducting states. The following topics are discussed: lattice structure; structure of magnetic vortices; magnetic penetration depth; Fermi surface; isotope effect; and critical magnetic fields both in oxide compounds of 1111 type and oxide-free compounds of 122, 111, and 011 types as a function of the doping level, temperature, and external pressure.

Surface characterization of Nb samples electropolished together with real superconducting rf accelerator cavities

DOE PAGES

Xin Zhao; Geng, Rong -Li; Tyagi, P. V.; ...

2010-12-30

Here, we report the results of surface characterizations of niobium (Nb) samples electropolished together with a single cell superconducting radio-frequency accelerator cavity. These witness samples were located in three regions of the cavity, namely at the equator, the iris and the beam-pipe. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) was utilized to probe the chemical composition of the topmost four atomic layers. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray for elemental analysis (SEM/EDX) was used to observe the surface topography and chemical composition at the micrometer scale. A few atomic layers of sulfur (S) were found covering the samples non-uniformly. Niobium oxide granulesmore » with a sharp geometry were observed on every sample. Some Nb-O granules appeared to also contain sulfur.« less

In vivo MR imaging of the human skin at subnanoliter resolution using a superconducting surface coil at 1.5 Tesla.

PubMed

Laistler, Elmar; Poirier-Quinot, Marie; Lambert, Simon A; Dubuisson, Rose-Marie; Girard, Olivier M; Moser, Ewald; Darrasse, Luc; Ginefri, Jean-Christophe

2015-02-01

To demonstrate the feasibility of a highly sensitive superconducting surface coil for microscopic MRI of the human skin in vivo in a clinical 1.5 Tesla (T) scanner. A 12.4-mm high-temperature superconducting coil was used at 1.5T for phantom and in vivo skin imaging. Images were inspected to identify fine anatomical skin structures. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement by the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coil, as compared to a commercial MR microscopy coil was quantified from phantom imaging; the gain over a geometrically identical coil made from copper (cooled or not) was theoretically deduced. Noise sources were identified to evaluate the potential of HTS coils for future studies. In vivo skin images with isotropic 80 μm resolution were demonstrated revealing fine anatomical structures. The HTS coil improved SNR by a factor 32 over the reference coil in a nonloading phantom. For calf imaging, SNR gains of 380% and 30% can be expected over an identical copper coil at room temperature and 77 K, respectively. The high sensitivity of HTS coils allows for microscopic imaging of the skin at 1.5T and could serve as a tool for dermatology in a clinical setting. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Optimization of cathodic arc deposition and pulsed plasma melting techniques for growing smooth superconducting Pb photoemissive films for SRF injectors

DOE PAGES

Nietubyc, Robert; Lorkiewicz, Jerzy; Sekutowicz, Jacek; ...

2018-02-14

Superconducting photoinjectors have a potential to be the optimal solution for moderate and high current cw operating free electron lasers. For this application, a superconducting lead (Pb) cathode has been proposed to simplify the cathode integration into a 1.3 GHz, TESLA-type, 1.6-cell long purely superconducting gun cavity. In the proposed design, a lead film several micrometres thick is deposited onto a niobium plug attached to the cavity back wall. Traditional lead deposition techniques usually produce very non-uniform emission surfaces and often result in a poor adhesion of the layer. A pulsed plasma melting procedure reducing the non-uniformity of the leadmore » photocathodes is presented. In order to determine the parameters optimal for this procedure, heat transfer from plasma to the film was first modelled to evaluate melting front penetration range and liquid state duration. The obtained results were verified by surface inspection of witness samples. The optimal procedure was used to prepare a photocathode plug, which was then tested in an electron gun. In conclusion, the quantum efficiency and the value of cavity quality factor have been found to satisfy the requirements for an injector of the European-XFEL facility.« less

Optimization of cathodic arc deposition and pulsed plasma melting techniques for growing smooth superconducting Pb photoemissive films for SRF injectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nietubyc, Robert; Lorkiewicz, Jerzy; Sekutowicz, Jacek

Superconducting photoinjectors have a potential to be the optimal solution for moderate and high current cw operating free electron lasers. For this application, a superconducting lead (Pb) cathode has been proposed to simplify the cathode integration into a 1.3 GHz, TESLA-type, 1.6-cell long purely superconducting gun cavity. In the proposed design, a lead film several micrometres thick is deposited onto a niobium plug attached to the cavity back wall. Traditional lead deposition techniques usually produce very non-uniform emission surfaces and often result in a poor adhesion of the layer. A pulsed plasma melting procedure reducing the non-uniformity of the leadmore » photocathodes is presented. In order to determine the parameters optimal for this procedure, heat transfer from plasma to the film was first modelled to evaluate melting front penetration range and liquid state duration. The obtained results were verified by surface inspection of witness samples. The optimal procedure was used to prepare a photocathode plug, which was then tested in an electron gun. In conclusion, the quantum efficiency and the value of cavity quality factor have been found to satisfy the requirements for an injector of the European-XFEL facility.« less

Analysis of the medium field Q-slope in superconducting cavities made of bulk niobium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gianluigi Ciovati; J. Halbritter

The quality factor of superconducting radio-frequency cavities made of high purity, bulk niobium increases with rf field in the medium field range (peak surface magnetic field between 20 and about 100 mT). The causes for this effect are not clear yet. The dependence of the surface resistance on the peak surface magnetic field is typically linear and quadratic. This contribution will present an analysis of the medium field Q-slope data measured on cavities treated with buffered chemical polishing (BCP) at Jefferson Lab, as function of different treatments such as post-purification and low-temperature baking. The data have been compared with amore » model involving a combination of heating and of hysteresis losses due to ''strong-links'' formed or weakened at niobium surfaces during oxidation, which correlate to {delta}{Delta}/kT{sub c} changes by baking.« less

Negative differential conductance in doped-silicon nanoscale devices with superconducting electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shapovalov, A.; Shaternik, V.; Suvorov, O.; Zhitlukhina, E.; Belogolovskii, M.

2018-02-01

We present a proof-of-concept nanoelectronics device with a negative differential conductance, an attractive from the applied viewpoint functionality. The device, characterized by the decreasing current with increasing voltage in a certain voltage region above a threshold bias of about several hundred millivolts, consists of two superconducting electrodes with an amorphous 10-nm-thick silicon interlayer doped by tungsten nano-inclusions. We show that small changes in the W content radically modify the shape of the trilayer current-voltage dependence and identify sudden conductance switching at a threshold voltage as an effect of Andreev fluctuators. The latter entities are two-level systems at the superconductor-doped silicon interface where a Cooper pair tunnels from a superconductor and occupies a pair of localized electronic states. We argue that in contrast to previously proposed devices, our samples permit very large-scale integration and are practically feasible.

The Physics of Superconducting Microwave Resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Jiansong

Over the past decade, low temperature detectors have brought astronomers revolutionary new observational capabilities and led to many great discoveries. Although a single low temperature detector has very impressive sensitivity, a large detector array would be much more powerful and are highly demanded for the study of more difficult and fundamental problems in astronomy. However, current detector technologies, such as transition edge sensors and superconducting tunnel junction detectors, are difficult to integrate into a large array. The microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) is a promising new detector technology invented at Caltech and JPL which provides both high sensitivity and an easy solution to the detector integration. It senses the change in the surface impedance of a superconductor as incoming photons break Cooper pairs, by using high-Q superconducting microwave resonators capacitively coupled to a common feedline. This architecture allows thousands of detectors to be easily integrated through passive frequency domain multiplexing. In this thesis, we explore the rich and interesting physics behind these superconducting microwave resonators. The first part of the thesis discusses the surface impedance of a superconductor, the kinetic inductance of a superconducting coplanar waveguide, and the circuit response of a resonator. These topics are related with the responsivity of MKIDs. The second part presents the study of the excess frequency noise that is universally observed in these resonators. The properties of the excess noise, including power, temperature, material, and geometry dependence, have been quantified. The noise source has been identified to be the two-level systems in the dielectric material on the surface of the resonator. A semi-empirical noise model has been developed to explain the power and geometry dependence of the noise, which is useful to predict the noise for a specified resonator geometry. The detailed physical noise mechanism, however, is still not clear. With the theoretical results of the responsivity and the semi-empirical noise model established in this thesis, a prediction of the detector sensitivity (noise equivalent power) and an optimization of the detector design are now possible.

Acoustic identification of the elastic properties of porous and nonporous superconducting materials DyBa2-XSrXCu3O7-δ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sayoud, N.; Lazri, H.; Ogam, E.; Boumaiza, Y.; Boudour, A.

2018-05-01

This work involves the development of a method using the principle of acoustic microscopy to determine the elastic properties of high-temperature superconducting materials, the method is applied to analyse the variation of the elastic properties of the superconducting alloy DyBa 2-x Sr x Cu 3 O 7‑δ for different variations of the concentration parameters (x = 0, x = 0.3 and x = 0.6), porosity and temperature. The method is based on the reconstruction of the reflection coefficient calculated from the acoustic signature of the signal received by the microscope during the exploration of the superconducting material for different concentrations. This permitted the determination of the velocities of the surface and volume waves from the modelled reflection coefficient. On the other hand, the elastic parameters of the material such as Young’s, shear and bulk moduli were also deduced.

Design of HTS filter for GSM-R communication system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Hongyu; Ji, Laiyun

2018-04-01

High-temperature superconducting materials with its excellent performance have increasingly been valued by industries, especially in the field of electronic information. The superconducting material has almost zero surface resistance, and the filter made of it has the characteristics of low insertion loss, high edge steepness and good out-of-band rejection. It has higher selectivity for the desired signal and thus less interference from adjacent channels Signal interference, and noise reduction coefficient can improve the ability to detect weak signals. This design is suitable for high temperature superconducting filter of GSM-R communication system, which can overcome many shortcomings of the traditional GSM-R. The filter is made of DyBCO, a high temperature superconducting thin film material based on magnesium oxide (MgO) substrate with the dielectric constant of 9.7, the center frequency at 887.5MHz, bandwidth of 5MHz.

Magnetoelectric Andreev Effect due to Proximity-Induced Nonunitary Triplet Superconductivity in Helical Metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tkachov, G.

2017-01-01

Noncentrosymmetric superconductors exhibit the magnetoelectric effect, which manifests itself in the appearance of the magnetic spin polarization in response to a dissipationless electric current (supercurrent). While much attention has been dedicated to the thermodynamic version of this phenomenon (Edelstein effect), nonequilibrium transport magnetoelectric effects have not been explored yet. We propose the magnetoelectric Andreev effect (MAE), which consists in the generation of spin-polarized triplet Andreev conductance by an electric supercurrent. The MAE stems from the spin polarization of the Cooper-pair condensate due to a supercurrent-induced nonunitary triplet pairing. We propose the realization of such a nonunitary pairing and MAE in superconducting proximity structures based on two-dimensional helical metals—strongly spin-orbit-coupled electronic systems with the Dirac spectrum such as the topological surface states. Our results uncover an unexplored route towards electrically controlled superconducting spintronics and are a smoking gun for induced unconventional superconductivity in spin-orbit-coupled materials.

Universal phase diagrams with superconducting domes for electronic flat bands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Löthman, Tomas; Black-Schaffer, Annica M.

2017-08-01

Condensed matter systems with flat bands close to the Fermi level generally exhibit, due to their very large density of states, extraordinarily high critical ordering temperatures of symmetry-breaking orders, such as superconductivity and magnetism. Here we show that the critical temperatures follow one of two universal curves with doping away from a flat band depending on the ordering channel, which completely dictates both the general order competition and the phase diagram. Notably, we find that orders in the particle-particle channel (superconducting orders) survive decisively farther than orders in the particle-hole channel (magnetic or charge orders) because the channels have fundamentally different polarizabilities. Thus, even if a magnetic or charge order initially dominates, superconducting domes are still likely to exist on the flanks of flat bands. We apply these general results to both the topological surface flat bands of rhombohedral ABC-stacked graphite and to the Van Hove singularity of graphene.

Photoemission and muon spin relaxation spectroscopy of the iron-based Rb0.77Fe1.61Se2 superconductor: Crucial role of the cigar-shaped Fermi surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maletz, J.; Zabolotnyy, V. B.; Evtushinsky, D. V.; Yaresko, A. N.; Kordyuk, A. A.; Shermadini, Z.; Luetkens, H.; Sedlak, K.; Khasanov, R.; Amato, A.; Krzton-Maziopa, A.; Conder, K.; Pomjakushina, E.; Klauss, H.-H.; Rienks, E. D. L.; Büchner, B.; Borisenko, S. V.

2013-10-01

In this study, we investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of Rb0.77Fe1.61Se2 (Tc = 32.6 K) in normal and superconducting states by means of photoemission and μSR spectroscopies as well as band-structure calculations. We demonstrate that the unusual behavior of these materials is the result of separation into metallic (˜12%) and insulating (˜88%) phases. Only the former becomes superconducting and has a usual electronic structure of electron-doped FeSe slabs. Our results thus imply that the antiferromagnetic insulating phase is just a by-product of Rb intercalation and its magnetic properties have no direct relation to the superconductivity. Instead, we find that also in this class of iron-based compounds, the key ingredient for superconductivity is a certain proximity of a Van Hove singularity to the Fermi level.

Spin-orbit coupling enhanced superconductivity in Bi-rich compounds ABi3 (A = Sr and Ba)

PubMed Central

Shao, D. F.; Luo, X.; Lu, W. J.; Hu, L.; Zhu, X. D.; Song, W. H.; Zhu, X. B.; Sun, Y. P.

2016-01-01

Recently, Bi-based compounds have attracted attentions because of the strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). In this work, we figured out the role of SOC in ABi3 (A = Sr and Ba) by theoretical investigation of the band structures, phonon properties, and electron-phonon coupling. Without SOC, strong Fermi surface nesting leads to phonon instabilities in ABi3. SOC suppresses the nesting and stabilizes the structure. Moreover, without SOC the calculation largely underestimates the superconducting transition temperatures (Tc), while with SOC the calculated Tc are very close to those determined by measurements on single crystal samples. The SOC enhanced superconductivity in ABi3 is due to not only the SOC induced phonon softening, but also the SOC related increase of electron-phonon coupling matrix elements. ABi3 can be potential platforms to construct heterostructure of superconductor/topological insulator to realize topological superconductivity. PMID:26892681

Spin-orbit coupling enhanced superconductivity in Bi-rich compounds ABi₃ (A = Sr and Ba).

PubMed

Shao, D F; Luo, X; Lu, W J; Hu, L; Zhu, X D; Song, W H; Zhu, X B; Sun, Y P

2016-02-19

Recently, Bi-based compounds have attracted attentions because of the strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). In this work, we figured out the role of SOC in ABi3 (A = Sr and Ba) by theoretical investigation of the band structures, phonon properties, and electron-phonon coupling. Without SOC, strong Fermi surface nesting leads to phonon instabilities in ABi3. SOC suppresses the nesting and stabilizes the structure. Moreover, without SOC the calculation largely underestimates the superconducting transition temperatures (Tc), while with SOC the calculated Tc are very close to those determined by measurements on single crystal samples. The SOC enhanced superconductivity in ABi3 is due to not only the SOC induced phonon softening, but also the SOC related increase of electron-phonon coupling matrix elements. ABi3 can be potential platforms to construct heterostructure of superconductor/topological insulator to realize topological superconductivity.

Bulk and surface states carried supercurrent in ballistic Nb-Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 nanowire-Nb junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Cai-Zhen; Li, Chuan; Wang, Li-Xian; Wang, Shuo; Liao, Zhi-Min; Brinkman, Alexander; Yu, Da-Peng

2018-03-01

A three-dimensional Dirac semimetal has bulk Dirac cones in all three momentum directions and Fermi arc like surface states, and can be converted into a Weyl semimetal by breaking time-reversal symmetry. However, the highly conductive bulk state usually hides the electronic transport from the surface state in Dirac semimetal. Here, we demonstrate the supercurrent carried by bulk and surface states in Nb -Cd3As2 nanowire-Nb short and long junctions, respectively. For the ˜1 -μ m -long junction, the Fabry-Pérot interferences-induced oscillations of the critical supercurrent are observed, suggesting the ballistic transport of the surface states carried supercurrent, where the bulk states are decoherent and the topologically protected surface states still stay coherent. Moreover, a superconducting dome is observed in the long junction, which is attributed to the enhanced dephasing from the interaction between surface and bulk states as tuning gate voltage to increase the carrier density. The superconductivity of topological semimetal nanowire is promising for braiding of Majorana fermions toward topological quantum computing.

Effect of interstitial impurities on the field dependent microwave surface resistance of niobium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martinello, M.; Grassellino, A.; Checchin, M.

Previous work has demonstrated that the radio frequency surface resistance of niobium resonators is dramatically reduced when nitrogen impurities are dissolved as interstitial in the material. The origin of this effect is attributed to the lowering of the Mattis and Bardeen surface resistance contribution with increasing accelerating field. Meanwhile, an enhancement of the sensitivity to trapped magnetic field is typically observed for such cavities. In this paper we conduct the first systematic study on these different components contributing to the total surface resistance as a function of different levels of dissolved nitrogen, in comparison with standard surface treatments for niobiummore » resonators. Adding these results together we are able to show for the first time which is the optimum surface treatment that maximizes the Q-factor of superconducting niobium resonators as a function of expected trapped magnetic field in the cavity walls. Lastly, these results also provide new insights on the physics behind the change in the field dependence of the Mattis and Bardeen surface resistance, and of the trapped magnetic vortex induced losses in superconducting niobium resonators.« less

Effect of interstitial impurities on the field dependent microwave surface resistance of niobium

DOE PAGES

Martinello, M.; Grassellino, A.; Checchin, M.; ...

2016-08-09

Previous work has demonstrated that the radio frequency surface resistance of niobium resonators is dramatically reduced when nitrogen impurities are dissolved as interstitial in the material. The origin of this effect is attributed to the lowering of the Mattis and Bardeen surface resistance contribution with increasing accelerating field. Meanwhile, an enhancement of the sensitivity to trapped magnetic field is typically observed for such cavities. In this paper we conduct the first systematic study on these different components contributing to the total surface resistance as a function of different levels of dissolved nitrogen, in comparison with standard surface treatments for niobiummore » resonators. Adding these results together we are able to show for the first time which is the optimum surface treatment that maximizes the Q-factor of superconducting niobium resonators as a function of expected trapped magnetic field in the cavity walls. Lastly, these results also provide new insights on the physics behind the change in the field dependence of the Mattis and Bardeen surface resistance, and of the trapped magnetic vortex induced losses in superconducting niobium resonators.« less

The Impact of Standard Semiconductor Fabrication Processes on Polycrystalline Nb Thin Film Surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Ari David; Barrentine, Emily M.; Moseley, Samuel H.; Noroozian, Omid; Stevenson, Thomas

2011-01-01

Polycrystalline superconducting Nb thin films are extensively used for submillimeter and millimeter transmission line applications and, less commonly, used in microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) applications. The microwave and mm-wave loss in these films is impacted, in part, by the presence of surface nitrides and oxides. In this study, glancing incidence x-ray diffraction was used to identify the presence of niobium nitride and niobium monoxide surface layers on Nb thin films which had been exposed to chemicals used in standard photolithographic processing. A method of mitigating the presence of ordered niobium monoxide surface layers is presented. Furthermore, we discuss the possibility of using glancing incidence x-ray diffraction as a non-destructive diagnostic tool for evaluating the quality of Nb thin films used in MKIDs and transmission lines. For a given fabrication process, we have both the x-ray diffraction data of the surface chemistry and a measure of the mm-wave and microwave loss, the latter being made in superconducting resonators.

The Impact of Standard Semiconductor Fabrication Processes on Polycrystalline Nb Thin Film Surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Ari David; Barrentine, Emily M.; Moseley, Samuel H.; Noroozian, Omid; Stevenson, Thomas

2016-01-01

Polycrystalline Nb thin films are extensively used for microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKIDs) and superconducting transmission line applications. The microwave and mm-wave loss in these films is impacted, in part, by the presence of surface nitrides and oxides. In this study, glancing incidence x-ray diffraction was used to identify the presence of niobium nitride and niobium monoxide surface layers on Nb thin films which had been exposed to chemicals used in standard photolithographic processing. A method of mitigating the presence of ordered niobium monoxide surface layers is presented. Furthermore, we discuss the possibility of using glancing incidence x-ray diffraction as a non-destructive diagnostic tool for evaluating the quality of Nb thin films used in MKIDs and transmission lines. For a given fabrication process, we have both the X-ray diffraction data of the surface chemistry and a measure of the mm-wave and microwave loss, the latter being made in superconducting resonators.

Possibility of material cost reduction toward development of low-cost second-generation superconducting wires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ichinose, Ataru; Horii, Shigeru; Doi, Toshiya

2017-10-01

Two approaches to reducing the material cost of second-generation superconducting wires are proposed in this paper: (1) instead of the electrical stabilizing layers of silver and copper presently used on the superconducting layer, a Nb-doped SrTiO3 conductive buffer layer and cube-textured Cu are proposed as an advanced architecture, and (2) the use of an electromagnetic (EM) steel tape as a metal substrate of coated conductors in a conventional architecture. In structures fabricated without using electrical stabilizing layers on the superconducting layer, the critical current density achieved at 77 K in a self-field was approximately 2.6 MA/cm2. On the other hand, in the case of using EM steel tapes, although the critical current density was far from practical at the current stage, the biaxial alignment of YBa2Cu3O y (YBCO) and buffer layers was realized without oxidation on the metal surface. In this study, the possibility of material cost reduction has been strongly indicated toward the development of low-cost second-generation superconducting wires in the near future.

Multiple quantum phase transitions and superconductivity in Ce-based heavy fermions.

PubMed

Weng, Z F; Smidman, M; Jiao, L; Lu, Xin; Yuan, H Q

2016-09-01

Heavy fermions have served as prototype examples of strongly-correlated electron systems. The occurrence of unconventional superconductivity in close proximity to the electronic instabilities associated with various degrees of freedom points to an intricate relationship between superconductivity and other electronic states, which is unique but also shares some common features with high temperature superconductivity. The magnetic order in heavy fermion compounds can be continuously suppressed by tuning external parameters to a quantum critical point, and the role of quantum criticality in determining the properties of heavy fermion systems is an important unresolved issue. Here we review the recent progress of studies on Ce based heavy fermion superconductors, with an emphasis on the superconductivity emerging on the edge of magnetic and charge instabilities as well as the quantum phase transitions which occur by tuning different parameters, such as pressure, magnetic field and doping. We discuss systems where multiple quantum critical points occur and whether they can be classified in a unified manner, in particular in terms of the evolution of the Fermi surface topology.

Characterization of the dominant loss mechanisms in superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calusine, Greg; Melville, Alexander; Woods, Wayne; Kim, David K.; Miloshi, Xhovalin; Sevi, Arjan; Yoder, Jonilyn; Oliver, William D.

The characterization of losses in superconducting coplanar waveguide (CPW) resonators is commonly used as a surrogate means to probe relaxation in superconducting qubit capacitor structures. However, this method is complicated by device-to-device variations that result from a sensitivity to variations in fabrication processes, packaging, and measurement methods. We present results on characterizing ensembles of aluminum, niobium, and titanium nitride superconducting CPW resonators to determine the statistical significance of the effects of fabrication process changes on resonator intrinsic quality factor. Furthermore, we report progress on experiments aimed at determining the impact of other competing loss mechanisms such as vortex trapping, package coupling, and substrate loss. These results are then applied to the study of relaxation in superconducting qubits and investigations into the microscopic origins of surface losses. This research was funded in part by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA). The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of IARPA or the US Government.

Three superconducting phases with different categories of pairing in hole- and electron-doped LaFeAs1 -xPxO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyasaka, S.; Uekubo, M.; Tsuji, H.; Nakajima, M.; Tajima, S.; Shiota, T.; Mukuda, H.; Sagayama, H.; Nakao, H.; Kumai, R.; Murakami, Y.

2017-06-01

The phase diagram of the LaFeAs1 -xPxO system has been extensively studied through hole and electron doping as well as As/P substitution. It has been revealed that there are three different superconducting phases with different Fermi surface (FS) topologies and thus with possibly different pairing glues. One of them is well understood as spin fluctuation-mediated superconductivity within a FS nesting scenario. Another one with the FSs in a bad nesting condition must be explained in a different context such as orbital or spin fluctuation in a strongly correlated electronic system. In both phases, T -linear resistivity was commonly observed when the superconducting transition temperature Tc becomes the highest value, indicating that the strength of bosonic fluctuation determines Tc. In the last superconducting phase, the nesting condition of FSs and the related bosonic fluctuation are moderate. Variety of phase diagram characterizes the multiple orbital nature of the iron-based superconductors which are just near the boundary between weak and strong correlation regimes.

Exotic s-wave superconductivity in alkali-doped fullerides.

PubMed

Nomura, Yusuke; Sakai, Shiro; Capone, Massimo; Arita, Ryotaro

2016-04-20

Alkali-doped fullerides (A3C60 with A = K, Rb, Cs) show a surprising phase diagram, in which a high transition-temperature (Tc) s-wave superconducting state emerges next to a Mott insulating phase as a function of the lattice spacing. This is in contrast with the common belief that Mott physics and phonon-driven s-wave superconductivity are incompatible, raising a fundamental question on the mechanism of the high-Tc superconductivity. This article reviews recent ab initio calculations, which have succeeded in reproducing comprehensively the experimental phase diagram with high accuracy and elucidated an unusual cooperation between the electron-phonon coupling and the electron-electron interactions leading to Mott localization to realize an unconventional s-wave superconductivity in the alkali-doped fullerides. A driving force behind the exotic physics is unusual intramolecular interactions, characterized by the coexistence of a strongly repulsive Coulomb interaction and a small effectively negative exchange interaction. This is realized by a subtle energy balance between the coupling with the Jahn-Teller phonons and Hund's coupling within the C60 molecule. The unusual form of the interaction leads to a formation of pairs of up- and down-spin electrons on the molecules, which enables the s-wave pairing. The emergent superconductivity crucially relies on the presence of the Jahn-Teller phonons, but surprisingly benefits from the strong correlations because the correlations suppress the kinetic energy of the electrons and help the formation of the electron pairs, in agreement with previous model calculations. This confirms that the alkali-doped fullerides are a new type of unconventional superconductors, where the unusual synergy between the phonons and Coulomb interactions drives the high-Tc superconductivity.

Superconducting proximity in three-dimensional Dirac materials: Odd-frequency, pseudoscalar, pseudovector, and tensor-valued superconducting orders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faraei, Zahra; Jafari, S. A.

2017-10-01

We find that a conventional s -wave superconductor in proximity to a three-dimensional Dirac material (3DDM), to all orders of perturbation in tunneling, induces a combination of s - and p -wave pairing only. We show that the Lorentz invariance of the superconducting pairing prevents the formation of Cooper pairs with higher orbital angular momenta in the 3DDM. This no-go theorem acquires stronger form when the probability of tunneling from the conventional superconductor to positive and negative energy states of 3DDM are equal. In this case, all the p -wave contribution except for the lowest order, identically vanish and hence we obtain an exact result for the induced p -wave superconductivity in 3DDM. Fierz decomposing the superconducting matrix we find that the temporal component of the vector superconducting order and the spatial components of the pseudovector order have odd-frequency pairing symmetry. We find that the latter is odd with respect to exchange of position and chirality of the electrons in the Cooper pair and is a spin-triplet, which is necessary for NMR detection of such an exotic pseudovector pairing. Moreover, we show that the tensorial order breaks into a polar vector and an axial vector and both of them have conventional pairing symmetry except for being a spin triplet. According to our study, for gapless 3DDM, the tensorial superconducting order will be the only order that is odd with respect to the chemical potential μ . Therefore we predict that a transverse p -n junction binds Majorana fermions. This effect can be used to control the neutral Majorana fermions with electric fields.

Precipitation of hydrides in high purity niobium after different treatments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barkov, F.; Romanenko, A.; Trenikhina, Y.

Precipitation of lossy non-superconducting niobium hydrides represents a known problem for high purity niobium in superconducting applications. Using cryogenic optical and laser confocal scanning microscopy we have directly observed surface precipitation and evolution of niobium hydrides in samples after different treatments used for superconducting RF cavities for particle acceleration. Precipitation is shown to occur throughout the sample volume, and the growth of hydrides is well described by the fast diffusion-controlled process in which almost all hydrogen is precipitated atmore » $T=140$~K within $$\\sim30$$~min. 120$$^{\\circ}$$C baking and mechanical deformation are found to affect hydride precipitation through their influence on the number of nucleation and trapping centers.« less

Superconductivity in SnO: a nonmagnetic analog to Fe-based superconductors?

PubMed

Forthaus, M K; Sengupta, K; Heyer, O; Christensen, N E; Svane, A; Syassen, K; Khomskii, D I; Lorenz, T; Abd-Elmeguid, M M

2010-10-08

We discovered that under pressure SnO with α-PbO structure, the same structure as in many Fe-based superconductors, e.g., β-FeSe, undergoes a transition to a superconducting state for p≳6 GPa with a maximum Tc of 1.4 K at p=9.3 GPa. The pressure dependence of Tc reveals a domelike shape and superconductivity disappears for p≳16 GPa. It is further shown from band structure calculations that SnO under pressure exhibits a Fermi surface topology similar to that reported for some Fe-based superconductors and that the nesting between the hole and electron pockets correlates with the change of Tc as a function of pressure.

High-fidelity gates towards a scalable superconducting quantum processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chow, Jerry M.; Corcoles, Antonio D.; Gambetta, Jay M.; Rigetti, Chad; Johnson, Blake R.; Smolin, John A.; Merkel, Seth; Poletto, Stefano; Rozen, Jim; Rothwell, Mary Beth; Keefe, George A.; Ketchen, Mark B.; Steffen, Matthias

2012-02-01

We experimentally explore the implementation of high-fidelity gates on multiple superconducting qubits coupled to multiple resonators. Having demonstrated all-microwave single and two qubit gates with fidelities > 90% on multi-qubit single-resonator systems, we expand the application to qubits across two resonators and investigate qubit coupling in this circuit. The coupled qubit-resonators are building blocks towards two-dimensional lattice networks for the application of surface code quantum error correction algorithms.

Fermi Surface Studies and Temperature Dependence of the Electron-Positron Momentum Density in the High Critical Temperature Superconducting Yttrium BARIUM(2) COPPER(3) OXYGEN(7-X) System by Two-Dimensional Acar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

von Stetten, Eric Carl

The electron-positron momentum density has been measured by the two dimensional angular correlation of annihilation radiation (2D ACAR) technique for single crystal and polycrystalline (sintered powder) YBa_2 Cu_3O_{7-x} samples. For sintered superconducting and nonsuperconducting samples, the shape and temperature variation of the momentum density was investigated using the high sensitivity 2D ACAR technique. The possible existence of Fermi surfaces (FS's) in the YBa_2Cu _3O_{7-x} system was investigated in high precision 2D ACAR experiments on an oriented (twinned) single crystal superconducting YBa_2Cu _3O_{7-x} (x ~ 0.1) sample, at temperatures above and below the superconducting transition temperature (~85 K). These experiments were performed in the c-axis projection, in order to observe the theoretically predicted cylindrical FS's (if they exist) in a single experiment, without a full reconstruction of the three dimensional momentum density. Large differences were observed between the room temperature 2D ACAR spectra for superconducting and nonsuperconducting sintered powder samples, and smaller differences were observed between the spectra for similarly prepared superconducting samples. For sintered superconducting samples, complex sample dependent temperature variations of the momentum density were observed, in contrast to the small linear temperature variation observed for a sintered powder nonsuperconducting sample. These results are interpreted as manifestations of the theoretically predicted preferential sampling of the linear Cu-O chain region by the positron in the YBa _2Cu_3O _{7-x} system. High precision experiments on the single crystal superconducting sample revealed a nearly isotropic 2D ACAR spectrum, with only four small (~3% of the height at p_{x} = p _{y} = 0) peaks centered along the (110) symmetry lines. A small narrowing of the 2D ACAR spectrum was observed above T_{c}. The Brillouin-zone-reduced momentum density was formed using the "Lock-Crisp-West folding" technique, in order to identify possible FS signatures; several small features were observed that could possibly be due to FS's. A computer study of statistical noise propagation in 2D ACAR data, however, found that the possible FS signatures in the experimental data are similar in shape and magnitude to noise produced features.

Pressure-induced superconductivity in parent CaFeAsF single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Bo; Ma, Yonghui; Mu, Gang; Xiao, Hong

2018-05-01

Flouroarsenide CaFeAsF is a parent compound of the 1111 type of iron-based superconductors. It is similar to the parent LaFeAsO, but it is oxygen-free. To date, studies of pressure-induced effects have only focused on pure and doped polycrystalline CaFeAsF samples. Here, we carried out high-pressure electrical resistivity and Hall coefficient measurements up to 48.2 GPa on single crystals of CaFeAsF. The structural transition temperature Tstr decreased monotonically upon increasing the pressure, and reached ˜60 K at 9.6 GPa. Superconductivity emerged suddenly at 8.6 GPa with the Tc ,onset˜25.7 K , which decreased monotonically with increasing pressure to 5.7 K under 48.2 GPa. Moreover, just after the appearance of superconductivity, the Hall coefficient at 40 K started to decrease with increasing pressure, while keeping its sign negative persisting up to 48.2 GPa.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goldman, Allen M.

The goal of this program was to study new physical phenomena that might be relevant to the performance of conductive devices and circuits of the smallest realizable feature sizes possible using physical rather than biological techniques. Although the initial scientific work supported involved the use of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to ascertain the statistics of the energy level distribution of randomly sized and randomly shaped quantum dots, or nano-crystals, the main focus was on the investigation of selected properties, including superconductivity, of conducting and superconducting nanowires prepared using electron-beam-lithography. We discovered a magnetic-field-restoration of superconductivity in out-of-equilibrium nanowires drivenmore » resistive by current. This phenomenon was explained by the existence of a state in which dissipation coexisted with nonvanishing superconducting order. We also produced ultra-small superconducting loops to study a predicted anomalous fluxoid quantization, but instead, found a magnetic-field-dependent, high-resistance state, rather than superconductivity. Finally, we developed a simple and controllable nanowire in an induced charged layer near the surface of a masked single-crystal insulator, SrTiO 3. The layer was induced using an electric double layer transistor employing an ionic liquid (IL). The transport properties of the induced nanowire resembled those of collective electronic transport through an array of quantum dots.« less

Suppression of low-frequency charge noise in superconducting resonators by surface spin desorption.

PubMed

de Graaf, S E; Faoro, L; Burnett, J; Adamyan, A A; Tzalenchuk, A Ya; Kubatkin, S E; Lindström, T; Danilov, A V

2018-03-20

Noise and decoherence due to spurious two-level systems located at material interfaces are long-standing issues for solid-state quantum devices. Efforts to mitigate the effects of two-level systems have been hampered by a lack of knowledge about their chemical and physical nature. Here, by combining dielectric loss, frequency noise and on-chip electron spin resonance measurements in superconducting resonators, we demonstrate that desorption of surface spins is accompanied by an almost tenfold reduction in the charge-induced frequency noise in the resonators. These measurements provide experimental evidence that simultaneously reveals the chemical signatures of adsorbed magnetic moments and highlights their role in generating charge noise in solid-state quantum devices.

Weight-4 Parity Checks on a Surface Code Sublattice with Superconducting Qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takita, Maika; Corcoles, Antonio; Magesan, Easwar; Bronn, Nicholas; Hertzberg, Jared; Gambetta, Jay; Steffen, Matthias; Chow, Jerry

We present a superconducting qubit quantum processor design amenable to the surface code architecture. In such architecture, parity checks on the data qubits, performed by measuring their X- and Z- syndrome qubits, constitute a critical aspect. Here we show fidelities and outcomes of X- and Z-parity measurements done on a syndrome qubit in a full plaquette consisting of one syndrome qubit coupled via bus resonators to four code qubits. Parities are measured after four code qubits are prepared into sixteen initial states in each basis. Results show strong dependence on ZZ between qubits on the same bus resonators. This work is supported by IARPA under Contract W911NF-10-1-0324.

Dependence of the residual surface resistance of superconducting radio frequency cavities on the cooling dynamics around T c

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Romanenko, A.; Grassellino, A.; Melnychuk, O.

We report a strong effect of the cooling dynamics throughmore » $$T_\\mathrm{c}$$ on the amount of trapped external magnetic flux in superconducting niobium cavities. The effect is similar for fine grain and single crystal niobium and all surface treatments including electropolishing with and without 120$$^\\circ$$C baking and nitrogen doping. Direct magnetic field measurements on the cavity walls show that the effect stems from changes in the flux trapping efficiency: slow cooling leads to almost complete flux trapping and higher residual resistance while fast cooling leads to the much more efficient flux expulsion and lower residual resistance.« less

Passivated niobium cavities

DOEpatents

Myneni, Ganapati Rao [Yorktown, VA; Hjorvarsson, Bjorgvin [Lagga Arby, SE; Ciovati, Gianluigi [Newport News, VA

2006-12-19

A niobium cavity exhibiting high quality factors at high gradients is provided by treating a niobium cavity through a process comprising: 1) removing surface oxides by plasma etching or a similar process; 2) removing hydrogen or other gases absorbed in the bulk niobium by high temperature treatment of the cavity under ultra high vacuum to achieve hydrogen outgassing; and 3) assuring the long term chemical stability of the niobium cavity by applying a passivating layer of a superconducting material having a superconducting transition temperature higher than niobium thereby reducing losses from electron (cooper pair) scattering in the near surface region of the interior of the niobium cavity. According to a preferred embodiment, the passivating layer comprises niobium nitride (NbN) applied by reactive sputtering.

2D massless Dirac Fermi gas model of superconductivity in the surface state of a topological insulator at high magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuravlev, Vladimir; Duan, Wenye; Maniv, Tsofar

2017-10-01

The Nambu-Gorkov Green's function approach is applied to strongly type-II superconductivity in a 2D spin-momentum-locked (Weyl) Fermi gas model at high perpendicular magnetic fields. The resulting phase diagram can be mapped onto that derived for the standard, parabolic band-structure model, having the same Fermi surface parameters, E F and v, but with cyclotron effective mass m\\ast=EF/2v2 . Significant deviations from the predicted mapping are found only for very small E F , when the Landau-Level filling factors are smaller than unity, and E F shrinks below the cutoff energy.

High-gradient, pulsed operation of superconducting niobium cavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Campisi, I.E.; Farkas, Z.D.

1984-02-01

Tests performed on several Niobium TM/sub 010/ cavities at frequencies of about 2856 MHz using a high-power, pulsed method indicate that, at the end of the charging pulse, peak surface magnetic fields of up to approx. 1300 Oe, corresponding to a peak surface electric field of approx. 68 MV/m, can be reached at 4.2/sup 0/K without appreciable average losses. Further studies of the properties of superconductors under pulsed operation might shed light on fundamental properties of rf superconductivity, as well as lead to the possibility of applying the pulse method to the operation of high-gradient linear colliders. 7 references, 30more » figures, 2 tables.« less

Interband quasiparticle scattering in superconducting LiFeAs reconciles photoemission and tunneling measurements.

PubMed

Hess, Christian; Sykora, Steffen; Hänke, Torben; Schlegel, Ronny; Baumann, Danny; Zabolotnyy, Volodymyr B; Harnagea, Luminita; Wurmehl, Sabine; van den Brink, Jeroen; Büchner, Bernd

2013-01-04

Several angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) studies reveal a poorly nested Fermi surface of LiFeAs, far away from a spin density wave instability, and clear-cut superconducting gap anisotropies. On the other hand a very different, more nested Fermi surface and dissimilar gap anisotropies have been obtained from quasiparticle interference (QPI) data, which were interpreted as arising from intraband scattering within holelike bands. Here we show that this ARPES-QPI paradox is completely resolved by interband scattering between the holelike bands. The resolution follows from an excellent agreement between experimental quasiparticle scattering data and T-matrix QPI calculations (based on experimental band structure data), which allows disentangling interband and intraband scattering processes.

Surface Participation Effects in Titanium Nitride and Niobium Resonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dove, Allison; Kreikebaum, John Mark; Livingston, William; Delva, Remy; Qiu, Yanjie; Lolowang, Reinhard; Ramasesh, Vinay; O'Brien, Kevin; Siddiqi, Irfan

Improving the coherence time of superconducting qubits requires a precise understanding of the location and density of surface defects. Superconducting microwave resonators are commonly used for quantum state readout and are a versatile testbed to systematically characterize materials properties as a function of device geometry and fabrication method. We report on sputter deposited titanium nitride and niobium on silicon coplanar waveguide resonators patterned using reactive ion etches to define the device geometry. We discuss the impact of different growth conditions (temperature and electrical bias) and processing techniques on the internal quality factor (Q) of these devices. In particular, to investigate the effect of surface participation, we use a Bosch process to etch many-micron-deep trenches in the silicon substrate and quantify the impact of etch depth and profile on the internal Q. This research was supported by the ARO.

First principle study of heterostructure of BaBi3-stanene for topological superconductor applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kore, Ashish; Singh, Poorva

2018-05-01

We have studied the heterostructure of BaBi3 (superconductor) and stanene (topological insulator) with the aim of inducing topological superconductivity in stanene, due to proximity with superconductor BaBi3. The density functional theory calculations have been done for 2D structure of BaBi3 as well as for monolayer of stanene, separately. We find that compared to bulk BaBi3, the 2D bandstructure has contributions coming from both Ba and Bi atoms, unlike bulk where only Bi-p states are contributing to the bandstructure. Surface reconstruction of surface and sub-surface layer of 2D BaBi3 is also evident. The bandstructure of heterostructure of BaBi3-stanene is expected to bring out explicit features of topological superconductivity and indicating the presence of Majorana fermions.

Effect of interstitial impurities on the field dependent microwave surface resistance of niobium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martinello, M., E-mail: mmartine@fnal.gov; Checchin, M.; Department of Physics, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois 60616

Previous work has demonstrated that the radio frequency surface resistance of niobium resonators is dramatically reduced when nitrogen impurities are dissolved as interstitial in the material. This effect is attributed to the lowering of the Mattis-Bardeen surface resistance with increasing accelerating field; however, the microscopic origin of this phenomenon is poorly understood. Meanwhile, an enhancement of the sensitivity to trapped magnetic field is typically observed for such cavities. In this paper, we conduct a systematic study on these different components contributing to the total surface resistance as a function of different levels of dissolved nitrogen, in comparison with standard surfacemore » treatments for niobium resonators. Adding these results together, we are able to show which is the optimum surface treatment that maximizes the Q-factor of superconducting niobium resonators as a function of expected trapped magnetic field in the cavity walls. These results also provide insights on the physics behind the change in the field dependence of the Mattis-Bardeen surface resistance, and of the trapped magnetic vortex induced losses in superconducting niobium resonators.« less

Revealing Surface States in In-Doped SnTe Nanoplates with Low Bulk Mobility.

PubMed

Shen, Jie; Xie, Yujun; Cha, Judy J

2015-06-10

Indium (In) doping in topological crystalline insulator SnTe induces superconductivity, making In-doped SnTe a candidate for a topological superconductor. SnTe nanostructures offer well-defined nanoscale morphology and high surface-to-volume ratios to enhance surface effects. Here, we study In-doped SnTe nanoplates, In(x)Sn(1-x)Te, with x ranging from 0 to 0.1 and show they superconduct. More importantly, we show that In doping reduces the bulk mobility of In(x)Sn(1-x)Te such that the surface states are revealed in magnetotransport despite the high bulk carrier density. This is manifested by two-dimensional linear magnetoresistance in high magnetic fields, which is independent of temperature up to 10 K. Aging experiments show that the linear magnetoresistance is sensitive to ambient conditions, further confirming its surface origin. We also show that the weak antilocalization observed in In(x)Sn(1-x)Te nanoplates is a bulk effect. Thus, we show that nanostructures and reducing the bulk mobility are effective strategies to reveal the surface states and test for topological superconductors.

Anisotropy of the Fermi surface, Fermi velocity, many-body enhancement, and superconducting energy gap in Nb

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crabtree, G.W.; Dye, D.H.; Karim, D.P.

1987-02-01

The detailed angular dependence of the Fermi radius k/sub F/, the Fermi velocity v/sub F/(k), the many-body enhancement factor lambda(k), and the superconducting energy gap ..delta..(k), for electrons on the Fermi surface of Nb are derived with use of the de Haas--van Alphen (dHvA) data of Karim, Ketterson, and Crabtree (J. Low Temp. Phys. 30, 389 (1978)), a Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker parametrization scheme, and an empirically adjusted band-structure calculation of Koelling. The parametrization is a nonrelativistic five-parameter fit allowing for cubic rather than spherical symmetry inside the muffin-tin spheres. The parametrized Fermi surface gives a detailed interpretation of the previously unexplained kappa,more » ..cap alpha..', and ..cap alpha..'' orbits in the dHvA data. Comparison of the parametrized Fermi velocities with those of the empirically adjusted band calculation allow the anisotropic many-body enhancement factor lambda(k) to be determined. Theoretical calculations of the electron-phonon interaction based on the tight-binding model agree with our derived values of lambda(k) much better than those based on the rigid-muffin-tin approximation. The anisotropy in the superconducting energy gap ..delta..(k) is estimated from our results for lambda(k), assuming weak anisotropy.« less

Anisotropy of the Fermi surface, Fermi velocity, many-body enhancement, and superconducting energy gap in Nb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crabtree, G. W.; Dye, D. H.; Karim, D. P.; Campbell, S. A.; Ketterson, J. B.

1987-02-01

The detailed angular dependence of the Fermi radius kF, the Fermi velocity vF(k), the many-body enhancement factor λ(k), and the superconducting energy gap Δ(k), for electrons on the Fermi surface of Nb are derived with use of the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) data of Karim, Ketterson, and Crabtree [J. Low Temp. Phys. 30, 389 (1978)], a Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker parametrization scheme, and an empirically adjusted band-structure calculation of Koelling. The parametrization is a nonrelativistic five-parameter fit allowing for cubic rather than spherical symmetry inside the muffin-tin spheres. The parametrized Fermi surface gives a detailed interpretation of the previously unexplained κ, α', and α'' orbits in the dHvA data. Comparison of the parametrized Fermi velocities with those of the empirically adjusted band calculation allow the anisotropic many-body enhancement factor λ(k) to be determined. Theoretical calculations of the electron-phonon interaction based on the tight-binding model agree with our derived values of λ(k) much better than those based on the rigid-muffin-tin approximation. The anisotropy in the superconducting energy gap Δ(k) is estimated from our results for λ(k), assuming weak anisotropy.

Response of an oscillating superleak transducer to a pointlike heat source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quadt, A.; Schröder, B.; Uhrmacher, M.; Weingarten, J.; Willenberg, B.; Vennekate, H.

2012-03-01

A new technique of superconducting cavity diagnostics has been introduced by D. L. Hartill at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. It uses oscillating superleak transducers (OST) which detect the heat transferred from a cavity’s quench point via Second Sound through the superfluid He bath, needed to cool the superconducting cavity. The localization of the quench point is done by triangulation. The observed response of an OST is a nontrivial, but reproducible pattern of oscillations. A small helium evaporation cryostat was built which allows the investigation of the response of an OST in greater detail. The distance between a pointlike electrical heater and the OST can be varied. The OST can be mounted either parallel or perpendicular to the plate that houses the heat source. If the artificial quench point releases an amount of energy compatible to a real quench spot on a cavity’s surface, the OST signal starts with a negative pulse, which is usually strong enough to allow automatic detection. Furthermore, the reflection of the Second Sound on the wall is observed. A reflection coefficient R=0.39±0.05 of the glass wall is measured. This excludes a strong influence of multiple reflections in the complex OST response. Fourier analyses show three main frequencies, found in all OST spectra. They can be interpreted as modes of an oscillating circular membrane.

Superconductivity in films of Pb/PbSe core/shell nanocrystals.

PubMed

Zolotavin, Pavlo; Guyot-Sionnest, Philippe

2012-09-25

Superconductivity in films of electronically coupled colloidal lead nanocrystals is reported. The coupling between particles is in situ controlled through the conversion of the oxides present on the surface of the nanoparticles to chalcogenides. This transformation allows for a 10(9)-fold increase in the conductivity. The temperature of the onset of the superconductivity was found to depend upon the degree of coupling of the nanoparticles in the vicinity of the insulator-superconductor transition. The critical current density of the best sample of Pb/PbSe nanocrystals at zero magnetic field was determined to be 4 × 10(3) A/cm(2). In turn, the critical field of the sample shows 50-fold enhancement compared to bulk Pb.

Flexible Microstrip Circuits for Superconducting Electronics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chervenak, James; Mateo, Jennette

2013-01-01

Flexible circuits with superconducting wiring atop polyimide thin films are being studied to connect large numbers of wires between stages in cryogenic apparatus with low heat load. The feasibility of a full microstrip process, consisting of two layers of superconducting material separated by a thin dielectric layer on 5 mil (approximately 0.13 mm) Kapton sheets, where manageable residual stress remains in the polyimide film after processing, has been demonstrated. The goal is a 2-mil (approximately 0.051-mm) process using spin-on polyimide to take advantage of the smoother polyimide surface for achieving highquality metal films. Integration of microstrip wiring with this polyimide film may require high-temperature bakes to relax the stress in the polyimide film between metallization steps.

Anisotropic Eliashberg theory of MgB 2: Tc, isotope effects, superconducting energy gaps, quasiparticles, and specific heat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Hyoung Joon; Cohen, Marvin L.; Louie, Steven G.

2003-03-01

The anisotropic Eliashberg formalism, employing results from the ab initio pseudopotential density functional calculations, is applied to study the superconducting properties of MgB 2. It is shown that the relatively high transition temperature of MgB 2 originates from strong electron-phonon coupling of the hole states in the boron σ-bonds although the coupling strength averaged over the Fermi surface is moderate, and the reduction of the isotope effect arises from the large anharmonicity of the relevant phonons. The superconducting energy gap is nodeless but its value varies strongly on different pieces of the Fermi surface. The gap values Δ( k) cluster into two groups at low temperature, a small value of ∼2 meV and a large value of ∼7 meV, resulting in two thresholds in the quasiparticle density of states and an increase in the specific heat at low temperature due to quasiparticle excitations over the small gap. All of these results are in good agreement with corresponding experiments and support the view that MgB 2 is a phonon-mediated multiple-gap superconductor.

Superconductivity mediated by quantum critical antiferromagnetic fluctuations: the rise and fall of hot spots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaoyu; Schattner, Yoni; Berg, Erez; Fernandes, Rafael

The maximum transition temperature Tc observed in the phase diagrams of several unconventional superconductors takes place in the vicinity of a putative antiferromagnetic quantum critical point. This observation motivated the theoretical proposal that superconductivity in these systems may be driven by quantum critical fluctuations, which in turn can also promote non-Fermi liquid behavior. In this talk, we present a combined analytical and sign-problem-free Quantum Monte Carlo investigation of the spin-fermion model - a widely studied low-energy model for the interplay between superconductivity and magnetic fluctuations. By engineering a series of band dispersions that interpolate between near-nested and open Fermi surfaces, and by also varying the strength of the spin-fermion interaction, we find that the hot spots of the Fermi surface provide the dominant contribution to the pairing instability in this model. We show that the analytical expressions for Tc and for the pairing susceptibility, obtained within a large-N Eliashberg approximation to the spin-fermion model, agree well with the Quantum Monte Carlo data, even in the regime of interactions comparable to the electronic bandwidth. DE-SC0012336.

From single magnetic adatoms on superconductors to coupled spin chains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franke, Katharina J.

Magnetic adsorbates on conventional s-wave superconductors lead to exchange interactions that induce Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states inside the superconducting energy gap. Here, we employ tunneling spectroscopy at 1.1 K to investigate magnetic atoms and chains on superconducting Pb surfaces. We show that individual Manganese (Mn) atoms give rise to a distinct number of YSR-states. The single-atom junctions are stable over several orders of magnitude in conductance. We identify single-electron tunneling as well as Andreev processes. When the atoms are brought into sufficiently close distance, the Shiba states hybridize, thus giving rise to states with bonding and anti-bonding character. It has been shown that the Pb(110) surface supports the self-assembly of Fe chains, which exhibit fingerprints of Majorana bound states. Using superconducting tips, we resolve a rich subgap structure including peaks at zero energy and low-energy resonances, which overlap with the putative Majorana states. We gratefully acknowledge funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through collaborative research Grant Sfb 658, and through Grant FR2726/4, as well by the European Research Council through Consolidator Grant NanoSpin.

An improved oxygen diffusion model to explain the effect of low-temperature baking on high field losses in niobium superconducting cavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ciovati, Gianluigi

Radio-frequency (RF) superconducting cavities made of high purity niobium are widely used to accelerate charged particle beams in particle accelerators. The major limitation to achieve RF field values approaching the theoretical limit for niobium is represented by ''anomalous'' losses which degrade the quality factor of the cavities starting at peak surface magnetic fields of about 100 mT, in absence of field emission. These high field losses are often referred to as ''Q-drop''. It has been observed that the Q-drop is drastically reduced by baking the cavities at 120 C for about 48 h under ultrahigh vacuum. An improved oxygen diffusionmore » model for the niobium-oxide system is proposed to explain the benefit of the low-temperature baking on the Q-drop in niobium superconducting rf cavities. The model shows that baking at 120 C for 48 h allows oxygen to diffuse away from the surface, and therefore increasing the lower critical field towards the value for pure niobium.« less

Superconducting radio-frequency cavities made from medium and low-purity niobium ingots

DOE PAGES

Ciovati, Gianluigi; Dhakal, Pashupati; Myneni, Ganapati R.

2016-04-07

Superconducting radio-frequency cavities made of ingot niobium with residual resistivity ratio (RRR) greater than 250 have proven to have similar or better performance than fine-grain Nb cavities of the same purity, after standard processing. The high purity requirement contributes to the high cost of the material. As superconducting accelerators operating in continuous-wave typically require cavities to operate at moderate accelerating gradients, using lower purity material could be advantageous not only to reduce cost but also to achieve higher Q 0-values. In this contribution we present the results from cryogenic RF tests of 1.3–1.5 GHz single-cell cavities made of ingot Nbmore » of medium (RRR = 100–150) and low (RRR = 60) purity from different suppliers. Cavities made of medium-purity ingots routinely achieved peak surface magnetic field values greater than 70 mT with an average Q 0-value of 2 × 10 10 at 2 K after standard processing treatments. As a result, the performances of cavities made of low-purity ingots were affected by significant pitting of the surface after chemical etching.« less

The overdoped region of the high Tc superconducting Bi2212 revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaki, N.; Yang, H.-B.; Rameau, J. D.; Johnson, P. D.; Claus, H.; Hinks, D. G.

High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) is used to probe the temperature dependence of the gaps observed in the antinodal region of the Fermi surface (FS) in overdoped Bi2212. In particular we study samples with doping levels greater than 0.19, the latter having previously been determined to be the doping level associated with a Fermi surface reconstruction. Careful simulation of the measured ARPES spectra indicates that any gap observed in this region of the FS at these doping levels is a reflection of the range of superconducting gaps associated with inhomogeneities observed in STM studies of the same systems. With this observation we are able to reexamine the phase diagram associated with the Bi2212 system and discuss the origin of the pseudogap associated with the underdoped region. This work is supported in part by the Center for Emergent Superconductivity (CES), an EFRC funded by the U.S. DOE. The work is also supported in part by the U.S. DOE under Contract No. DE-AC02- 98CH10886 at BNL and Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357 at ANL.

A non-axial superconducting magnet design for optimized patient access and minimal SAD for use in a Linac-MR hybrid: proof of concept.

PubMed

Yaghoobpour Tari, Shima; Wachowicz, Keith; Gino Fallone, B

2017-04-21

A prototype rotating hybrid magnetic resonance imaging system and linac has been developed to allow for simultaneous imaging and radiation delivery parallel to B 0 . However, the design of a compact magnet capable of rotation in a small vault with sufficient patient access and a typical clinical source-to-axis distance (SAD) is challenging. This work presents a novel superconducting magnet design as a proof of concept that allows for a reduced SAD and ample patient access by moving the superconducting coils to the side of the yoke. The yoke and pole-plate structures are shaped to direct the magnetic flux appropriately. The outer surface of the pole plate is optimized subject to the minimization of a cost function, which evaluates the uniformity of the magnetic field over an ellipsoid. The magnetic field calculations required in this work are performed with the 3D finite element method software package Opera-3D. Each tentative design strategy is virtually modeled in this software package, which is externally controlled by MATLAB, with its key geometries defined as variables. The optimization variables are the thickness of the pole plate at control points distributed over the pole plate surface. A novel design concept as a superconducting non-axial magnet is introduced, which could create a large uniform B 0 magnetic field with fewer geometric restriction. This non-axial 0.5 T superconducting magnet has a moderately reduced SAD of 123 cm and a vertical patient opening of 68 cm. This work is presented as a proof of principle to investigate the feasibility of a non-axial magnet with the coils located around the yoke, and the results encourage future design optimizations to maximize the benefits of this non-axial design.

In Situ deposition of YBCO high-T(sub c) superconducting thin films by MOCVD and PE-MOCVD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhao, J.; Noh, D. W.; Chern, C.; Li, Y. Q.; Norris, P.; Gallois, B.; Kear, B.

1990-01-01

Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) offers the advantages of a high degree of compositional control, adaptability for large scale production, and the potential for low temperature fabrication. The capability of operating at high oxygen partial pressure is particularly suitable for in situ formation of high temperature superconducting (HTSC) films. Yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) thin films having a sharp zero-resistance transition with T( sub c) greater than 90 K and Jc approx. 10 to the 4th power A on YSZ have been prepared, in situ, at a substrate temperature of about 800 C. Moreover, the ability to form oxide films at low temperature is very desirable for device applications of HTSC materials. Such a process would permit the deposition of high quality HTSC films with a smooth surface on a variety of substrates. Highly c-axis oriented, dense, scratch resistant, superconducting YBCO thin films with mirror-like surfaces have been prepared, in situ, at a reduced substrate temperature as low as 570 C by a remote microwave-plasma enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (PE-MOCVD) process. Nitrous oxide was used as a reactant gas to generate active oxidizing species. This process, for the first time, allows the formation of YBCO thin films with the orthorhombic superconducting phase in the as-deposited state. The as-deposited films grown by PE-MOCVD show attainment of zero resistance at 72 K with a transition width of about 5 K. MOCVD was carried out in a commercial production scale reactor with the capability of uniform deposition over 100 sq cm per growth run. Preliminary results indicate that PE-MOCVD is a very attractive thin film deposition process for superconducting device technology.

In-situ deposition of YBCO high-Tc superconducting thin films by MOCVD and PE-MOCVD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhao, J.; Noh, D. W.; Chern, C.; Li, Y. Q.; Norris, P. E.; Kear, B.; Gallois, B.

1991-01-01

Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) offers the advantages of a high degree of compositional control, adaptability for large scale production, and the potential for low temperature fabrication. The capability of operating at high oxygen partial pressure is particularly suitable for in situ formation of high temperature superconducting (HTSC) films. Yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) thin films having a sharp zero-resistance transition with T(sub c) greater than 90 K and J(sub c) of approximately 10(exp 4) A on YSZ have been prepared, in situ, at a substrate temperature of about 800 C. Moreover, the ability to form oxide films at low temperature is very desirable for device applications of HTSC materials. Such a process would permit the deposition of high quality HTSC films with a smooth surface on a variety of substrates. Highly c-axis oriented, dense, scratch resistant, superconducting YBCO thin films with mirror-like surfaces have been prepared, in situ, at a reduced substrate temperature as low as 570 C by a remote microwave-plasma enhanced metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (PE-MOCVD) process. Nitrous oxide was used as a reactant gas to generate active oxidizing species. This process, for the first time, allows the formation of YBCO thin films with the orthorhombic superconducting phase in the as-deposited state. The as-deposited films grown by PE-MOCVD show attainment of zero resistance at 72 K with a transition width of about 5 K. MOCVD was carried out in a commercial production scale reactor with the capability of uniform deposition over 100 sq cm per growth run. Preliminary results indicate that PE-MOCVD is a very attractive thin film deposition process for superconducting device technology.

A non-axial superconducting magnet design for optimized patient access and minimal SAD for use in a Linac-MR hybrid: proof of concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yaghoobpour Tari, Shima; Wachowicz, Keith; Fallone, B. Gino

2017-04-01

A prototype rotating hybrid magnetic resonance imaging system and linac has been developed to allow for simultaneous imaging and radiation delivery parallel to B 0. However, the design of a compact magnet capable of rotation in a small vault with sufficient patient access and a typical clinical source-to-axis distance (SAD) is challenging. This work presents a novel superconducting magnet design as a proof of concept that allows for a reduced SAD and ample patient access by moving the superconducting coils to the side of the yoke. The yoke and pole-plate structures are shaped to direct the magnetic flux appropriately. The outer surface of the pole plate is optimized subject to the minimization of a cost function, which evaluates the uniformity of the magnetic field over an ellipsoid. The magnetic field calculations required in this work are performed with the 3D finite element method software package Opera-3D. Each tentative design strategy is virtually modeled in this software package, which is externally controlled by MATLAB, with its key geometries defined as variables. The optimization variables are the thickness of the pole plate at control points distributed over the pole plate surface. A novel design concept as a superconducting non-axial magnet is introduced, which could create a large uniform B 0 magnetic field with fewer geometric restriction. This non-axial 0.5 T superconducting magnet has a moderately reduced SAD of 123 cm and a vertical patient opening of 68 cm. This work is presented as a proof of principle to investigate the feasibility of a non-axial magnet with the coils located around the yoke, and the results encourage future design optimizations to maximize the benefits of this non-axial design.

Influence of disorder on the superconducting critical temperature in indium-opal nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakharchuk, I.; Januzaj, A.; Mikhailin, N. Yu.; Traito, K. B.; Chernyaev, A. V.; Romanov, S. G.; Safonchik, M.; Shamshur, D. V.; Lähderanta, E.

2018-06-01

Transport properties of bulk indium-opal and indium-porous glass superconducting nanocomposites possessing moderate and strong disorder are investigated. A strongly nonmonotonous dependence of the global critical temperature Tc versus normal state conductivity of samples is found. The maximum, which is observed at moderate disorder, has Tc higher than that of clean bulk indium. The increasing part can be explained by the Eliashberg equations with disorder and an additional mechanism of interaction between superconducting and dielectric granules. The descending part of the maximum at higher disorder can be explained by the increasing of long-range Coulomb repulsion due to diffusion of charges. Negative slope in magnetic field dependence of resistivity and a peak in the temperature dependence of resistivity, observed in the sample near the proximity to the disorder-induced superconductor-insulator transition (SIT). A large difference between the onset temperature of superconducting fluctuations, Tcon , and global critical temperature Tc is found and considered in the framework of the weak multifractal theory. Slow time-logarithmic relaxation of the resistivity between Tc and Tcon is observed, which assumes existence of the precursor state near the SIT. This unusual state is discussed in the scope of the many-body localization theory.

High- T c Superconductivity in FeSe at High Pressure: Dominant Hole Carriers and Enhanced Spin Fluctuations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sun, J. P.; Ye, G. Z.; Shahi, P.

The importance of electron-hole interband interactions is widely acknowledged for iron-pnictide superconductors with high transition temperatures (T c). However, high-T c superconductivity without hole carriers has been suggested in FeSe single-layer films and intercalated iron-selenides, raising a fundamental question whether iron pnictides and chalcogenides have different pairing mechanisms. Here, we study the properties of electronic structure in another high-T c phase induced by pressure in bulk FeSe from magneto-transport measurements and first-principles calculations. With increasing pressure, the low-T c superconducting phase transforms into high-T c phase, where we find the normal-state Hall resistivity changes sign from negative to positive, demonstratingmore » dominant hole carriers in striking contrast to other FeSe-derived high-T c systems. Moreover, the Hall coefficient is remarkably enlarged and the magnetoresistance exhibits anomalous scaling behaviours, evidencing strongly enhanced interband spin fluctuations in the high-T c phase. These results in FeSe highlight similarities with high-T c phases of iron pnictides, constituting a step toward a unified understanding of iron-based superconductivity.« less

High- T c Superconductivity in FeSe at High Pressure: Dominant Hole Carriers and Enhanced Spin Fluctuations

DOE PAGES

Sun, J. P.; Ye, G. Z.; Shahi, P.; ...

2017-04-07

The importance of electron-hole interband interactions is widely acknowledged for iron-pnictide superconductors with high transition temperatures (T c). However, high-T c superconductivity without hole carriers has been suggested in FeSe single-layer films and intercalated iron-selenides, raising a fundamental question whether iron pnictides and chalcogenides have different pairing mechanisms. Here, we study the properties of electronic structure in another high-T c phase induced by pressure in bulk FeSe from magneto-transport measurements and first-principles calculations. With increasing pressure, the low-T c superconducting phase transforms into high-T c phase, where we find the normal-state Hall resistivity changes sign from negative to positive, demonstratingmore » dominant hole carriers in striking contrast to other FeSe-derived high-T c systems. Moreover, the Hall coefficient is remarkably enlarged and the magnetoresistance exhibits anomalous scaling behaviours, evidencing strongly enhanced interband spin fluctuations in the high-T c phase. These results in FeSe highlight similarities with high-T c phases of iron pnictides, constituting a step toward a unified understanding of iron-based superconductivity.« less

Effect of Surface Morphology and Magnetic Impurities on the Electronic Structure in Cobalt-Doped BaFe 2 As 2 Superconductors

DOE PAGES

Zou, Qiang; Wu, Zhiming; Fu, Mingming; ...

2017-02-03

Combined scanning tunneling microscopy, spectroscopy, and local barrier height (LBH) studies show that low-temperature-cleaved optimally doped Ba(Fe 1–xCo x) 2As 2 crystals with x = 0.06, with T c = 22 K, have complicated morphologies. Although the cleavage surface and hence the morphologies are variable, the superconducting gap maps show the same gap widths and nanometer size inhomogeneities irrelevant to the morphology. Based on the spectroscopy and LBH maps, the bright patches and dark stripes in the morphologies are identified as Ba- and As-dominated surface terminations, respectively. Magnetic impurities, possibly due to Co or Fe atoms, are believed to createmore » local in-gap state and, in addition, suppress the superconducting coherence peaks. Lastly, this study will clarify the confusion on the cleavage surface terminations of the Fe-based superconductors and its relation with the electronic structures.« less

Laser surface interaction of high-Tc superconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, C. H.; Mccann, M. P.; Phillips, R. C.

1991-01-01

During the past two years, one of the most exciting research fields in science has been the study of the newly discovered high-T(sub c) metal oxide superconductors. Although many theoretical models were proposed, there is no general agreement on any theory to explain these materials. One of the peculiar features of these high-T(sub c) materials is the noninteger number of oxygen atoms. The oxygen content is extremely critical to the superconductive properties. Take YBa2Cu3O(7-x) as an example. Its superconductive properties disappear whenever x is larger than 0.5. The existence of Cu(+ 3) was considered to account for x less than 0.5. However, results from mass spectroscopy of laser desorbed species indicate that significant quantities of oxygen molecules are trapped in the bulk of these high-T(sub c) superconductors. It appears that these trapped oxygen molecules may play key roles in superconductive properties. Preparation of superconductive thin films are considered very important for the applications of these new superconductors for the electronics industry. Fluorescence spectra and ion spectra following laser ablation of high-temperature superconductors were obtained. A real time monitor for preparation of superconductive thin films can possibly be developed.

Interrogating the superconductor Ca- 10(Pt 4As 8)(Fe 2-xPt xAs 2) 5 Layer-by-layer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Jisun; Zhu, Yimei; Nam, Hyoungdo

2016-10-14

Ever since the discovery of high-Tc superconductivity in layered cuprates, the roles that individual layers play have been debated, due to difficulty in layer-by-layer characterization. While there is similar challenge in many Fe-based layered superconductors, the newly-discovered Ca 10(Pt 4As 8)(Fe 2As 2) 5 provides opportunities to explore superconductivity layer by layer, because it contains both superconducting building blocks (Fe 2As 2 layers) and intermediate Pt 4As 8 layers. Cleaving a single crystal under ultra-high vacuum results in multiple terminations: an ordered Pt 4As 8 layer, two reconstructed Ca layers on the top of a Pt 4As 8 layer, andmore » disordered Ca layer on the top of Fe 2As 2 layer. The electronic properties of individual layers are studied using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S), which reveals different spectra for each surface. Remarkably superconducting coherence peaks are seen only on the ordered Ca/Pt 4As 8 layer. Our results indicate that an ordered structure with proper charge balance is required in order to preserve superconductivity.« less

The first man-loading high temperature superconducting Maglev test vehicle in the world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jiasu; Wang, Suyu; Zeng, Youwen; Huang, Haiyu; Luo, Fang; Xu, Zhipei; Tang, Qixue; Lin, Guobin; Zhang, Cuifang; Ren, Zhongyou; Zhao, Guomin; Zhu, Degui; Wang, Shaohua; Jiang, He; Zhu, Min; Deng, Changyan; Hu, Pengfei; Li, Chaoyong; Liu, Fang; Lian, Jisan; Wang, Xiaorong; Wang, Lianghui; Shen, Xuming; Dong, Xiaogang

2002-10-01

The first man-loading high temperature superconducting Maglev test vehicle in the world is reported. This vehicle was first tested successfully on December 31, 2000 in the Applied Superconductivity Laboratory, Southwest Jiaotong University, China. Heretofore over 17,000 passengers took the vehicle, and it operates very well from beginning to now. The function of suspension is separated from one of propulsion. The high temperature superconducting Maglev provides inherent stable forces both in the levitation and in the guidance direction. The vehicle is 3.5 m long, 1.2 m wide, and 0.8 m high. When five people stand on vehicle and the total weight is 530 kg, the net levitation gap is more than 20 mm. The whole vehicle system includes three parts, vehicle body, guideway and controlling system. The high temperature superconducting Maglev equipment on board is the most important for the system. The onboard superconductors are melt-textured YBaCuO bulks. The superconductors are fixed on the bottom of liquid nitrogen vessels and cooled by liquid nitrogen. The guideway consists of two parallel permanent magnetic tracks, whose surface concentrating magnetic field is up to 1.2 T. The guideway is 15.5 m long.

Interrogating the superconductor Ca10(Pt4As8)(Fe2-xPtxAs2)5 Layer-by-layer.

PubMed

Kim, Jisun; Nam, Hyoungdo; Li, Guorong; Karki, A B; Wang, Zhen; Zhu, Yimei; Shih, Chih-Kang; Zhang, Jiandi; Jin, Rongying; Plummer, E W

2016-10-14

Ever since the discovery of high-T c superconductivity in layered cuprates, the roles that individual layers play have been debated, due to difficulty in layer-by-layer characterization. While there is similar challenge in many Fe-based layered superconductors, the newly-discovered Ca 10 (Pt 4 As 8 )(Fe 2 As 2 ) 5 provides opportunities to explore superconductivity layer by layer, because it contains both superconducting building blocks (Fe 2 As 2 layers) and intermediate Pt 4 As 8 layers. Cleaving a single crystal under ultra-high vacuum results in multiple terminations: an ordered Pt 4 As 8 layer, two reconstructed Ca layers on the top of a Pt 4 As 8 layer, and disordered Ca layer on the top of Fe 2 As 2 layer. The electronic properties of individual layers are studied using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S), which reveals different spectra for each surface. Remarkably superconducting coherence peaks are seen only on the ordered Ca/Pt 4 As 8 layer. Our results indicate that an ordered structure with proper charge balance is required in order to preserve superconductivity.

High voltage insulation of bushing for HTS power equipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Woo-Jin; Choi, Jae-Hyeong; Kim, Sang-Hyun

2012-12-01

For the operation of high temperature superconducting (HTS) power equipments, it is necessary to develop insulating materials and high voltage (HV) insulation technology at cryogenic temperature of bushing. Liquid nitrogen (LN2) is an attractive dielectric liquid. Also, the polymer insulating materials are expected to be used as solid materials such as glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP), polytetra-fluoroethylene (PTFE, Teflon), Silicon (Si) rubber, aromatic polyamide (Nomex), EPDM/Silicon alloy compound (EPDM/Si). In this paper, the surface flashover characteristics of various insulating materials in LN2 are studied. These results are studied at both AC and impulse voltage under a non-uniform field. The use of GFRP and Teflon as insulation body for HTS bushing should be much desirable. Especially, GFRP is excellent material not only surface flashover characteristics but also mechanical characteristics at cryogenic temperature. The surface flashover is most serious problem for the shed design in LN2 and operation of superconducting equipments.

Unusual two-dimensional behavior of iron-based superconductors with low anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalenyuk, A. A.; Pagliero, A.; Borodianskyi, E. A.; Aswartham, S.; Wurmehl, S.; Büchner, B.; Chareev, D. A.; Kordyuk, A. A.; Krasnov, V. M.

2017-10-01

We study angular-dependent magnetoresistance in iron-based superconductors Ba1 -xNaxFe2As2 and FeTe1 -xSex . Both superconductors have relatively small anisotropies γ ˜2 and exhibit a three-dimensional (3D) behavior at low temperatures. However, we observe that they start to exhibit a profound two-dimensional behavior at elevated temperatures and in applied magnetic field parallel to the surface. We conclude that the unexpected two-dimensional (2D) behavior of the studied low-anisotropic superconductors is not related to layeredness of the materials, but is caused by appearance of surface superconductivity when magnetic field exceeds the upper critical field Hc 2(T ) for destruction of bulk superconductivity. We argue that the corresponding 3D-2D bulk-to-surface dimensional transition can be used for accurate determination of the upper critical field.

XPS studies of nitrogen doping niobium used for accelerator applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ziqin; Lu, Xiangyang; Tan, Weiwei; Zhao, Jifei; Yang, Deyu; Yang, Yujia; He, Yuan; Zhou, Kui

2018-05-01

Nitrogen doping study on niobium (Nb) samples used for the fabrication of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities was carried out. The samples' surface treatment was attempted to replicate that of the Nb SRF cavities, which includes heavy electropolishing (EP), nitrogen doping and the subsequent EP with different amounts of material removal. The surface chemical composition of Nb samples with different post treatments has been studied by XPS. The chemical composition of Nb, O, C and N was presented before and after Gas Cluster Ion Beam (GCIB) etching. No signals of poorly superconducting nitrides NbNx was found on the surface of any doped Nb sample with the 2/6 recipe before GCIB etching. However, in the depth range greater than 30 nm, the content of N element is below the XPS detection precision scope even for the Nb sample directly after nitrogen doping treatment with the 2/6 recipe.

Superconductivity in YTE2Ge2 compounds (TE = d-electron transition metal)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chajewski, G.; Samsel-Czekała, M.; Hackemer, A.; Wiśniewski, P.; Pikul, A. P.; Kaczorowski, D.

2018-05-01

Polycrystalline samples of YTE2Ge2 with TE = Co, Ni, Ru, Rh, Pd and Pt were synthesized and characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction and low-temperature electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements, supplemented by fully relativistic full-potential local-orbital band structure calculations. We confirm that most of the compounds studied crystallize in a body-centered tetragonal ThCr2S2 -type structure (space group I 4 / mmm) and have three-dimensional Fermi surfaces, while only one of them (YPt2Ge2) forms with a primitive tetragonal CaBe2Ge2 -type unit cell (space group P 4 / nmm) and possesses quasi-two-dimensional Fermi surface sheets with some nesting. Physical properties data show conventional superconductivity in the phases with TE = Co, Pd and Pt, i.e. independently of the structure type (and hence the dimensionality of the Fermi surface).

Intrinsic Josephson junction behaviour of the low Tc superconductor (LaSe) 1.14(NbSe 2)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kačmarčík, J.; Szabó, P.; Samuely, P.; Rodrigo, J. G.; Suderow, H.; Vieira, S.; Lafond, A.; Meerschaut, A.

2008-04-01

Interlayer magnetotransport measurements on the highly anisotropic (LaSe)1.14(NbSe2) superconductor with Tc ∼ 1.2 K have indicated that this layered compound represents a model system of intrinsic Josephson junctions [P. Szabó et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 86 (2001) 5990]. Scanning tunneling microscopy at room temperature and tunneling spectroscopy measurements at very low temperatures are presented in this work. STM imaging has revealed the presence of two types of surfaces which can be attributed to the appearance of LaSe or NbSe2 layers on the surface. The use of STM tip made of superconducting lead enabled a precise measurement of the temperature dependence of the superconducting energy gap Δ(T) on the NbSe2 layer. Δ(T) obtained from the surface sensitive STS data support the scenario obtained from our previous interlayer - ergo bulk sensitive magnetotransport measurements.

Fabrication of NdCeCuO and effects of binding agents on the growth, micro-structural and electrical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altin, S.; Aksan, M. A.; Turkoglu, S.; Yakinci, M. E.

2011-12-01

NdCeCuO superconducting samples were fabricated using ethyl alcohol, acetone and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as binding agents. For evaporation of binding agents, the samples were heat treated at 1050 °C for 24 h and then at 950 °C for 6-48 h under argon atmosphere to obtain the superconducting phase. The best superconducting performance was found in the sample heat treated at 1050 °C for 24 h and then 950 °C for 12 h which was fabricated by using acetone as binding agent. The T c and T 0 value was found to be ∼25 K and 23.4 K, respectively. Grain size in the samples fabricated was calculated using Scherer equation and SEM data. It was found that grain size strongly depends on the binding agents and heat treatment conditions. Some cracks and voids on the surface of the samples were observed, which influences the superconducting and electrical transport properties of the samples.

Disappearance of nodal gap across the insulator-superconductor transition in a copper-oxide superconductor.

PubMed

Peng, Yingying; Meng, Jianqiao; Mou, Daixiang; He, Junfeng; Zhao, Lin; Wu, Yue; Liu, Guodong; Dong, Xiaoli; He, Shaolong; Zhang, Jun; Wang, Xiaoyang; Peng, Qinjun; Wang, Zhimin; Zhang, Shenjin; Yang, Feng; Chen, Chuangtian; Xu, Zuyan; Lee, T K; Zhou, X J

2013-01-01

The parent compound of the copper-oxide high-temperature superconductors is a Mott insulator. Superconductivity is realized by doping an appropriate amount of charge carriers. How a Mott insulator transforms into a superconductor is crucial in understanding the unusual physical properties of high-temperature superconductors and the superconductivity mechanism. Here we report high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurement on heavily underdoped Bi₂Sr₂-xLaxCuO(₆+δ) system. The electronic structure of the lightly doped samples exhibit a number of characteristics: existence of an energy gap along the nodal direction, d-wave-like anisotropic energy gap along the underlying Fermi surface, and coexistence of a coherence peak and a broad hump in the photoemission spectra. Our results reveal a clear insulator-superconductor transition at a critical doping level of ~0.10 where the nodal energy gap approaches zero, the three-dimensional antiferromagnetic order disappears, and superconductivity starts to emerge. These observations clearly signal a close connection between the nodal gap, antiferromagnetism and superconductivity.

Correlation between superconductivity, band filling, and electron confinement at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smink, A. E. M.; Stehno, M. P.; de Boer, J. C.; Brinkman, A.; van der Wiel, W. G.; Hilgenkamp, H.

2018-06-01

By combined top- and backgating, we explore the correlation of superconductivity with band filling and electron confinement at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface. We find that the top- and backgate voltages have distinctly different effects on the superconducting critical temperature, implying that the confining potential well has a profound effect on superconductivity. We investigate the origin of this behavior by comparing the gate dependence of Tc to the corresponding evolution of the band filling with gate voltage. For several backgate voltages, we observe maximum Tc to consistently coincide with a kink in tuning the band filling for high topgate voltage. Self-consistent Schrödinger-Poisson calculations relate this kink to a Lifshitz transition of the second dx y subband. These results establish a major role for confinement-induced subbands in the phase diagram of SrTiO3 surface states, and establish gating as a means to control the relative energy of these states.

Giant phonon anomaly associated with superconducting fluctuations in the pseudogap phase of cuprates

DOE PAGES

Liu, Ye-Hua; Konik, Robert M.; Rice, T. M.; ...

2016-01-20

The pseudogap in underdoped cuprates leads to significant changes in the electronic structure, and was later found to be accompanied by anomalous fluctuations of superconductivity and certain lattice phonons. Here we propose that the Fermi surface breakup due to the pseudogap, leads to a breakup of the pairing order into two weakly coupled sub-band amplitudes, and a concomitant low energy Leggett mode due to phase fluctuations between them. This increases the temperature range of superconducting fluctuations containing an overdamped Leggett mode. In this range inter-sub-band phonons show strong damping due to resonant scattering into an intermediate state with a pairmore » of overdamped Leggett modes. In the ordered state, the Leggett mode develops a finite energy, changing the anomalous phonon damping into an anomaly in the dispersion. Finally, this proposal explains the intrinsic connection between the anomalous pseudogap phase, enhanced superconducting fluctuations and giant anomalies in the phonon spectra.« less

Quasiparticle Excitations in the Superconducting State of FeSe Probed by Thermal Hall Conductivity in the Vicinity of the BCS-BEC Crossover

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watashige, Tatsuya; Arsenijević, Stevan; Yamashita, Takuya; Terazawa, Daiki; Onishi, Takafumi; Opherden, Lars; Kasahara, Shigeru; Tokiwa, Yoshifumi; Kasahara, Yuichi; Shibauchi, Takasada; von Löhneysen, Hilbert; Wosnitza, Jochen; Matsuda, Yuji

2017-01-01

There is growing evidence that the superconducting semimetal FeSe (Tc ˜ 8 K) is in the crossover regime between weak-coupling Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) and strong-coupling Bose-Einstein-condensate (BEC) limits. We report on longitudinal and transverse thermal conductivities, κxx and κxy, respectively, in magnetic fields up to 20 T. The field dependences of κxx and κxy imply that a highly anisotropic small superconducting gap forms at the electron Fermi-surface pocket whereas a more isotropic and larger gap forms at the hole pocket. Below ˜1.0 K, both κxx and κxy exhibit distinct anomalies (kinks) at the upper critical field Hc2 and at a field H* slightly below Hc2. The analysis of the thermal Hall angle (κxy/κxx) indicates a change of the quasiparticle scattering rate at H*. These results provide strong support to the previous suggestion that above H* a distinct field-induced superconducting phase emerges with an unprecedented large spin imbalance.

STS studies of the pi-band superconductivity in MgB2 in a transverse field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griggs, C.; Eskildsen, M. R.; Zhigadlo, N. D.; Karpinski, J.

2012-02-01

Since being discovered MgB2 has become the paradigm for two-band/two-gap superconductivity. Early scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) measurements, showed a rapid suppression of the superconductivty in the isotropic π-band for modest applied fields H c. These measurements were performed with the tunnel current (It) parallel to the crystalline c-axis which couple, almost exclusively, to the π-band, and with the suppression attributed to vortex core overlap. Here we report STS measurements performed in a transverse field, such that Itc H. In this configuration no vortices are cutting through the image plane, and instead the superconducting phase is affected by the Meissner currents running within one penetration depth of the sample surface. Within this field orientation we observe far less suppression of the superconducting state in the π-band compared to the earlier measurements with H c. A clear gap is seen up to H= 0.9 T.

Three energy scales in the superconducting state of hole-doped cuprates detected by electronic Raman scattering

DOE PAGES

Benhabib, S.; Gu, G. D.; Gallais, Y.; ...

2015-10-06

We explore by electronic Raman scattering the superconducting state of the Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O 8+δ (Bi-2212) crystal by performing a fine-tuned doping study. We find three distinct energy scales in A 1g, B 1g, and B 2g symmetries which show three distinct doping dependencies. Above p=0.22, the three energies merge; below p=0.12, the A 1g scale is no longer detectable, while the B 1g and B 2g scales become constant in energy. In between, the A 1g and B 1g scales increase monotonically with underdoping, while the B 2g one exhibits a maximum at p=0.16. The three superconducting energymore » scales appear to be a universal feature of hole-doped cuprates. Furthermore, we propose that the nontrivial doping dependencies of the three scales originate from the Fermi-surface changes and reveal competing orders inside the superconducting dome.« less

Magnetically leviated superconducting bearing

DOEpatents

Weinberger, Bernard R.; Lynds, Jr., Lahmer

1993-01-01

A magnetically levitated superconducting bearing includes a magnet (2) mounted on a shaft (12) that is rotatable around an axis of rotation and a Type II superconductor (6) supported on a stator (14) in proximity to the magnet (2). The superconductor (6) is positioned so that when it is cooled to its superconducting state in the presence of a magnetic field, it interacts with the magnet (2) to produce an attractive force that levitates the magnet (2) and supports a load on the shaft (12). The interaction between the superconductor (6) and magnet(2) also produces surface screening currents (8) that generate a repulsive force perpendicular to the load. The bearing also has means for maintaining the superconductor at a temperature below its critical temperature (16, 18). The bearing could also be constructed so the magnet (2) is supported on the stator (14) and the superconductor (6) is mounted on the shaft (12). The bearing can be operated by cooling the superconductor (6) to its superconducting state in the presence of a magnetic field.

Enhancement of superconductivity under pressure and the magnetic phase diagram of tantalum disulfide single crystals

PubMed Central

Abdel-Hafiez, M.; Zhao, X.-M.; Kordyuk, A. A.; Fang, Y.-W.; Pan, B.; He, Z.; Duan, C.-G.; Zhao, J.; Chen, X.-J.

2016-01-01

In low-dimensional electron systems, charge density waves (CDW) and superconductivity are two of the most fundamental collective quantum phenomena. For all known quasi-two-dimensional superconductors, the origin and exact boundary of the electronic orderings and superconductivity are still attractive problems. Through transport and thermodynamic measurements, we report on the field-temperature phase diagram in 2H-TaS2 single crystals. We show that the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) increases by one order of magnitude from temperatures at 0.98 K up to 9.15 K at 8.7 GPa when the Tc becomes very sharp. Additionally, the effects of 8.7 GPa illustrate a suppression of the CDW ground state, with critically small Fermi surfaces. Below the Tc the lattice of magnetic flux lines melts from a solid-like state to a broad vortex liquid phase region. Our measurements indicate an unconventional s-wave-like picture with two energy gaps evidencing its multi-band nature. PMID:27534898

Superconductivity with extremely large upper critical fields in Nb2Pd0.81S5

PubMed Central

Zhang, Q.; Li, G.; Rhodes, D.; Kiswandhi, A.; Besara, T.; Zeng, B.; Sun, J.; Siegrist, T.; Johannes, M. D.; Balicas, L.

2013-01-01

Here, we report the discovery of superconductivity in a new transition metal-chalcogenide compound, i.e. Nb2Pd0.81S5, with a transition temperature Tc ≅ 6.6 K. Despite its relatively low Tc, it displays remarkably high and anisotropic superconducting upper critical fields, e.g. μ0Hc2 (T → 0 K) > 37 T for fields applied along the crystallographic b-axis. For a field applied perpendicularly to the b-axis, μ0Hc2 shows a linear dependence in temperature which coupled to a temperature-dependent anisotropy of the upper critical fields, suggests that Nb2Pd0.81S5 is a multi-band superconductor. This is consistent with band structure calculations which reveal nearly cylindrical and quasi-one-dimensional Fermi surface sheets having hole and electron character, respectively. The static spin susceptibility as calculated through the random phase approximation, reveals strong peaks suggesting proximity to a magnetic state and therefore the possibility of unconventional superconductivity. PMID:23486091

Mesoscopic superconductivity and high spin polarization coexisting at metallic point contacts on Weyl semimetal TaAs

PubMed Central

Aggarwal, Leena; Gayen, Sirshendu; Das, Shekhar; Kumar, Ritesh; Süß, Vicky; Felser, Claudia; Shekhar, Chandra; Sheet, Goutam

2017-01-01

A Weyl semimetal is a topologically non-trivial phase of matter that hosts mass-less Weyl fermions, the particles that remained elusive for more than 80 years since their theoretical discovery. The Weyl semimetals exhibit unique transport properties and remarkably high surface spin polarization. Here we show that a mesoscopic superconducting phase with critical temperature Tc=7 K can be realized by forming metallic point contacts with silver (Ag) on single crystals of TaAs, while neither Ag nor TaAs are superconductors. Andreev reflection spectroscopy of such point contacts reveals a superconducting gap of 1.2 meV that coexists with a high transport spin polarization of 60% indicating a highly spin-polarized supercurrent flowing through the point contacts on TaAs. Therefore, apart from the discovery of a novel mesoscopic superconducting phase, our results also show that the point contacts on Weyl semimetals are potentially important for applications in spintronics. PMID:28071685

Ignition and monitoring technique for plasma processing of multicell superconducting radio-frequency cavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doleans, Marc

In this study, an in-situ plasma processing technique has been developed at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) to improve the performance of the superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities in operation. The technique uses a low-density reactive neon-oxygen plasma at room-temperature to improve the surface work function, to help remove adsorbed gases on the RF surface and to reduce its secondary emission yield. SNS SRF cavities are six-cell elliptical cavities and the plasma typically ignites in the cell where the electric field is the highest. This article will detail a technique that was developed to ignite and monitor the plasma in eachmore » cell of the SNS cavities.« less

Ignition and monitoring technique for plasma processing of multicell superconducting radio-frequency cavities

DOE PAGES

Doleans, Marc

2016-12-27

In this study, an in-situ plasma processing technique has been developed at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) to improve the performance of the superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities in operation. The technique uses a low-density reactive neon-oxygen plasma at room-temperature to improve the surface work function, to help remove adsorbed gases on the RF surface and to reduce its secondary emission yield. SNS SRF cavities are six-cell elliptical cavities and the plasma typically ignites in the cell where the electric field is the highest. This article will detail a technique that was developed to ignite and monitor the plasma in eachmore » cell of the SNS cavities.« less

Rugged Low-Resistance Contacts To High-Tc Superconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caton, Randall; Selim, Raouf; Byvik, Charles E.; Buoncristiani, A. Martin

1992-01-01

Newly developed technique involving use of gold makes possible to fabricate low-resistance contacts with rugged connections to high-Tc superconductors. Gold diffused into specimen of superconducting material by melting gold beads onto surface of specimen, making strong mechanical contacts. Shear strength of gold bead contacts greater than epoxy or silver paste. Practical use in high-current-carrying applications of new high-Tc materials, including superconducting magnets, long-wavelength sensors, electrical ground planes at low temperatures, and efficient transmission of power.

Superconducting multi-cell trapped mode deflecting cavity

DOEpatents

Lunin, Andrei; Khabiboulline, Timergali; Gonin, Ivan; Yakovlev, Vyacheslav; Zholents, Alexander

2017-10-10

A method and system for beam deflection. The method and system for beam deflection comprises a compact superconducting RF cavity further comprising a waveguide comprising an open ended resonator volume configured to operate as a trapped dipole mode; a plurality of cells configured to provide a high operating gradient; at least two pairs of protrusions configured for lowering surface electric and magnetic fields; and a main power coupler positioned to optimize necessary coupling for an operating mode and damping lower dipole modes simultaneously.

Enhancement of the Accelerating Gradient in Superconducting Microwave Resonators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Checchin, Mattia; Grassellino, Anna; Martinello, Martina

2017-05-01

The accelerating gradient of superconducting resonators can be enhanced by engineering the thickness of a dirty layer grown at the cavity's rf surface. In this paper the description of the physics behind the accelerating gradient enhancement by meaning of the dirty layer is carried out by solving numerically the the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) equations for the layered system. The calculation shows that the presence of the dirty layer stabilizes the Meissner state up to the lower critical field of the bulk, increasing the maximum accelerating gradient.

Discovery of highly spin-polarized conducting surface states in the strong spin-orbit coupling semiconductor Sb2Se3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Shekhar; Sirohi, Anshu; Kumar Gupta, Gaurav; Kamboj, Suman; Vasdev, Aastha; Gayen, Sirshendu; Guptasarma, Prasenjit; Das, Tanmoy; Sheet, Goutam

2018-06-01

Majority of the A2B3 -type chalcogenide systems with strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC), such as Bi2Se3,Bi2Te3 , and Sb2Te3 , etc., are topological insulators. One important exception is Sb2Se3 where a topological nontrivial phase was argued to be possible under ambient conditions, but such a phase could be detected to exist only under pressure. In this paper, we show that Sb2Se3 like Bi2Se3 displays a generation of highly spin-polarized current under mesoscopic superconducting point contacts as measured by point-contact Andreev reflection spectroscopy. In addition, we observe a large negative and anisotropic magnetoresistance of the mesoscopic metallic point contacts formed on Sb2Se3 . Our band-structure calculations confirm the trivial nature of Sb2Se3 crystals and reveal two trivial surface states one of which shows large spin splitting due to Rashba-type SOC. The observed high spin polarization and related phenomena in Sb2Se3 can be attributed to this spin splitting.

A Rigorous Investigation on the Ground State of the Penson-Kolb Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Kai-Hua; Tian, Guang-Shan; Han, Ru-Qi

2003-05-01

By using either numerical calculations or analytical methods, such as the bosonization technique, the ground state of the Penson-Kolb model has been previously studied by several groups. Some physicists argued that, as far as the existence of superconductivity in this model is concerned, it is canonically equivalent to the negative-U Hubbard model. However, others did not agree. In the present paper, we shall investigate this model by an independent and rigorous approach. We show that the ground state of the Penson-Kolb model is nondegenerate and has a nonvanishing overlap with the ground state of the negative-U Hubbard model. Furthermore, we also show that the ground states of both the models have the same good quantum numbers and may have superconducting long-range order at the same momentum q = 0. Our results support the equivalence between these models. The project partially supported by the Special Funds for Major State Basic Research Projects (G20000365) and National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 10174002

A review of finite size effects in quasi-zero dimensional superconductors.

PubMed

Bose, Sangita; Ayyub, Pushan

2014-11-01

Quantum confinement and surface effects (SEs) dramatically modify most solid state phenomena as one approaches the nanometer scale, and superconductivity is no exception. Though we may expect significant modifications from bulk superconducting properties when the system dimensions become smaller than the characteristic length scales for bulk superconductors-such as the coherence length or the penetration depth-it is now established that there is a third length scale which ultimately determines the critical size at which Cooper pairing is destroyed. In quasi-zero-dimensional (0D) superconductors (e.g. nanocrystalline materials, isolated or embedded nanoparticles), one may define a critical particle diameter below which the mean energy level spacing arising from quantum confinement becomes equal to the bulk superconducting energy gap. The so-called Anderson criterion provides a remarkably accurate estimate of the limiting size for the destabilization of superconductivity in nanosystems. This review of size effects in quasi-0D superconductors is organized as follows. A general summary of size effects in nanostructured superconductors (section 1) is followed by a brief overview of their synthesis (section 2) and characterization using a variety of techniques (section 3). Section 4 reviews the size-evolution of important superconducting parameters-the transition temperature, critical fields and critical current-as the Anderson limit is approached from above. We then discuss the effect of thermodynamic fluctuations (section 5), which become significant in confined systems. Improvements in fabrication methods and the increasing feasibility of addressing individual nanoparticles using scanning probe techniques have lately opened up new directions in the study of nanoscale superconductivity. Section 6 reviews both experimental and theoretical aspects of the recently discovered phenomena of 'parity effect' and 'shell effect' that lead to a strong, non-monotonic size dependence of the superconducting energy gap and associated properties. Finally, we discuss in section 7 the properties of ordered heterostructures (bilayers and multilayers of alternating superconducting and normal phases) and disordered heterostructures (nanocomposites consisting of superconducting and normal phases), which are primarily controlled by the proximity effect.

The Path to High Q-Factors in Superconducting Accelerating Cavities: Flux Expulsion and Surface Resistance Optimization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martinello, Martina

Accelerating cavities are devices resonating in the radio-frequency (RF) range used to accelerate charged particles in accelerators. Superconducting accelerating cavities are made out of niobium and operate at the liquid helium temperature. Even if superconducting, these resonating structures have some RF driven surface resistance that causes power dissipation. In order to decrease as much as possible the power losses, the cavity quality factor must be increased by decreasing the surface resistance. In this dissertation, the RF surface resistance is analyzed for a large variety of cavities made with different state-of-the-art surface treatments, with the goal of finding the surface treatmentmore » capable to return the highest Q-factor values in a cryomodule-like environment. This study analyzes not only the superconducting properties described by the BCS surface resistance, which is the contribution that takes into account dissipation due to quasi-particle excitations, but also the increasing of the surface resistance due to trapped flux. When cavities are cooled down below their critical temperature inside a cryomodule, there is always some remnant magnetic field that may be trapped increasing the global RF surface resistance. This thesis also analyzes how the fraction of external magnetic field, which is actually trapped in the cavity during the cooldown, can be minimized. This study is performed on an elliptical single-cell horizontally cooled cavity, resembling the geometry of cavities cooled in accelerator cryomodules. The horizontal cooldown study reveals that, as in case of the vertical cooldown, when the cooling is performed fast, large thermal gradients are created along the cavity helping magnetic flux expulsion. However, for this geometry the complete magnetic flux expulsion from the cavity equator is more difficult to achieve. This becomes even more challenging in presence of orthogonal magnetic field, that is easily trapped on top of the cavity equator causing temperature rising. The physics behind the magnetic flux expulsion is also analyzed, showing that during a fast cooldown the magnetic field structures, called vortices, tend to move in the same direction of the thermal gradient, from the Meissner state region to the mixed state region, minimizing the Gibbs free energy. On the other hand, during a slow cool down, not only the vortices movement is limited by the absence of thermal gradients, but, also, at the end of the superconducting transition, the magnetic field concentrates along randomly distributed normal-conducting region from which it cannot be expelled anymore. The systematic study of the surface resistance components performed for the different surface treatments, reveals that the BCS surface resistance and the trapped flux surface resistance have opposite trends as a function of the surface impurity content, defined by the mean free path. At medium field value, the BCS surface resistance is minimized for nitrogen-doped cavities and significantly larger for standard niobium cavities. On the other hand, Nitrogen-doped cavities show larger dissipation due to trapped flux. This is consequence of the bell-shaped trend of the trapped flux sensitivity as a function of the mean free path. Such experimental findings allow also a better understanding of the RF dissipation due to trapped flux. The best compromise between all the surface resistance components, taking into account the possibility of trapping some external magnetic field, is given by light nitrogen-doping treatments. However, the beneficial effects of the nitrogen-doping is completely lost when large amount of magnetic field is trapped during the cooldown, underlying the importance of both cooldown and magnetic field shielding optimization in high quality factors cryomodules.« less

YBa2Cu3O7 thin films on nanocrystalline diamond films for HTSC bolometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cui, G.; Beetz, C. P., Jr.; Boerstler, R.; Steinbeck, J.

1993-01-01

Superconducting YBa2Cu3O(7-x) films on nanocrystalline diamond thin films have been fabricated. A composite buffer layer system consisting of diamond/Si3N4/YSZ/YBCO was explored for this purpose. The as-deposited YBCO films were superconducting with Tc of about 84 K and a relatively narrow transition width of about 8 K. SEM cross sections of the films showed very sharp interfaces between diamond/Si3N4 and between Si3N4/YSZ. The deposited YBCO film had a surface roughness of about 1000 A, which is suitable for high-temperature superconductive (HTSC) bolometer fabrication. It was also found that preannealing of the nanocrystalline diamond thin films at high temperature was very important for obtaining high-quality YBCO films.

Critical fields and vortex pinning in overdoped Ba 0.2 K 0.8 Fe 2 As 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shen, B.; Leroux, M.; Wang, Y. L.

2015-05-19

We determine the upper and lower critical fields, the penetration depth and the vortex pinning characteristics of single crystals of overdoped Ba 0.2K 0.8Fe 2As 2 with T c ~ 10 K. We find that bulk vortex pinning is weak and vortex dynamics to be dominated by the geometrical surface barrier. The temperature dependence of the lower critical field, H c1, displays a distinctive upturn at low temperatures, which is suggestive of two distinct superconducting gaps. Furthermore, the penetration depth, λ, varies linearly with temperature below 4 K indicative of line nodes in the superconducting gap. As a result, thesemore » observations can be well described in a model based on a multi-band nodal superconducting gap.« less

Time-reversal and rotation symmetry breaking superconductivity in Dirac materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chirolli, Luca; de Juan, Fernando; Guinea, Francisco

2017-05-01

We consider mixed symmetry superconducting phases in Dirac materials in the odd-parity channel, where pseudoscalar and vector order parameters can coexist due to their similar critical temperatures when attractive interactions are of a finite range. We show that the coupling of these order parameters to unordered magnetic dopants favors the condensation of time-reversal symmetry breaking (TRSB) phases, characterized by a condensate magnetization, rotation symmetry breaking, and simultaneous ordering of the dopant moments. We find a rich phase diagram of mixed TRSB phases characterized by peculiar bulk quasiparticles, with Weyl nodes and nodal lines, and distinctive surface states. These findings are consistent with recent experiments on NbxBi2Se3 that report evidence of point nodes, nematicity, and TRSB superconductivity induced by Nb magnetic moments.

Thermal transport in topological-insulator-based superconducting hybrid structures with mixed singlet and triplet pairing states.

PubMed

Li, Hai; Zhao, Yuan Yuan

2017-11-22

In the framework of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation, we investigate the thermal transport properties in topological-insulator-based superconducting hybrid structures with mixed spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairing states, and emphasize the different manifestations of the spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairing states in the thermal transport signatures. It is revealed that the temperature-dependent differential thermal conductance strongly depends on the components of the pairing state, and the negative differential thermal conductance only occurs in the spin-singlet pairing state dominated regime. It is also found that the thermal conductance is profoundly sensitive to the components of the pairing state. In the spin-singlet pairing state controlled regime, the thermal conductance obviously oscillates with the phase difference and junction length. With increasing the proportion of the spin-triplet pairing state, the oscillating characteristic of the thermal conductance fades out distinctly. These results suggest an alternative route for distinguishing the components of pairing states in topological-insulator-based superconducting hybrid structures.

A universal order underlying the pseudogap regime of the underdoped high Tc cuprates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, Neil

2014-03-01

A major achievement in condensed matter physics in the last quarter century has been a step towards the understanding of the unconventional d-wave superconducting state in the copper-oxide materials. Surprisingly, the normal state out of which the superconducting state emerges remains a mystery at low charge carrier densities, i.e., in the underdoped regime. This regime is of particular interest because it is characterised by an unusual momentum dependent energy pseudogap in the excitation spectrum that has defied explanation and is key to a full understanding of the unconventional d-wave superconducting state. I will present new quantum oscillation experimental results within the pseudogap regime of the high Tc superconductors YBa2Cu3O6+x and YBa2Cu4O8 which now extend up to the optimally-doped regime. These data reveal the evolution of the Fermi surface approaching the putative quantum critical point under the superconducting dome. A comprehensive angle-resolved study of the Fermi surface enables us to unambiguously identify a specific form of order that accounts for the observed quantum oscillations as well as other spectroscopic, transport and thermodynamic probes within the pseudogap regime. The author would like to thank B. Ramshaw, S. Sebastian, F. Balakirev, C. Mielke, M. Altarawneh, P. Goddard, S. Sabok, B. Babrowski, D. Bonn, W. Hardy, R. Liang and G. Lonzarich. This work was supported by the DOE BES ``Science of 100 tesla'' project and by the NSF and Florida State.

Unprecedented quality factors at accelerating gradients up to 45 MVm -1 in niobium superconducting resonators via low temperature nitrogen infusion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grassellino, A.; Romanenko, A.; Trenikhina, Y.

We report the finding of new surface treatments that permit to manipulate the niobium resonator nitrogen content in the first few nanometers in a controlled way, and the resonator fundamental Mattis-Bardeen surface resistance and residual resistance accordingly. In particular, we find surface infusion conditions that systematically a) increase the quality factor of these 1.3 GHz superconducting radio frequency (SRF) bulk niobium resonators, up to very high gradients; b) increase the achievable accelerating gradient of the cavity compared to its own baseline with state-of-the-art surface processing. Cavities subject to the new surface process have larger than two times the state ofmore » the art Q at 2K for accelerating fields > 35 MV/m. Moreover, very high accelerating gradients ~ 45 MV/m are repeatedly reached, which correspond to peak magnetic surface fields of 190 mT, among the highest measured for bulk niobium cavities. These findings open the opportunity to tailor the surface impurity content distribution to maximize performance in Q and gradients, and have therefore very important implications on future performance and cost of SRF based accelerators. They also help deepen the understanding of the physics of the RF niobium cavity surface.« less

Unprecedented quality factors at accelerating gradients up to 45 MVm-1 in niobium superconducting resonators via low temperature nitrogen infusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grassellino, A.; Romanenko, A.; Trenikhina, Y.; Checchin, M.; Martinello, M.; Melnychuk, O. S.; Chandrasekaran, S.; Sergatskov, D. A.; Posen, S.; Crawford, A. C.; Aderhold, S.; Bice, D.

2017-09-01

We report the finding of new surface treatments that permits one to manipulate the niobium resonator nitrogen content in the first few nanometers in a controlled way, and the resonator fundamental Mattis-Bardeen surface resistance and residual resistance accordingly. In particular, we find surface ‘infusion’ conditions that systematically (a) increase the quality factor of these 1.3 GHz superconducting radio frequency (SRF) bulk niobium resonators, up to very high gradients; (b) increase the achievable accelerating gradient of the cavity compared to its own baseline with state-of-the-art surface processing. Cavities subject to the new surface process have more than two times the state-of-the-art Q at 2 K for accelerating fields >35 MVm-1. Moreover, very high accelerating gradients ˜45 MVm-1 are repeatedly reached, which correspond to peak magnetic surface fields of 190 mT, among the highest measured for bulk niobium cavities. These findings open the opportunity to tailor the surface impurity content distribution to maximize performance in Q and gradients, and have therefore very important implications on future performance and cost of SRF based accelerators. They also help deepen the understanding of the physics of the RF niobium cavity surface.

Effects of disordered Ru substitution in BaFe2As2: possible realization of superdiffusion in real materials.

PubMed

Wang, Limin; Berlijn, Tom; Wang, Yan; Lin, Chia-Hui; Hirschfeld, P J; Ku, Wei

2013-01-18

An unexpected insensitivity of the Fermi surface to impurity scattering is found in Ru substituted BaFe(2)As(2) from first-principles theory, offering a natural explanation of the unusual resilience of transport and superconductivity to a high level of disordered substitution in this material. This robustness is shown to originate from a coherent interference of correlated on-site and intersite impurity scattering, similar in spirit to the microscopic mechanism of superdiffusion in one dimension. Our result also demonstrates a strong substitution dependence of the Fermi surface and carrier concentration and provides a resolution to current discrepancies in recent photoelectron spectroscopy. These effects offer a natural explanation of the diminishing long-range magnetic, orbital, and superconducting orders with high substitution.

STM/STS study of superconducting properties in Ca10(Pt4As8)(Fe2As2)5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jisun; Nam, Hyoungdo; Li, Guorong; Karki, Amar; Shih, Chih-Kang; Zhang, Jiandi; Jin, Rongying; Plummer, E. W.

2014-03-01

Newly discovered iron-based superconductor, Ca10(Pt4As8)(Fe2As2)5 (Tc = 34 K) is studied using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S). Given the symmetry of the crystal structure, several surface terminations are expected with roughly same probability: 1) Ca or partial Ca layer on top Fe2As2; 2) Ca or partial Ca layer on top Pt4As8 layer; 3) A Fe2As2 layer, and; 4) A Pt4As8layer.Surprisingly,Fe2As2 related layers (1 & 3) are rarely observed (less than 1%). Instead, we observe Pt4As8 layers separated by unit-cell-high (~ 1 nm) steps accompanied with Ca or partial Ca layer on top Pt4As8 layer (1 - 2 Å step height). Scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals different spectra for each surface, with superconducting coherence peaks seen only on Ca layers. We argue that intermediary layers are proximity-coupled to superconducting Fe2As2 layers. The results from Ca10(Pt4As8)(Fe2As2)5 are discussed with the properties observed in other iron-based superconductors. Funded by NSF

Nonequilibrium Kondo effect by the equilibrium numerical renormalization group method: The hybrid Anderson model subject to a finite spin bias

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Tie-Feng; Guo, Ai-Min; Sun, Qing-Feng

2018-06-01

We investigate Kondo correlations in a quantum dot with normal and superconducting electrodes, where a spin bias voltage is applied across the device and the local interaction U is either attractive or repulsive. When the spin current is blockaded in the large-gap regime, this nonequilibrium strongly correlated problem maps into an equilibrium model solvable by the numerical renormalization group method. The Kondo spectra with characteristic splitting due to the nonequilibrium spin accumulation are thus obtained at high precision. It is shown that while the bias-induced decoherence of the spin Kondo effect is partially compensated by the superconductivity, the charge Kondo effect is enhanced out of equilibrium and undergoes an additional splitting by the superconducting proximity effect, yielding four Kondo peaks in the local spectral density. In the charge Kondo regime, we find a universal scaling of charge conductance in this hybrid device under different spin biases. The universal conductance as a function of the coupling to the superconducting lead is peaked at and hence directly measures the Kondo temperature. Our results are of direct relevance to recent experiments realizing a negative-U charge Kondo effect in hybrid oxide quantum dots [Nat. Commun. 8, 395 (2017), 10.1038/s41467-017-00495-7].

Unconventional superconductivity in iron pnictides: Magnon mediated pairing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

kar, Raskesh; Paul, Bikash Chandra; Misra, Anirban

2018-02-01

We study the phenomenon of unconventional superconductivity in iron pnictides on the basis of localized-itinerant model. In this proposed model, superconductivity arises from the itinerant part of electrons, whereas antiferromagnetism arises from the localized part. The itinerant electrons move over the sea of localized electrons in antiferromagnetic alignment and interact with them resulting in excitation of magnons. We find that triplet pairing of itinerant electrons via magnons is possible in checkerboard antiferromagnetic spin configuration of the substances CaFe2As2 and BaFe2As2 in pure form for umklapp scattering with scattering wave vector Q =(1 , 1) , in the unit of π/a where a being one orthorhombic crystal parameter, which is the nesting vector between two Fermi surfaces. The interaction potential figured out in this way, increases with the decrease in nearest neighbour (NN) exchange couplings. Under ambient pressure, with stripe antiferromagnetic spin configuration, a very small value of coupling constant is obtained which does not give rise to superconductivity. The critical temperature of superconductivity of the substances CaFe2As2 and BaFe2As2 in higher pressure checkerboard antiferromagnetic spin configuration are found to be 12.12 K and 29.95 K respectively which are in agreement with the experimental results.

ARPES studies of the electronic structure of Fe-based superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Donghui

2009-03-01

The recent discovery of superconductivity in Fe-based layered compounds has created renewed interest in high temperature superconductivity. With a superconducting transition temperature as high as 55 K, this discovery provides a new direction to understand the essential ingredients for achieving a high superconducting transition temperature. In this talk, I will present our recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) studies on LaOFeP and (Ba,K)Fe2As2 systems, with special emphasis on the basic electronic structure of the parent compounds. For LaOFeP, quantitative agreement can be found between our ARPES data and the LDA band structure calculations, suggesting that a weak coupling approach based on an itinerant ground state may be more appropriate for understanding this new superconducting compound [1]. On the other hand, the picture for (Ba,K)Fe2As2 system is more complicated. I will discuss two important issues in these FeAs compounds: 1) the unexpected Fermi surface topology in both undoped and doped compounds; 2) the peculiar signature of the SDW transition in ARPES spectra for the parent compound. [4pt] [1] D. H. Lu, M. Yi, S.-K. Mo, A. S. Erickson, J. Analytis, J.-H. Chu, D. J. Singh, Z. Hussain, T. H. Geballe, I. R. Fisher & Z.-X. Shen, Nature 455, 81 (2008).

Sputtered superconducting films of Bi sub 2 Sr sub 2 CaCu sub 2 O sub x made by low-temperature, in-situ growth

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kampwirth, R.T.; Gray, K.E.; Andersen, P.H.

1989-01-01

Composite target rf magnetron sputtering has previously been successfully employed to make superconducting films of YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7{minus}x} in-situ at substrate temperatures T{sub s} < 700{degree}C. We report the successful growth of superconducting films of Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub x} on single crystal MgO substrates by a low-temperature process using dc magnetron sputtering from a Bi-enriched composite target. Using a substrate temperature T{sub s} {approx} 645{degree}C, metallic films with a superconducting onset of 90--100K and an extrapolated T{sub c0} = 56K have been obtained. X-ray diffraction shows the films to be c-axis oriented. Electron microscopy reveals that the filmsmore » are not significantly smoother than films which were post-annealed at 865{degree}C, and that some segregation into nonsuperconducting phases had occurred. The exact mechanism by which crystallization and superconductivity occurs at such low temperatures is not yet known, but it can be speculated that the surface atoms are less constrained and thus have a smaller energy barrier to overcome in forming a crystal structure. 9 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.« less

Superstrate loading effects on the resonant characteristics of high Tc superconducting circular patch printed on anisotropic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedra, Sami; Bedra, Randa; Benkouda, Siham; Fortaki, Tarek

2017-12-01

In this paper, the effects of both anisotropies in the substrate and superstrate loading on the resonant frequency and bandwidth of high-Tc superconducting circular microstrip patch in a substrate-superstrate configuration are investigated. A rigorous analysis is performed using a dyadic Galerkin's method in the vector Hankel transform domain. Galerkin's procedure is employed in the spectral domain where the TM and TE modes of the cylindrical cavity with magnetic side walls are used in the expansion of the disk current. The effect of the superconductivity of the patch is taken into account using the concept of the complex resistive boundary condition. London's equations and the two-fluid model of Gorter and Casimir are used in the calculation of the complex surface impedance of the superconducting circular disc. The accuracy of the analysis is tested by comparing the computed results with previously published data for several anisotropic substrate-superstrate materials. Good agreement is found among all sets of results. The numerical results obtained show that important errors can be made in the computation of the resonant frequencies and bandwidths of the superconducting resonators when substrate dielectric anisotropy, and/or superstrate anisotropy are ignored. Other theoretical results obtained show that the superconducting circular microstrip patch on anisotropic substrate-superstrate with properly selected permittivity values along the optical and the non-optical axes combined with optimally chosen structural parameters is more advantageous than the one on isotropic substrate-superstrate by exhibiting wider bandwidth characteristic.

Laser and Electrochemical Studies of Metallizations Electronic Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-10-01

AES Surface Analyses Profile at Laser Non-Irradiated Zone .... ............ .. 47 Fig 3.15 AES Surface Analyses Profile at laser Gold Depsit Zone...After Various Times of Ion Sputtering .... ............. ... 48 Fig 3.16 ESCA Surface Analyses Profile of Laser Gold Deposit Zone After Sputtering...57 Table 3.4 Resistance Measurement of Two Point Probes Laser Gold Line Deposits on Superconductive Specimen Material ..... . 58 Fig 3.19

Circuit quantum acoustodynamics with surface acoustic waves.

PubMed

Manenti, Riccardo; Kockum, Anton F; Patterson, Andrew; Behrle, Tanja; Rahamim, Joseph; Tancredi, Giovanna; Nori, Franco; Leek, Peter J

2017-10-17

The experimental investigation of quantum devices incorporating mechanical resonators has opened up new frontiers in the study of quantum mechanics at a macroscopic level. It has recently been shown that surface acoustic waves (SAWs) can be piezoelectrically coupled to superconducting qubits, and confined in high-quality Fabry-Perot cavities in the quantum regime. Here we present measurements of a device in which a superconducting qubit is coupled to a SAW cavity, realising a surface acoustic version of cavity quantum electrodynamics. We use measurements of the AC Stark shift between the two systems to determine the coupling strength, which is in agreement with a theoretical model. This quantum acoustodynamics architecture may be used to develop new quantum acoustic devices in which quantum information is stored in trapped on-chip acoustic wavepackets, and manipulated in ways that are impossible with purely electromagnetic signals, due to the 10 5 times slower mechanical waves.In this work, Manenti et al. present measurements of a device in which a tuneable transmon qubit is piezoelectrically coupled to a surface acoustic wave cavity, realising circuit quantum acoustodynamic architecture. This may be used to develop new quantum acoustic devices.

Tunneling Spectroscopy of Superconducting MoN and NbTiN Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition.

DOE PAGES

Groll, Nickolas; Klug, Jeffrey A.; Cao, Chaoyue; ...

2014-03-03

A tunneling spectroscopy study is presented of superconducting MoN and Nbo.8Tio.2N thin films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The films exhibited a superconducting gap of 2meV and 2.4meV, respectively, with a corresponding critical temperature of 11.5K and 13.4 K, among the highest reported Tc values achieved by the ALD technique.Tunnel junctions were obtained using a mechanical contact method with a Au tip. While the native oxides of these films provided poor tunnel barriers, high quality tunnel junctions with low zero bias conductance (below rvl0%) were obtained using an artificial tunnel barrier of Ah03 on the film's surface grown exmore » situ by ALD. We find a large critical current density on the order of 4 x 106Ncm2 at T =0.8Tc for a 60 run MoN film and demonstrate conformal coating capabilities of ALD onto high aspect ratio geometries. These results suggest that the ALD technique offers significant promise for thin film superconducting device applications.« less

Superconductivity versus quantum criticality: Effects of thermal fluctuations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Huajia; Wang, Yuxuan; Torroba, Gonzalo

2018-02-01

We study the interplay between superconductivity and non-Fermi liquid behavior of a Fermi surface coupled to a massless SU(N ) matrix boson near the quantum critical point. The presence of thermal infrared singularities in both the fermionic self-energy and the gap equation invalidates the Eliashberg approximation, and makes the quantum-critical pairing problem qualitatively different from that at zero temperature. Taking the large N limit, we solve the gap equation beyond the Eliashberg approximation, and obtain the superconducting temperature Tc as a function of N . Our results show an anomalous scaling between the zero-temperature gap and Tc. For N greater than a critical value, we find that Tc vanishes with a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless scaling behavior, and the system retains non-Fermi liquid behavior down to zero temperature. This confirms and extends previous renormalization-group analyses done at T =0 , and provides a controlled example of a naked quantum critical point. We discuss the crucial role of thermal fluctuations in relating our results with earlier work where superconductivity always develops due to the special role of the first Matsubara frequency.

Tunneling spectroscopy of superconducting MoN and NbTiN grown by atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groll, Nickolas R.; Klug, Jeffrey A.; Cao, Chaoyue; Altin, Serdar; Claus, Helmut; Becker, Nicholas G.; Zasadzinski, John F.; Pellin, Michael J.; Proslier, Thomas

2014-03-01

A tunneling spectroscopy study is presented of superconducting MoN and Nb0.8Ti0.2N thin films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The films exhibited a superconducting gap of 2 meV and 2.4 meV, respectively, with a corresponding critical temperature of 11.5 K and 13.4 K, among the highest reported Tc values achieved by the ALD technique. Tunnel junctions were obtained using a mechanical contact method with a Au tip. While the native oxides of these films provided poor tunnel barriers, high quality tunnel junctions with low zero bias conductance (below ˜10%) were obtained using an artificial tunnel barrier of Al2O3 on the film's surface grown ex situ by ALD. We find a large critical current density on the order of 4 × 106 A/cm2 at T = 0.8Tc for a 60 nm MoN film and demonstrate conformal coating capabilities of ALD onto high aspect ratio geometries. These results suggest that the ALD technique offers significant promise for thin film superconducting device applications.

Hybrid Quantum Information Processing with Superconductors and Neutral Atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDermott, Robert

Hybrid approaches to quantum information processing (QIP) aim to capitalize on the strengths of disparate quantum technologies to realize a system whose capabilities exceed those of any single experimental platform. At the University of Wisconsin, we are working toward integration of a fast superconducting quantum processor with a stable, long-lived quantum memory based on trapped neutral atoms. Here we describe the development of a quantum interface between superconducting thin-film cavity circuits and trapped Rydberg atoms, the key technological obstacle to realization of superconductor-atom hybrid QIP. Specific accomplishments to date include development of a theoretical protocol for high-fidelity state transfer between the atom and the cavity; fabrication and characterization of high- Q superconducting cavities with integrated trapping electrodes to enhance zero-point microwave fields at a location remote from the chip surface; and trapping and Rydberg excitation of single atoms within 1 mm of the cavity. We discuss the status of experiments to probe the strong coherent coupling of single Rydberg atoms and the superconducting cavity. Supported by ARO under contract W911NF-16-1-0133.

On the Mechanism of D-Wave High TC Superconductivity by the Interplay of Jahn-Teller Physics and Mott Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ushio, H.; Matsuno, S.; Kamimura, H.

2011-01-01

In the present paper we will discuss two important roles of the interplay of Jahn-Teller physics and Mott physics. One is the small Fermi surface. The "Fermi arcs" observed in ARPES should be one of the edges of small Fermi pockets, based on the Kamimura-Suwa model (K-S model). This prediction is consistent with ARPES results by Tanaka et al. Another is the mechanism of superconductivity in cuprates. This can be explained by the interplay of strong electron-phonon interactions and local AF order. It is shown that the characteristic phase difference of wave functions between up- and down-spin carriers in the presence of the local AF order leads to the superconducting gap of dx2-y2 symmetry even in the phonon-involved mechanism.

Designs towards improved coherence times in superconducting qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corcoles, Antonio; Chow, Jerry; Gambetta, Jay; Rigetti, Chad; Rozen, Jim; Keefe, George; Rothwell, Mary Beth; Poletto, Stefano; Ketchen, Mark; Steffen, Matthias

2012-02-01

Coherence times for superconducting qubits in a planar geometry have increased drastically over the past 10 years with improvements exceeding a factor of 1000. However, recently these appeared to have reached a plateau around 1-2 microseconds, the limits of which were not well understood. Here, we present experimental data showing that one limit is due to infra-red radiation, confirming observations from other groups. We observe increased coherence times after appropriate IR shielding. Further improvements are shown to be possible by increasing the feature size of the interdigitated shunting capacitor, strongly indicating that surface losses at the metal/substrate interface are limiting qubit coherence times. In our experiments we kept the ratio of line width to gap size constant, but increased the overall feature size. We will discuss this and other similar design approaches towards better coherence in superconducting qubits.

PREFACE: Correlated Electrons (Japan)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyake, Kazumasa

2007-03-01

This issue of Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter is dedicated to results in the field of strongly correlated electron systems under multiple-environment. The physics of strongly correlated electron systems (SCES) has attracted much attention since the discovery of superconductivity in CeCu_2 Si_2 by Steglich and his co-workers a quater-century ago. Its interest has been intensified by the discovery of high-Tc superconductivity in a series of cuprates with layered perovskite structure which are still under active debate. The present issue of Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter present some aspects of SCES physics on the basis of activities of a late project "Centre-Of-Excellence" supported by MEXT (Ministry of Education, Sports, Science, Culture and Technology of the Japanese Government). This project has been performed by a condensed matter physics group in the faculties of science and engineering science of Osaka University. Although this project also covers correlated phenomena in optics and nano-scale systems, we focus here on the issues of SCES related to superconductivity, mainly unconventional. The present issue covers the discussions on a new mechanism of superconductivity with electronic origin (critical valence fluctuation mechanism), interplay and unification of magnetism and superconductivity in SCES based on a systematic study of NQR under pressure, varieties of Fermi surface of Ce- and U-based SCES probed by the de Haas-van Alphen effect, electronic states probed by a bulk sensitive photoemission spectroscopy with soft X-ray, pressure induced superconductivity of heavy electron materials, pressure dependence of superconducting transition temperature based on a first-principle calculation, and new superconductors under very high-pressure. Some papers offer readers' reviews of the relevant fields and/or include new developments of this intriguing research field of SCES. Altogether, the papers within this issue outline some aspects of electronic states and superconductivity of SCES and related research fields, and the prospects of SCES physics. I hope that it will give an insight into the fascination of SCES research and a feeling for the advances made in the past years.

Spin-resolved band structure of a densely packed Pb monolayer on Si(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brand, C.; Muff, S.; Fanciulli, M.; Pfnür, H.; Tringides, M. C.; Dil, J. H.; Tegenkamp, C.

2017-07-01

Monolayer structures of Pb on Si(111) attracted recently considerable interest as superconductivity was found in these truly two-dimensional (2D) structures. In this study, we analyzed the electronic surface band structure of the so-called striped incommensurate Pb phase with 4/3 ML coverage by means of spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Our results fully agree with density functional theory calculations done by Ren et al. [Phys. Rev. B 94, 075436 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevB.94.075436]. We observe a local Zeeman-type splitting of a fully occupied and spin-polarized surface band at the K¯√{3} points. The growth of this densely packed Pb structure results in the formation of imbalanced rotational domains, which triggered the detection of C3 v symmetry forbidden spin components for surface states around the Fermi energy. Moreover, the Fermi surface of the metallic surface state of this phase is Rashba spin split and revealed a pronounced warping. However, the 2D nesting vectors are incommensurate with the atomic structure, thus keeping this system rather immune against charge density wave formation and possibly enabling a superconducting behavior.

Nematic superconductivity in CuxBi2Se3 : Surface Andreev bound states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Lei; Ting, C. S.

2017-10-01

We study theoretically the topological surface states (TSSs) and the possible surface Andreev bound states (SABSs) of CuxBi2Se3 , which is known to be a topological insulator at x =0 . The superconductivity (SC) pairing of this compound is assumed to have broken spin-rotation symmetry, similar to that of the A-phase of 3He as suggested by recent nuclear-magnetic resonance experiments. For both spheroidal and corrugated cylindrical Fermi surfaces with the hexagonal warping terms, we show that the bulk SC gap is rather anisotropic; the minimum of the gap is negligibly small as compared to the maximum of the gap. This would make the fully gapped pairing effectively nodal. For a clean system, our results indicate the bulk of this compound to be a topological superconductor with the SABSs appearing inside the bulk SC gap. The zero-energy SABSs, which are Majorana fermions, together with the TSSs not gapped by the pairing, produce a zero-energy peak in the surface density of states (SDOS). The SABSs are expected to be stable against short-range nonmagnetic impurities, and the local SDOS is calculated around a nonmagnetic impurity. The relevance of our results to experiments is discussed.

Laser polishing for topography management of accelerator cavity surfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, Liang; Klopf, J. Mike; Reece, Charles E.

2015-07-20

Improved energy efficiency and reduced cost are greatly desired for advanced particle accelerators. Progress toward both can be made by atomically-smoothing the interior surface of the niobium superconducting radiofrequency accelerator cavities at the machine's heart. Laser polishing offers a green alternative to the present aggressive chemical processes. We found parameters suitable for polishing niobium in all surface states expected for cavity production. As a result, careful measurement of the resulting surface chemistry revealed a modest thinning of the surface oxide layer, but no contamination.

Spontaneous supercurrent and φ0 phase shift parallel to magnetized topological insulator interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alidoust, Mohammad; Hamzehpour, Hossein

2017-10-01

Employing a Keldysh-Eilenberger technique, we theoretically study the generation of a spontaneous supercurrent and the appearance of the φ0 phase shift parallel to uniformly in-plane magnetized superconducting interfaces made of the surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator. We consider two weakly coupled uniformly magnetized superconducting surfaces where a macroscopic phase difference between the s -wave superconductors can be controlled externally. We find that, depending on the magnetization strength and orientation on each side, a spontaneous supercurrent due to the φ0 states flows parallel to the interface at the nanojunction location. Our calculations demonstrate that nonsinusoidal phase relations of current components with opposite directions result in maximal spontaneous supercurrent at phase differences close to π . We also study the Andreev subgap channels at the interface and show that the spin-momentum locking phenomenon in the surface states can be uncovered through density of states studies. We finally discuss realistic experimental implications of our findings.

Electronic characteristics of Tl 2Ba 2CuO 6. Fermi surface, positron wavefunction, electric field gradients, and transport parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, David J.; Pickett, Warren E.

1992-12-01

A number of properties identifiable from the electronic bands and one-electron wavefunctions have been obtained from a well converged self-consistent calculation of the electronic structure of Tl 2Ba 2CuO 6. The Fermi surface is found to consist of two sheets: a two-dimensional barrel surface arising from the CuO 2 layer, and a three-dimensional spheroid arising from states with strong TlO character but actually extending throughout all layers of the structure. This feature has important implications for the transport properties, and especially for the degree of anisotropy. We compare with transport data on single crystals of Tl 2Ba 2CuO 6. The calculated Fermi surface of the spheroid is found to be in substantial agreement with the measured period of magnetization oscillations in the de Haas-van Alphen effect by Kido et al. The positron wavefunction engulfs the CuO 2 layers, making this material a promising case for mapping out with positron 2D-ACAR the layer-derived Fermi surface that is believed to be central to high-temperature superconductivity. The electric field gradients are predicted and compared with calculations for other cuprates. The Hall coefficient RHxyz (carrier motion on the a-b plane) is found to be positive and within a factor of 1.5 of that measured on ceramic samples, while the other non-vanishing component of the Hall tensor is predicted to be negative.

Enhancement of the superconducting gap by nesting in CaKFe 4 As 4 : A new high temperature superconductor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mou, Daixiang; Kong, Tai; Meier, William R.

We use high resolution angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory with measured crystal structure parameters to study the electronic properties of CaKFe 4As 4. In contrast to the related CaFe 2As 2 compounds, CaKFe 4As 4 has a high T c of 35 K at stochiometric composition. This presents a unique opportunity to study the properties of high temperature superconductivity in the iron arsenides in the absence of doping or substitution. The Fermi surface consists of several hole and electron pockets that have a range of diameters. We find that the values of the superconducting gap are nearlymore » isotropic (within the explored portions of the Brillouin zone), but are significantly different for each of the Fermi surface (FS) sheets. Most importantly, we find that the momentum dependence of the gap magnitude plotted across the entire Brillouin zone displays a strong deviation from the simple cos( k x)cos( k y) functional form of the gap function, proposed by the scenario of Cooper pairing driven by a short range antiferromagnetic exchange interaction. Instead, the maximum value of the gap is observed on FS sheets that are closest to the ideal nesting condition, in contrast to previous observations in other ferropnictides. Finally, these results provide strong support for the multiband character of superconductivity in CaKFe 4As 4, in which Cooper pairing forms on the electron and the hole bands interacting via a dominant interband repulsive interaction, enhanced by band nesting.« less

Enhancement of the superconducting gap by nesting in CaKFe 4 As 4 : A new high temperature superconductor

DOE PAGES

Mou, Daixiang; Kong, Tai; Meier, William R.; ...

2016-12-28

We use high resolution angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory with measured crystal structure parameters to study the electronic properties of CaKFe 4As 4. In contrast to the related CaFe 2As 2 compounds, CaKFe 4As 4 has a high T c of 35 K at stochiometric composition. This presents a unique opportunity to study the properties of high temperature superconductivity in the iron arsenides in the absence of doping or substitution. The Fermi surface consists of several hole and electron pockets that have a range of diameters. We find that the values of the superconducting gap are nearlymore » isotropic (within the explored portions of the Brillouin zone), but are significantly different for each of the Fermi surface (FS) sheets. Most importantly, we find that the momentum dependence of the gap magnitude plotted across the entire Brillouin zone displays a strong deviation from the simple cos( k x)cos( k y) functional form of the gap function, proposed by the scenario of Cooper pairing driven by a short range antiferromagnetic exchange interaction. Instead, the maximum value of the gap is observed on FS sheets that are closest to the ideal nesting condition, in contrast to previous observations in other ferropnictides. Finally, these results provide strong support for the multiband character of superconductivity in CaKFe 4As 4, in which Cooper pairing forms on the electron and the hole bands interacting via a dominant interband repulsive interaction, enhanced by band nesting.« less

Microwave surface resistance of bulk YBa2Cu3O6+x material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fathy, A.; Kalokitis, D.; Belohoubek, E.; Sundar, H. G. K.; Safari, A.

1988-10-01

Superconducting Y-Ba-Cu-O samples were prepared by conventional solid-state reaction. The microwave surface resistance of 1:2:3 compound superconductor material was measured in a special disk resonator structure at 10 GHz. At liquid-nitrogen temperatures the microwave surface resistance is comparable to that of Au. At lower temperature (~10 K) the surface resistance is an order of magnitude lower than that of Au at the same temperature.

Ultra slow muon microscopy by laser resonant ionization at J-PARC, MUSE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyake, Y.; Ikedo, Y.; Shimomura, K.; Strasser, P.; Kawamura, N.; Nishiyama, K.; Koda, A.; Fujimori, H.; Makimura, S.; Nakamura, J.; Nagatomo, T.; Kadono, R.; Torikai, E.; Iwasaki, M.; Wada, S.; Saito, N.; Okamura, K.; Yokoyama, K.; Ito, T.; Higemoto, W.

2013-04-01

As one of the principal muon beam line at the J-PARC muon facility (MUSE), we are now constructing a Muon beam line (U-Line), which consists of a large acceptance solenoid made of mineral insulation cables (MIC), a superconducting curved transport solenoid and superconducting axial focusing magnets. There, we can extract 2 × 108/s surface muons towards a hot tungsten target. At the U-Line, we are now establishing a new type of muon microscopy; a new technique with use of the intense ultra-slow muon source generated by resonant ionization of thermal Muonium (designated as Mu; consisting of a μ + and an e - ) atoms generated from the surface of the tungsten target. In this contribution, the latest status of the Ultra Slow Muon Microscopy project, fully funded, is reported.

Mapping of the Resistance of a Superconducting Transition Edge Sensor as a Function of Temperature, Current, and Applied Magnetic Field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Shou; Eckart, Megan E.; Jaeckel, Felix; Kripps, Kari L.; McCammon, Dan; Zhou, Yu; Morgan, Kelsey M.

2017-01-01

We have measured the resistance R (T, I, B(sub ext) of a superconducting transition edge sensor over the entire transition region on a fine scale, producing a four-dimensional map of the resistance surface. The dimensionless temperature and current sensitivities (alpha equivalence partial derivative log R/partial derivative log T|(sub I) and beta equivalence partial derivative log R/partial derivative log I|(sub T) of the TES resistance have been determined at each point. alpha and beta are closely related to the sensor performance, but show a great deal of complex, large amplitude fine structure over large portions of the surface that is sensitive to the applied magnetic field. We discuss the relation of this structure to the presence of Josephson weak link fringes.

Unconventional Electron Pairing and Topological Superconductivity in Proximitized HgTe Quantum Wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Hechen; Hart, Sean; Kosowsky, Michael; Ben-Shach, Gilad; Leubner, Philipp; Brüne, Christoph; Buhmann, Hartmut; Molenkamp, Laurens; Halperin, Bertrand; Yacoby, Amir

Coupling s-wave superconductors to systems with exotic Fermi surface spin textures has been recently proposed as a way to manipulate the nature of the paired state, in some cases even leading to a topological phase transition. Recently, we studied the behavior of Fraunhofer interference in HgTe quantum well-based Josephson junctions, in the presence of a magnetic field applied in the plane of the quantum well. Here we theoretically analyze our system and compare the predicted behavior to our experimental results. We find that the in-plane magnetic field tunes the momentum of Cooper pairs in the quantum well, directly reflecting the response of the spin-dependent Fermi surfaces. This momentum tuning depends crucially on the type of spin-orbit coupling in the system. In the high electron density regime, the induced superconductivity evolves with electron density in agreement with our model based on the Hamiltonian of Bernevig, Hughes and Zhang. This agreement provides a quantitative value for g/vF, where g is the effective g-factor and vF is the Fermi velocity. Our new understanding of the interplay between spin physics and superconductivity introduces a way to spatially engineer the order parameter from singlet to triplet pairing, and in general allows investigation of electronic spin texture at the Fermi surface of materials. NSF DMR-1206016; STC Center for Integrated Quantum Materials under NSF Grant No. DMR-1231319; NSF GRFP under Grant DGE1144152, Microsoft Corporation Project Q.

Sign phase transition in the problem of interfering directed paths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldwin, C. L.; Laumann, C. R.; Spivak, B.

2018-01-01

We investigate the statistical properties of interfering directed paths in disordered media. At long distance, the average sign of the sum over paths may tend to zero (sign disordered) or remain finite (sign ordered) depending on dimensionality and the concentration of negative scattering sites x . We show that in two dimensions the sign-ordered phase is unstable even for arbitrarily small x by identifying rare destabilizing events. In three dimensions, we present strong evidence that there is a sign phase transition at a finite xc>0 . These results have consequences for several different physical systems. In two-dimensional insulators at low temperature, the variable-range-hopping magnetoresistance is always negative, while in three dimensions, it changes sign at the point of the sign phase transition. We also show that in the sign-disordered regime a small magnetic field may enhance superconductivity in a random system of D -wave superconducting grains embedded in a metallic matrix. Finally, the existence of the sign phase transition in three dimensions implies new features in the spin-glass phase diagram at high temperature.

Superconducting surface impedance under radiofrequency field

DOE PAGES

Xiao, Binping P.; Reece, Charles E.; Kelley, Michael J.

2013-04-26

Based on BCS theory with moving Cooper pairs, the electron states distribution at 0K and the probability of electron occupation with finite temperature have been derived and applied to anomalous skin effect theory to obtain the surface impedance of a superconductor under radiofrequency (RF) field. We present the numerical results for Nb and compare these with representative RF field-dependent effective surface resistance measurements from a 1.5 GHz resonant structure.

Laser and Electrochemical Studies of Metallization in Electronic Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-11-15

3.14 AES Surface Analyses Profile at Laser Non-Irradiated Zone ...... ........... 47 Fig 3.15 AES Surface Analyses Profile at Laser Gold Deposit Zone...After Various Times of Ion Sputtering .... ............ ... 48 Fig 3.16 ESCA Surface Analyses Profile of Laser Gold Deposit Zone After Sputtering...57 Table 3.4 Resistance Measurement of Two Point Probes Laser Gold Line Deposits on Superconductive Specimen Material ..... . 58 Fig 3.19

Plasma processing of large curved surfaces for superconducting rf cavity modification

DOE PAGES

Upadhyay, J.; Im, Do; Popović, S.; ...

2014-12-15

In this study, plasma based surface modification of niobium is a promising alternative to wet etching of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities. The development of the technology based on Cl 2/Ar plasma etching has to address several crucial parameters which influence the etching rate and surface roughness, and eventually, determine cavity performance. This includes dependence of the process on the frequency of the RF generator, gas pressure, power level, the driven (inner) electrode configuration, and the chlorine concentration in the gas mixture during plasma processing. To demonstrate surface layer removal in the asymmetric non-planar geometry, we are using a simplemore » cylindrical cavity with 8 ports symmetrically distributed over the cylinder. The ports are used for diagnosing the plasma parameters and as holders for the samples to be etched. The etching rate is highly correlated with the shape of the inner electrode, radio-frequency (RF) circuit elements, chlorine concentration in the Cl 2/Ar gas mixtures, residence time of reactive species and temperature of the cavity. Using cylindrical electrodes with variable radius, large-surface ring-shaped samples and d.c. bias implementation in the external circuit we have demonstrated substantial average etching rates and outlined the possibility to optimize plasma properties with respect to maximum surface processing effect.« less

TaRh2B2 and NbRh2B2: Superconductors with a chiral noncentrosymmetric crystal structure.

PubMed

Carnicom, Elizabeth M; Xie, Weiwei; Klimczuk, Tomasz; Lin, Jingjing; Górnicka, Karolina; Sobczak, Zuzanna; Ong, Nai Phuan; Cava, Robert J

2018-05-01

It is a fundamental truth in solid compounds that the physical properties follow the symmetry of the crystal structure. Nowhere is the effect of symmetry more pronounced than in the electronic and magnetic properties of materials-even the projection of the bulk crystal symmetry onto different crystal faces is known to have a substantial impact on the surface electronic states. The effect of bulk crystal symmetry on the properties of superconductors is widely appreciated, although its study presents substantial challenges. The effect of a lack of a center of symmetry in a crystal structure, for example, has long been understood to necessitate that the wave function of the collective electron state that gives rise to superconductivity has to be more complex than usual. However, few nonhypothetical materials, if any, have actually been proven to display exotic superconducting properties as a result. We introduce two new superconductors that in addition to having noncentrosymmetric crystal structures also have chiral crystal structures. Because the wave function of electrons in solids is particularly sensitive to the host material's symmetry, crystal structure chirality is expected to have a substantial effect on their superconducting wave functions. Our two experimentally obtained chiral noncentrosymmetric superconducting materials have transition temperatures to superconductivity that are easily experimentally accessible, and our basic property characterization suggests that their superconducting properties may be unusual. We propose that their study may allow for a more in-depth understanding of how chirality influences the properties of superconductors and devices that incorporate them.

High temperature interface superconductivity

DOE PAGES

Gozar, A.; Bozovic, I.

2016-01-20

High-T c superconductivity at interfaces has a history of more than a couple of decades. In this review we focus our attention on copper-oxide based heterostructures and multi-layers. We first discuss the technique, atomic layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy (ALL-MBE) engineering, that enabled High-T c Interface Superconductivity (HT-IS), and the challenges associated with the realization of high quality interfaces. Then we turn our attention to the experiments which shed light on the structure and properties of interfacial layers, allowing comparison to those of single-phase films and bulk crystals. Both ‘passive’ hetero-structures as well as surface-induced effects by external gating are discussed.more » Here, we conclude by comparing HT-IS in cuprates and in other classes of materials, especially Fe-based superconductors, and by examining the grand challenges currently laying ahead for the field.« less

Passive microwave device applications of high T(c) superconducting thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyons, W. G.; Withers, R. S.

1990-11-01

Superconductors with a transition temperature T(c) from 40 K to 125 K are analyzed, with focus placed on their behavior around the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77 K). It is shown that high-T(c) superconductors are similar to conventional type-II superconductors with paired holes instead of paired electrons. The nature of the electromagnetic response of a superconductor is illustrated with a two-fluid model, and surface resistance and conductor loss are assessed. Several microwave applications of high-T(c) superconductors are outlined including a six-pole dielectric loaded cavity filter used in multiplexers on current communication satellites and a four-pole superconducting filter. An implementation of a chirp filter using superconducting striplines with a cascaded array of backward-wave couplers to achieve a downchirp is presented as well as a 60-GHz phased antenna utilizing microstrip lines in the feed network.

Momentum dependence of the superconducting gap and in-gap states in MgB 2 multiband superconductor

DOE PAGES

Mou, Daixiang; Jiang, Rui; Taufour, Valentin; ...

2015-06-29

We use tunable laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to study the electronic structure of the multiband superconductor MgB 2. These results form the baseline for detailed studies of superconductivity in multiband systems. We find that the magnitude of the superconducting gap on both σ bands follows a BCS-like variation with temperature with Δ 0 ~ 7meV. Furthermore, the value of the gap is isotropic within experimental uncertainty and in agreement with a pure s-wave pairing symmetry. We observe in-gap states confined to k F of the σ band that occur at some locations of the sample surface. As a result, themore » energy of this excitation, ~ 3 meV, was found to be somewhat larger than the previously reported gap on π Fermi sheet and therefore we cannot exclude the possibility of interband scattering as its origin.« less

The issues in the development of a f = 162 . 5 MHz, β = 0 . 12 superconducting half-wave resonator for the Rare Isotope Science Project (RISP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Gunn Tae; Joo, Jongdae; Yao, Zhongyuan

2017-10-01

A f = 162 . 5 MHz superconducting half-wave resonator (HWR) with β = 0 . 12 is one of the four superconducting cavities being developed for the heavy ion linac of the Rare Isotope Science Project (RISP). The linac will accelerate various ions ranging from proton to uranium with beam power of about 400 kW. In particular, the HWR's will accelerate the ion beam in low-medium energy range, i.e., from 1.6 to 18 MeV for the case of uranium. In this paper, we describe design, fabrication, surface treatment, and vertical test of the 1st prototype of the cavity in detail. We also discuss some issues on the performance enhancement of the cavity. The Q0 values at 2 K surpassed the target performance, Q0 = 1 . 1 × 109 at Eacc = 6 . 3 MV / m.

Design, Fabrication, and Test of a Superconducting Dipole Magnet Based on Tilted Solenoids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Caspi, S.; Dietderich, D. R.; Ferracin, P.

2007-06-01

It can be shown that, by superposing two solenoid-like thin windings that are oppositely skewed (tilted) with respect to the bore axis, the combined current density on the surface is 'cos-theta' like and the resulting magnetic field in the bore is a pure dipole. As a proof of principle, such a magnet was designed, built and tested as part of a summer undergraduate intern project. The measured field in the 25mm bore, 4 single strand layers using NbTi superconductor, exceeded 1 T. The simplicity of this high field quality design, void of typical wedges end-spacers and coil assembly, is especiallymore » suitable for insert-coils using High Temperature Superconducting wire as well as for low cost superconducting accelerator magnets for High Energy Physics. Details of the design, construction and test are reported.« less

Maximum screening fields of superconducting multilayer structures

DOE PAGES

Gurevich, Alex

2015-01-07

Here, it is shown that a multilayer comprised of alternating thin superconducting and insulating layers on a thick substrate can fully screen the applied magnetic field exceeding the superheating fields H s of both the superconducting layers and the substrate, the maximum Meissner field is achieved at an optimum multilayer thickness. For instance, a dirty layer of thickness ~0.1 μm at the Nb surface could increase H s ≃ 240 mT of a clean Nb up to H s ≃ 290 mT. Optimized multilayers of Nb 3Sn, NbN, some of the iron pnictides, or alloyed Nb deposited onto the surfacemore » of the Nb resonator cavities could potentially double the rf breakdown field, pushing the peak accelerating electric fields above 100 MV/m while protecting the cavity from dendritic thermomagnetic avalanches caused by local penetration of vortices.« less

Spin Resonance in the New-Structure-Type Iron-Based Superconductor CaKFe4As4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iida, Kazuki; Ishikado, Motoyuki; Nagai, Yuki; Yoshida, Hiroyuki; Christianson, Andrew D.; Murai, Naoki; Kawashima, Kenji; Yoshida, Yoshiyuki; Eisaki, Hiroshi; Iyo, Akira

2017-09-01

The dynamical spin susceptibility in the new-structure-type iron-based superconductor CaKFe4As4 was investigated by using a combination of inelastic neutron scattering (INS) measurements and random phase approximation (RPA) calculations. Powder INS measurements show that the spin resonance at Qres = 1.17(1) Å-1, corresponding to the (π ,π ) nesting wave vector in tetragonal notation, evolves below Tc. The characteristic energy of the spin resonance Eres = 12.5 meV is smaller than twice the size of the superconducting gap (2Δ). The broad energy feature of the dynamical susceptibility of the spin resonance can be explained by the RPA calculations, in which the different superconducting gaps on different Fermi surfaces are taken into account. Our INS and PRA studies demonstrate that the superconducting pairing nature in CaKFe4As4 is the s± symmetry.

Molybdenum-rhenium alloy based high-Q superconducting microwave resonators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singh, Vibhor, E-mail: v.singh@tudelft.nl; Schneider, Ben H.; Bosman, Sal J.

2014-12-01

Superconducting microwave resonators (SMRs) with high quality factors have become an important technology in a wide range of applications. Molybdenum-Rhenium (MoRe) is a disordered superconducting alloy with a noble surface chemistry and a relatively high transition temperature. These properties make it attractive for SMR applications, but characterization of MoRe SMR has not yet been reported. Here, we present the fabrication and characterization of SMR fabricated with a MoRe 60–40 alloy. At low drive powers, we observe internal quality-factors as high as 700 000. Temperature and power dependence of the internal quality-factors suggest the presence of the two level systems from themore » dielectric substrate dominating the internal loss at low temperatures. We further test the compatibility of these resonators with high temperature processes, such as for carbon nanotube chemical vapor deposition growth, and their performance in the magnetic field, an important characterization for hybrid systems.« less

Publisher's Note: High-temperature superconductivity stabilized by electron-hole interband coupling in collapsed tetragonal phase of KFe 2 As 2 under high pressure [Phys. Rev. B 91 , 060508(R) (2015)

DOE PAGES

Nakajima, Yasuyuki; Wang, Renxiong; Metz, Tristin; ...

2015-03-09

Here, we report a high-pressure study of simultaneous low-temperature electrical resistivity and Hall effect measurements on high quality single-crystalline KFe 2As 2 using designer diamond anvil cell techniques with applied pressures up to 33 GPa. In the low pressure regime, we show that the superconducting transition temperature T c finds a maximum onset value of 7 K near 2 GPa, in contrast to previous reports that find a minimum T c and reversal of pressure dependence at this pressure. Upon applying higher pressures, this T c is diminished until a sudden drastic enhancement occurs coincident with a first-order structural phasemore » transition into a collapsed tetragonal phase. The appearance of a distinct superconducting phase above 13 GPa is also accompanied by a sudden reversal of dominant charge carrier sign, from hole- to electron-like, which agrees with our band calculations predicting the emergence of an electron pocket and diminishment of hole pockets upon Fermi surface reconstruction. Our results suggest the high-temperature superconducting phase in KFe 2As 2 is substantially enhanced by the presence of nested electron and hole pockets, providing the key ingredient of high-T c superconductivity in iron pnictide superconductors.« less

Synthesis and characterization of indium doped La{sub 3}Co{sub 4}Sn{sub 13} skutterudite superconductor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Neha, P.; Srivastava, P.; Shruti,

2016-05-06

We report the synthesis and characterization of a novel superconductor La{sub 3}Co{sub 4}Sn{sub 12.35}In{sub 0.65} by Indium doping at Tin site in parent compound La{sub 3}Co{sub 4}Sn{sub 13}. We observe enhanced T{sub c} along with improved superconducting properties as onset compared to parent compound. By transport measurements we get superconducting transition with T{sub c}{sup onset} = 4.7 K and T{sub c}{sup zero} = 3.2 K. In magnetization measurements (ZFC-FC) superconducting transition is observed at 5.1 K. Upper critical field (H{sub c2}) and lower critical field (H{sub c1}) calculated by magneto resistance and M-H loop measurement are found to be 1.65more » T and 0.0026 T respectively. Hall measurement shows the majority charge carrier as electrons with carrier density of the order of 10{sup 19} cm{sup −3}. TEP measurement also support the Hall data as the Seebeck coefficient is negative over whole temperature range of measurement.« less

Superconducting analog-to-digital converter with a triple-junction reversible flip-flop bidirectional counter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, G.S.

1993-07-13

A high-performance superconducting analog-to-digital converter is described, comprising: a bidirectional binary counter having n stages of triple-junction reversible flip-flops connected together in a cascade arrangement from the least significant bit (LSB) to the most significant bit (MSB) where n is the number of bits of the digital output, each triple-junction reversible flip-flop including first, second and third shunted Josephson tunnel junctions and a superconducting inductor connected in a bridge circuit, the Josephson junctions and the inductor forming upper and lower portions of the flip-flop, each reversible flip-flop being a bistable logic circuit in which the direction of the circulating currentmore » determines the state of the circuit; and means for applying an analog input current to the bidirectional counter; wherein the bidirectional counter algebraically counts incremental changes in the analog input current, increasing the binary count for positive incremental changes in the analog current and decreasing the binary count for negative incremental changes in the current, and wherein the counter does not require a gate bias, thus minimizing power dissipation.« less

Two-dimensional chiral topological superconductivity in Shiba lattices

PubMed Central

Li, Jian; Neupert, Titus; Wang, Zhijun; MacDonald, A. H.; Yazdani, A.; Bernevig, B. Andrei

2016-01-01

The chiral p-wave superconductor is the archetypal example of a state of matter that supports non-Abelian anyons, a highly desired type of exotic quasiparticle. With this, it is foundational for the distant goal of building a topological quantum computer. While some candidate materials for bulk chiral superconductors exist, they are subject of an ongoing debate about their actual paring state. Here we propose an alternative route to chiral superconductivity, consisting of the surface of an ordinary superconductor decorated with a two-dimensional lattice of magnetic impurities. We furthermore identify a promising experimental platform to realize this proposal. PMID:27465127

Application of superconducting technology to earth-to-orbit electromagnetic launch systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hull, J. R.; Carney, L. M.

1988-01-01

Benefits may occur by incorporating superconductors, both existing and those currently under development, in one or more parts of a large-scale electromagnetic launch (EML) system that is capable of delivering payloads from the surface of the Earth to space. The use of superconductors for many of the EML components results in lower system losses; consequently, reductions in the size and number of energy storage devices are possible. Applied high-temperature superconductivity may eventually enable novel design concepts for energy distribution and switching. All of these technical improvements have the potential to reduce system complexity and lower payload launch costs.

Spontaneous Currents in Superconducting Systems with Strong Spin-Orbit Coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mironov, S.; Buzdin, A.

2017-02-01

We show that Rashba spin-orbit coupling at the interface between a superconductor and a ferromagnet should produce a spontaneous current in the atomic thickness region near the interface. This current is counterbalanced by the superconducting screening current flowing in the region of the width of the London penetration depth near the interface. Such a current-carrying state creates a magnetic field near the superconductor surface, generates a stray magnetic field outside the sample edges, changes the slope of the temperature dependence of the critical field Hc 3 , and may generate the spontaneous Abrikosov vortices near the interface.

Clamshell microwave cavities having a superconductive coating

DOEpatents

Cooke, D. Wayne; Arendt, Paul N.; Piel, Helmut

1994-01-01

A microwave cavity including a pair of opposing clamshell halves, such halves comprised of a metal selected from the group consisting of silver, copper, or a silver-based alloy, wherein the cavity is further characterized as exhibiting a dominant TE.sub.011 mode is provided together with an embodiment wherein the interior concave surfaces of the clamshell halves are coated with a superconductive material. In the case of copper clamshell halves, the microwave cavity has a Q-value of about 1.2.times.10.sup.5 as measured at a temperature of 10K and a frequency of 10 GHz.

Control of Interfacial Phenomena in Artificial Oxide Heterostructures

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

heterostructures using the field effect to control superconductivity, magnetism, and metal‐insulator transitions. We also identify the existence of double TiO2 ...double TiO2 layers play a crucial role in determining the superconducting states of monolayer FeSe/SrTiO3. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Thin films, conductor...development of oxide‐based electronic devices.  We also identify the existence of double  TiO2   layers at the surface of SrTiO3 in the recently

Surface processing for bulk niobium superconducting radio frequency cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, M. P.; Reid, T.

2017-04-01

The majority of niobium cavities for superconducting particle accelerators continue to be fabricated from thin-walled (2-4 mm) polycrystalline niobium sheet and, as a final step, require material removal from the radio frequency (RF) surface in order to achieve performance needed for use as practical accelerator devices. More recently bulk niobium in the form of, single- or large-grain slices cut from an ingot has become a viable alternative for some cavity types. In both cases the so-called damaged layer must be chemically etched or electrochemically polished away. The methods for doing this date back at least four decades, however, vigorous empirical studies on real cavities and more fundamental studies on niobium samples at laboratories worldwide have led to seemingly modest improvements that, when taken together, constitute a substantial advance in the reproducibility for surface processing techniques and overall cavity performance. This article reviews the development of niobium cavity surface processing, and summarizes results of recent studies. We place some emphasis on practical details for real cavity processing systems which are difficult to find in the literature but are, nonetheless, crucial for achieving the good and reproducible cavity performance. New approaches for bulk niobium surface treatment which aim to reduce cost or increase performance, including alternate chemical recipes, barrel polishing and ‘nitrogen doping’ of the RF surface, continue to be pursued and are closely linked to the requirements for surface processing.

Surface processing for bulk niobium superconducting radio frequency cavities

DOE PAGES

Kelly, M. P.; Reid, T.

2017-02-21

The majority of niobium cavities for superconducting particle accelerators continue to be fabricated from thin-walled (2-4mm) polycrystalline niobium sheet and, as a final step, require material removal from the radio frequency (RF) surface in order to achieve performance needed for use as practical accelerator devices. More recently bulk niobium in the form of, single-or large-grain slices cut from an ingot has become a viable alternative for some cavity types. In both cases the so-called damaged layer must be chemically etched or electrochemically polished away. The methods for doing this date back at least four decades, however, vigorous empirical studies onmore » real cavities and more fundamental studies on niobium samples at laboratories worldwide have led to seemingly modest improvements that, when taken together, constitute a substantial advance in the reproducibility for surface processing techniques and overall cavity performance. This article reviews the development of niobium cavity surface processing, and summarizes results of recent studies. We place some emphasis on practical details for real cavity processing systems which are difficult to find in the literature but are, nonetheless, crucial for achieving the good and reproducible cavity performance. New approaches for bulk niobium surface treatment which aim to reduce cost or increase performance, including alternate chemical recipes, barrel polishing and 'nitrogen doping' of the RF surface, continue to be pursued and are closely linked to the requirements for surface processing.« less

Surface processing for bulk niobium superconducting radio frequency cavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kelly, M. P.; Reid, T.

The majority of niobium cavities for superconducting particle accelerators continue to be fabricated from thin-walled (2-4mm) polycrystalline niobium sheet and, as a final step, require material removal from the radio frequency (RF) surface in order to achieve performance needed for use as practical accelerator devices. More recently bulk niobium in the form of, single-or large-grain slices cut from an ingot has become a viable alternative for some cavity types. In both cases the so-called damaged layer must be chemically etched or electrochemically polished away. The methods for doing this date back at least four decades, however, vigorous empirical studies onmore » real cavities and more fundamental studies on niobium samples at laboratories worldwide have led to seemingly modest improvements that, when taken together, constitute a substantial advance in the reproducibility for surface processing techniques and overall cavity performance. This article reviews the development of niobium cavity surface processing, and summarizes results of recent studies. We place some emphasis on practical details for real cavity processing systems which are difficult to find in the literature but are, nonetheless, crucial for achieving the good and reproducible cavity performance. New approaches for bulk niobium surface treatment which aim to reduce cost or increase performance, including alternate chemical recipes, barrel polishing and 'nitrogen doping' of the RF surface, continue to be pursued and are closely linked to the requirements for surface processing.« less

Cryogenic Design of a Large Superconducting Magnet for Astro-particle Shielding on Deep Space Travel Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruce, Romain; Baudouy, Bertrand

The Space Radiation Superconducting Shield (SR2S) European project aims at studying a large superconducting toroid magnet to protect the human habitat from the ionizing radiations coming from Galactic Cosmic Ray during long term missions in deep space. Titanium clad MgB2 conductor is used to afford a bending power greater than 5 T.m at 10 K. A specific cryogenic design is needed to cool down this 10 m long and 12.8 m in diameter magnet. A passive cooling system, using a V-groove sunshield, is considered to reduce the heat flux coming from the Sun or Mars. An active configuration, using pulse tube cryocoolers, will be linked to the 80 K thermal screen intercepting most of the heat fluxes coming from the human habitat. The toroid magnet will be connected also to cryocoolers to absorb the few watts reaching its surface. Two kinds of thermal link are being considered to absorb the heat on the 80 K thermal screen. The first one is active, with a pump circulating helium gas in a network of exchange tubes. The second one is passive using long cryogenic pulse heat pipe (PHP) with the evaporator on the surface of the thermal screen and the condenser attached to the pulse tube.

Depth profiling of superconducting thin films using rare gas ion sputtering with laser postionization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pallix, J. B.; Becker, C. H.; Missert, N.; Char, K.; Hammond, R. H.

1988-02-01

Surface analysis by laser ionization (SALI) has been used to examine a high-Tc superconducting thin film of nominal composition YBa2Cu3O7 deposited on SrTiO3 (100) by reactive magnetron sputtering. The main focus of this work was to probe the compositional uniformity and the impurity content throughout the 1800 Å thick film having critical current densities of 1 to 2×106 A/cm2. SALI depth profiles show this film to be more uniform than thicker films (˜1 μm, prepared by electron beam codeposition) which were studied previously, yet the data show that some additional (non-superconducting) phases derived from Y, Ba, Cu, and O are still present. These additional phases are studied by monitoring the atomic and diatomic-oxide photoion profiles and also the depth profiles of various clusters (e.g. Y2O2+, Y2O3+, Y3O4+, Ba2O+, Ba2O2+, BaCu+, BaCuO+, YBaO2+, YSrO2+, etc.). A variety of impurities are observed to occur throughout the film including rather large concentrations of Sr. Hydroxides, F, Cl, and COx are evident particularly in the sample's near surface region (the top ˜100 Å).

Topological superconductivity in an ultrathin, magnetically-doped topological insulator proximity coupled to a conventional superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Youngseok; Philip, Timothy M.; Park, Moon Jip; Gilbert, Matthew J.; University of Illinois at Urbana; Champaign Team

As a promising candidate system to realize topological superconductivity (SC), 3D time-reversal invariant topological insulators (TI) proximity-coupled to s-wave superconductors have been intensively studied. Recent experiments on proximity-coupled TI have shown that superconductivity may be induced in ultrathin TI. One proposal to observe the topological SC in proximity-coupled ultrathin TI system is to add magnetic dopants to the TI. However, detailed study on the impact of the experimental parameters on possible topological phase is sparse. In this work, we investigate ultrathin, magnetically-doped, proximity-coupled TI in order to determine the experimentally relevant parameters needed to observe topological SC. We find that, due to the spin-momentum locked nature of the surface states in TI, the induced s-wave order parameter within the surface states persists even at large magnitudes of the Zeeman energy, allowing us to explore the system in parameter space. We elucidate the phase diagram as a function of: the hybridization gap, Zeeman energy, and chemical potential of the TI system. Our findings provide a useful guide in choosing relevant parameters to facilitate the observation of topological SC in thin film TI-superconductor hybrid systems. National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant CAREER ECCS-1351871.

Interplay between interface structure and magnetism in NiFe/Cu/Ni-based pseudo-spin valves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loving, Melissa G.; Ambrose, Thomas F.; Ermer, Henry; Miller, Don; Naaman, Ofer

2018-05-01

Magnetic pseudo spin valves (PSVs) with superconducting Nb electrodes, have been leading candidates for an energy-efficient memory solution compatible with cryogenic operation of ultra-low power superconducting logic. Integration of these PSV Josephson junctions in a standard multi-layer Nb process requires growing high-quality thin magnetic films on a thick Nb bottom electrode (i.e. ≥1.5kÅ, to achieve bulk superconducting properties). However, as deposited, 1.5kÅ Nb exhibits a rough surface with a characteristic rice grain morphology, which severely degrades the switching properties of subsequently deposited PSVs. Therefore, in order to achieve coherent switching throughout a PSV, the Nb interface must be modified. Here, we demonstrate that the Nb surface morphology and PSV crystallinity can be altered with the incorporation of separate 50Å Cu or 100Å Al/50Å Cu non-magnetic seed layers, and demonstrate their impact on the magnetic switching of a 15Å Ni80Fe20/50Å Cu/20Å Ni PSV, at both room temperature and at 10 K. Most notably, these results show that the incorporation of an Al seed layer leads to an improved face centered cubic templating through the bulk of the PSV, and ultimately to superior magnetic switching.

Enabling High Performance Instruments for Astronomy and Space Exploration and ALD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greer, Frank; Lee, M. C.; Hoenk, M. E.; Jones, T. J.; Jacquot, B. C.; Dickie, M.; Monacos, S.; Nikzad, S.; Day, P.; Leduc, R.;

Electronic Materials and Applications 2014 (Abstracts)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-02

the thermal image using IR camera and surface tempera- ture using thermo couple. Lastly, we conducted a surface coating to change the surface...progress in the superconducting films and coated conductors of iron chalcogenides. With a CeO2 buffer , critical current densities (Jc) over 7 MA/cm2...Roosen, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany Kato, N. 23-Jan 11:15AM Pacific 11:30 AM (EMA-S1-021-2014) Glass-like Thermal Conductivity of (010

Characteristics of the NASA Lewis bumpy torus plasma generated with high positive or negative applied potentials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roth, J. R.; Gerdin, G. A.

1976-01-01

The toroidal ring of plasma contained in the NASA Lewis bumpy-torus superconducting magnet facility may be biased to positive or negative potentials approaching 50 kilovolts by applying direct-current voltages of the respective polarity to 12 or fewer of the midplane electrode rings. The electric fields which are responsible for heating the ions by E/B drift then point radially outward or inward. The low-frequency fluctuations below the ion cyclotron frequency appeared to be dominated by rotating spokes.

Plasma processing of superconducting radio frequency cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Upadhyay, Janardan

The development of plasma processing technology of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities not only provides a chemical free and less expensive processing method, but also opens up the possibility for controlled modification of the inner surfaces of the cavity for better superconducting properties. The research was focused on the transition of plasma etching from two dimensional flat surfaces to inner surfaces of three dimensional (3D) structures. The results could be applicable to a variety of inner surfaces of 3D structures other than SRF cavities. Understanding the Ar/Cl2 plasma etching mechanism is crucial for achieving the desired modification of Nb SRF cavities. In the process of developing plasma etching technology, an apparatus was built and a method was developed to plasma etch a single cell Pill Box cavity. The plasma characterization was done with the help of optical emission spectroscopy. The Nb etch rate at various points of this cavity was measured before processing the SRF cavity. Cylindrical ring-type samples of Nb placed on the inner surface of the outer wall were used to measure the dependence of the process parameters on plasma etching. The measured etch rate dependence on the pressure, rf power, dc bias, temperature, Cl2 concentration and diameter of the inner electrode was determined. The etch rate mechanism was studied by varying the temperature of the outer wall, the dc bias on the inner electrode and gas conditions. In a coaxial plasma reactor, uniform plasma etching along the cylindrical structure is a challenging task due to depletion of the active radicals along the gas flow direction. The dependence of etch rate uniformity along the cylindrical axis was determined as a function of process parameters. The formation of dc self-biases due to surface area asymmetry in this type of plasma and its variation on the pressure, rf power and gas composition was measured. Enhancing the surface area of the inner electrode to reduce the asymmetry was studied by changing the contour of the inner electrode. The optimized contour of the electrode based on these measurements was chosen for SRF cavity processing.

MIC-Large Scale Magnetically Inflated Cable Structures for Space Power, Propulsion, Communications and Observational Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powell, James; Maise, George; Rather, John

2010-01-01

A new approach for the erection of rigid large scale structures in space-MIC (Magnetically Inflated Cable)-is described. MIC structures are launched as a compact payload of superconducting cables and attached tethers. After reaching orbit, the superconducting cables are energized with electrical current. The magnet force interactions between the cables cause them to expand outwards into the final large structure. Various structural shapes and applications are described. The MIC structure can be a simple flat disc with a superconducting outer ring that supports a tether network holding a solar cell array, or it can form a curved mirror surface that concentrates light and focuses it on a smaller region-for example, a high flux solar array that generates electric power, a high temperature receiver that heats H2 propellant for high Isp propulsion, and a giant primary reflector for a telescope for astronomy and Earth surveillance. Linear dipole and quadrupole MIC structures are also possible. The linear quadrupole structure can be used for magnetic shielding against cosmic radiation for astronauts, for example. MIC could use lightweight YBCO superconducting HTS (High Temperature Superconductor) cables, that can operate with liquid N2 coolant at engineering current densities of ~105 amp/cm2. A 1 kilometer length of MIC cable would weigh only 3 metric tons, including superconductor, thermal insulations, coolant circuits, and refrigerator, and fit within a 3 cubic meter compact package for launch. Four potential MIC applications are described: Solar-thermal propulsion using H2 propellant, space based solar power generation for beaming power to Earth, a large space telescope, and solar electric generation for a manned lunar base. The first 3 applications use large MIC solar concentrating mirrors, while the 4th application uses a surface based array of solar cells on a magnetically levitated MIC structure to follow the sun. MIC space based mirrors can be very large and light in weight. A 300 meter diameter MIC mirror in orbit for example, would weigh 20 metric tons and MIC structures can be easily developed and tested on Earth at small scale in existing evacuated chambers followed by larger scale tests in the atmosphere, using a vacuum tight enclosure on the small diameter superconducting cable to prevent air leakage into the evacuated thermal insulation around the superconducting cable.

The influence of ligand charge and length on the assembly of Brome mosaic virus derived virus-like particles with magnetic core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mieloch, Adam A.; Krecisz, Monika; Rybka, Jakub D.; Strugała, Aleksander; Krupiński, Michał; Urbanowicz, Anna; Kozak, Maciej; Skalski, Bohdan; Figlerowicz, Marek; Giersig, Michael

2018-03-01

Virus-like particles (VLPs) have sparked a great interest in the field of nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine. The introduction of superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPIONs) as a core, provides potential use of VLPs in the hyperthermia therapy, MRI contrast agents and magnetically-powered delivery agents. Magnetite NPs also provide a significant improvement in terms of VLPs stability. Moreover employing viral structural proteins as self-assembling units has opened a new paths for targeted therapy, drug delivery systems, vaccines design, and many more. In many cases, the self-assembly of a virus strongly depends on electrostatic interactions between positively charged groups of the capsid proteins and negatively charged nucleic acid. This phenomenon imposes the negative net charge as a key requirement for the core nanoparticle. In our experiments, Brome mosaic virus (BMV) capsid proteins isolated from infected plants Hordeum vulgare were used. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4) with 15 nm in diameter were synthesized by thermal decomposition and functionalized with COOH-PEG-PL polymer or dihexadecylphosphate (DHP) in order to provide water solubility and negative charge required for the assembly. Nanoparticles were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Zeta Potential, Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) magnetometry. TEM and DLS study were conducted to verify VLPs creation. This study demonstrates that the increase of negative surface charge is not a sufficient factor determining successful assembly. Additional steric interactions provided by longer ligands are crucial for the assembly of BMV SPION VLPs and may enhance the colloidal stability.

Method of nitriding niobium to form a superconducting surface

DOEpatents

Kelley, Michael J.; Klopf, John Michael; Singaravelu, Senthilaraja

2014-08-19

A method of forming a delta niobium nitride .delta.-NbN layer on the surface of a niobium object including cleaning the surface of the niobium object; providing a treatment chamber; placing the niobium object in the treatment chamber; evacuating the chamber; passing pure nitrogen into the treatment chamber; focusing a laser spot on the niobium object; delivering laser fluences at the laser spot until the surface of the niobium object reaches above its boiling temperature; and rastering the laser spot over the surface of the niobium object.

Holstein polaron in a valley-degenerate two-dimensional semiconductor.

PubMed

Kang, Mingu; Jung, Sung Won; Shin, Woo Jong; Sohn, Yeongsup; Ryu, Sae Hee; Kim, Timur K; Hoesch, Moritz; Kim, Keun Su

2018-05-28

Two-dimensional (2D) crystals have emerged as a class of materials with tunable carrier density 1 . Carrier doping to 2D semiconductors can be used to modulate many-body interactions 2 and to explore novel composite particles. The Holstein polaron is a small composite particle of an electron that carries a cloud of self-induced lattice deformation (or phonons) 3-5 , which has been proposed to play a key role in high-temperature superconductivity 6 and carrier mobility in devices 7 . Here we report the discovery of Holstein polarons in a surface-doped layered semiconductor, MoS 2 , in which a puzzling 2D superconducting dome with the critical temperature of 12 K was found recently 8-11 . Using a high-resolution band mapping of charge carriers, we found strong band renormalizations collectively identified as a hitherto unobserved spectral function of Holstein polarons 12-18 . The short-range nature of electron-phonon (e-ph) coupling in MoS 2 can be explained by its valley degeneracy, which enables strong intervalley coupling mediated by acoustic phonons. The coupling strength is found to increase gradually along the superconducting dome up to the intermediate regime, which suggests a bipolaronic pairing in the 2D superconductivity.

Superconducting Bi 2Te: Pressure-induced universality in the (Bi 2) m(Bi 2Te 3) n series

DOE PAGES

Stillwell, Ryan L.; Jeffries, Jason R.; Jenei, Zsolt; ...

2016-03-09

Using high-pressure magnetotransport techniques we have discovered superconductivity in Bi 2Te, a member of the infinitely adaptive (Bi 2)m(Bi 2Te 3)n series, whose end members, Bi and Bi 2Te 3, can be tuned to display topological surface states or superconductivity. Bi 2Te has a maximum T c = 8.6 K at P = 14.5 GPa and goes through multiple high pressure phase transitions, ultimately collapsing into a bcc structure that suggests a universal behavior across the series. High-pressure magnetoresistance and Hall measurements suggest a semi-metal to metal transition near 5.4 GPa, which accompanies the hexagonal to intermediate phase transition seenmore » via x-ray diffraction measurements. In addition, the linearity of H c2 (T) exceeds the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg limit, even in the extreme spin-orbit scattering limit, yet is consistent with other strong spin-orbit materials. Furthermore, considering these results in combination with similar reports on strong spin-orbit scattering materials seen in the literature, we suggest the need for a new theory that can address the unconventional nature of their superconducting states.« less

Superconducting magnetic sensors for mine detection and classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clem, Ted R.; Koch, Roger H.; Keefe, George A.

1995-06-01

Sensors incorporating Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) provide the greatest sensitivity for magnetic anomaly detection available with current technology. During the 1980's, the Naval Surface Warfare Center Coastal Systems Station (CSS) developed a superconducting magnetic sensor capable of operation outside of the laboratory environment. This sensor demonstrated rugged, reliable performance even onboard undersea towed platforms. With this sensor, the CSS was able to demonstrate buried mine detection for the US Navy. Subsequently the sensor was incorporated into a multisensor suite onboard an underwater towed vehicle to provide a robust mine hunting capability for the Magnetic and Acoustic Detection of Mines (MADOM) project. This sensor technology utilized niobium superconducting componentry cooled by liquid helium to temperatures on the order of 4 degrees Kelvin (K). In the late 1980's a new class of superconductors was discovered with critical temperatures above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77K). This advance has opened up new opportunities, especially for mine reconnaissance and hunting from small unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). This paper describes the magnetic sensor detection and classification concept developed for MADOM. In addition, opportunities for UUV operations made possible with high Tc technology and the Navy's current efforts in this area will be addressed.

Pressure-temperature phase diagrams of CaK(Fe1 -xNix)4As4 superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Li; Meier, William R.; Xu, Mingyu; Kaluarachchi, Udhara S.; Bud'ko, Sergey L.; Canfield, Paul C.

2018-05-01

The pressure dependence of the magnetic and superconducting transitions and that of the superconducting upper critical field are reported for CaK (Fe1-xNix) 4As4 , the first example of an Fe-based superconductor with spin-vortex-crystal-type magnetic ordering. Resistance measurements were performed on single crystals with two substitution levels (x =0.033 ,0.050 ) under hydrostatic pressures up to 5.12 GPa and in magnetic fields up to 9 T. Our results show that, for both compositions, magnetic transition temperatures TN are suppressed upon applying pressure; the superconducting transition temperatures Tc are suppressed by pressure as well, except for x =0.050 in the pressure region where TN and Tc cross. Furthermore, the pressure associated with the crossing of the TN and Tc lines also coincides with a minimum in the normalized slope of the superconducting upper critical field, consistent with a likely Fermi-surface reconstruction associated with the loss of magnetic ordering. Finally, at p ˜4 GPa, both Ni-substituted CaK (Fe1-xNix) 4As4 samples likely go through a half-collapsed-tetragonal phase transition, similar to the parent compound CaKFe4As4 .

Characterizing the electronic ground states of single-layer NbSe2 via STM/STS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yi; Ugeda, Miguel; Bradley, Aaron; Zhang, Yi; Onishi, Seita; Ruan, Wei; Ojeda-Aristizabal, Claudia; Ryu, Hyejin; Edmonds, Mark; Tsai, Hsin-Zon; Riss, Alexander; Mo, Sung-Kwan; Lee, Dunghai; Zettl, Alex; Hussain, Zahid; Shen, Zhi-Xun; Crommie, Michael

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are ideal systems for exploring collective electronic phases such as charge density wave (CDW) order and superconductivity. In bulk NbSe2 the CDW sets in at TCDW = 33K and superconductivity sets in at Tc = 7.2K. Below Tc these electronic states coexist but their microscopic formation mechanisms remain controversial. Here we present an electronic characterization study of a single 2D layer of NbSe2 by means of low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS), angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and electrical transport measurements. We demonstrate that the CDW order remains intact in 2D and exhibits a robust 3 x 3 superlattice. Superconductivity also still occurs but its onset is depressed to 1.6K. Our STS measurements at 5K reveal a CDW gap of Δ = 4 meV at the Fermi energy, which is accessible via STS due to the removal of bands crossing the Fermi surface in the 2D limit. Our observations are consistent with the predicted simplified (compared to bulk) electronic structure of single-layer NbSe2, thus providing new insight into CDW formation and superconductivity in this model strongly-correlated system.

Fracture analysis for a penny-shaped crack problem of a superconducting cylinder in a parallel magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, S. W.; Feng, W. J.; Fang, X. Q.; Zhang, G. L.

2014-11-01

In this work, the penny-shaped crack problem is investigated for an infinite long superconducting cylinder under electromagnetic forces. The distributions of magnetic flux density in the superconducting cylinder are obtained analytically for both the zero-field cooling (ZFC) and the field cooling (FC) activation processes, where the magnetically impermeable crack surface condition and the Bean model outside the crack region are adopted. Based on the finite element method (FEM), the stress intensity factor (SIF) and energy release rate (ERR) at the crack tips in the process of field descent are further numerically calculated. Numerical results obtained show that according to the maximal energy release rate criterion, the FC process is generally easier to enhance crack initiation and propagation than the ZFC activation process. On the other hand, for the FC activation process, the larger the maximal applied magnetic field, more likely the crack propagates. Additionally, crack size has important and slightly different effects on the crack extension forces for the ZFC and FC cases. Thus, all of the activation processes, the applied field and the diameter of the penny-shaped crack have significant effects on the intensity analysis and design of superconducting materials.

Reclamation of niobium compounds from ionic liquid electrochemical polishing of superconducting radio frequency cavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wixtrom, Alex I.; Buhler, Jessica E.; Reece, Charles E.

2013-06-01

Recent research has shown that choline chloride (vitamin B4)-based solutions can be used as a greener alternative to acid-based electrochemical polishing solutions. This study demonstrated a successful method for electrochemical deposition of niobium compounds onto the surface of copper substrates using a novel choline chloride-based ionic liquid. Niobium ions present in the ionic liquid solution were dissolved into the solution prior to deposition via electrochemical polishing of solid niobium. A black coating was clearly visible on the surface of the Cu following deposition. This coating was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), atomic force microscopymore » (AFM), and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). This ionic liquid-based electrochemical deposition method effectively recycles previously dissolved niobium from electrochemical polishing of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities.« less

Fabrication and radio frequency test of large-area MgB 2 films on niobium substrates

DOE PAGES

Ni, Zhimao; Guo, Xin; Welander, Paul B.; ...

2017-01-19

Magnesium diboride (MgB 2) is a promising candidate material for superconducting radio frequency (RF) cavities because of its higher transition temperature and critical field compared with niobium. To meet the demand of RF test devices, the fabrication of large-area MgB 2 films on metal substrates is needed. Here, in this work, high quality MgB 2 films with 50 mm diameter were fabricated on niobium by using an improved HPCVD system at Peking University, and RF tests were carried out at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The transition temperature is approximately 39.6 K and the RF surface resistance is about 120 μΩmore » at 4 K and 11.4 GHz. Finally, the fabrication processes, surface morphology, DC superconducting properties and RF tests of these large-area MgB 2 films are presented.« less

Fabrication and radio frequency test of large-area MgB 2 films on niobium substrates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ni, Zhimao; Guo, Xin; Welander, Paul B.

Magnesium diboride (MgB 2) is a promising candidate material for superconducting radio frequency (RF) cavities because of its higher transition temperature and critical field compared with niobium. To meet the demand of RF test devices, the fabrication of large-area MgB 2 films on metal substrates is needed. Here, in this work, high quality MgB 2 films with 50 mm diameter were fabricated on niobium by using an improved HPCVD system at Peking University, and RF tests were carried out at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The transition temperature is approximately 39.6 K and the RF surface resistance is about 120 μΩmore » at 4 K and 11.4 GHz. Finally, the fabrication processes, surface morphology, DC superconducting properties and RF tests of these large-area MgB 2 films are presented.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, J.; Liu, Z. K.; Sun, Y.

Topological Weyl semimetal (TWS), a new state of quantum matter, has sparked enormous research interest recently. Possessing unique Weyl fermions in the bulk and Fermi arcs on the surface, TWSs offer a rare platform for realizing many exotic physical phenomena. TWSs can be classified into type-I that respect Lorentz symmetry and type-II that do not. Here, we directly visualize the electronic structure of MoTe 2, a recently proposed type-II TWS. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we unravel the unique surface Fermi arcs, in good agreement with our ab initio calculations that have nontrivial topological nature. Our work not only leadsmore » to new understandings of the unusual properties discovered in this family of compounds, but also allows for the further exploration of exotic properties and practical applications of type-II TWSs, as well as the interplay between superconductivity (MoTe 2 was discovered to be superconducting recently) and their topological order.« less

Defect Detection in Superconducting Radiofrequency Cavity Surface Using C + + and OpenCV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oswald, Samantha; Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility Collaboration

2014-03-01

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF) uses superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities to accelerate an electron beam. If theses cavities have a small particle or defect, it can degrade the performance of the cavity. The problem at hand is inspecting the cavity for defects, little bubbles of niobium on the surface of the cavity. Thousands of pictures have to be taken of a single cavity and then looked through to see how many defects were found. A C + + program with Open Source Computer Vision (OpenCV) was constructed to reduce the number of hours searching through the images and finds all the defects. Using this code, the SRF group is now able to use the code to identify defects in on-going tests of SRF cavities. Real time detection is the next step so that instead of taking pictures when looking at the cavity, the camera will detect all the defects.

Multilayer radiation shield

DOEpatents

Urbahn, John Arthur; Laskaris, Evangelos Trifon

2009-06-16

A power generation system including: a generator including a rotor including a superconductive rotor coil coupled to a rotatable shaft; a first prime mover drivingly coupled to the rotatable shaft; and a thermal radiation shield, partially surrounding the rotor coil, including at least a first sheet and a second sheet spaced apart from the first sheet by centripetal force produced by the rotatable shaft. A thermal radiation shield for a generator including a rotor including a super-conductive rotor coil including: a first sheet having at least one surface formed from a low emissivity material; and at least one additional sheet having at least one surface formed from a low emissivity material spaced apart from the first sheet by centripetal force produced by the rotatable shaft, wherein each successive sheet is an incrementally greater circumferential arc length and wherein the centripetal force shapes the sheets into a substantially catenary shape.

Growth of magnesium diboride thin films on boron buffered Si and silicon-on-insulator substrates by hybrid physical chemical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Withanage, Wenura K.; Penmatsa, Sashank V.; Acharya, Narendra; Melbourne, Thomas; Cunnane, D.; Karasik, B. S.; Xi, X. X.

2018-07-01

We report on the growth of high quality MgB2 thin films on silicon and silicon-on-insulator substrates by hybrid physical chemical vapor deposition. A boron buffer layer was deposited on all sides of the Si substrate to prevent the reaction of Mg vapor and Si. Ar ion milling at a low angle of 1° was used to reduce the roughness of the boron buffer layer before the MgB2 growth. An Ar ion milling at low angle of 1° was also applied to the MgB2 surface to reduce its roughness. The resultant MgB2 films showed excellent superconducting properties and a smooth surface. The process produces thin MgB2 films suitable for waveguide-based superconducting hot electron bolometers and other MgB2-based electronic devices.

Signature of type-II Weyl semimetal phase in MoTe2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, J.; Liu, Z. K.; Sun, Y.; Yang, H. F.; Rajamathi, C. R.; Qi, Y. P.; Yang, L. X.; Chen, C.; Peng, H.; Hwang, C.-C.; Sun, S. Z.; Mo, S.-K.; Vobornik, I.; Fujii, J.; Parkin, S. S. P.; Felser, C.; Yan, B. H.; Chen, Y. L.

2017-01-01

Topological Weyl semimetal (TWS), a new state of quantum matter, has sparked enormous research interest recently. Possessing unique Weyl fermions in the bulk and Fermi arcs on the surface, TWSs offer a rare platform for realizing many exotic physical phenomena. TWSs can be classified into type-I that respect Lorentz symmetry and type-II that do not. Here, we directly visualize the electronic structure of MoTe2, a recently proposed type-II TWS. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we unravel the unique surface Fermi arcs, in good agreement with our ab initio calculations that have nontrivial topological nature. Our work not only leads to new understandings of the unusual properties discovered in this family of compounds, but also allows for the further exploration of exotic properties and practical applications of type-II TWSs, as well as the interplay between superconductivity (MoTe2 was discovered to be superconducting recently) and their topological order.

Pressure effect on the superconducting and the normal state of β -B i2Pd

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pristáš, G.; Orendáč, Mat.; Gabáni, S.; Kačmarčík, J.; Gažo, E.; Pribulová, Z.; Correa-Orellana, A.; Herrera, E.; Suderow, H.; Samuely, P.

2018-04-01

The pressure effect up to 24.0 kbar on superconducting and normal-state properties of β -B i2Pd single crystal (Tc≈4.98 K at ambient pressure) has been investigated by measurements of the electrical resistivity. In addition, we have performed the heat capacity measurements in the temperature range 0.7-300 K at ambient pressure. The recent calculations of electronic density of states, electron-phonon interaction spectral function, and phonon density of states of β -B i2Pd [Zheng and Margine, Phys. Rev. B 95, 014512 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevB.95.014512], are used to fit the resistivity and the heat capacity data. In the superconducting state we have focused on the influence of pressure on the superconducting transition temperature Tc and upper critical field Hc 2 and a negative effect with d Tc/d p =-0.025 K /kbar and d Hc 2/d p =-8 mT /kbar is found. A simplified Bloch-Grüneisen model was used to analyze the pressure effect on the temperature dependence of the normal-state resistivity. The obtained results point to a decrease of the electron-phonon coupling parameter λ and to a shift of phonon frequencies to higher values with pressure. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the normal-state resistivity follows a T2 dependence above Tc up to about 25 K. Together with the enhanced value of Sommerfeld coefficient γ =13.23 mJ mo l-1K-2 these results point to a certain role of the electron-electron interaction in the superconducting pairing mechanism in β -B i2Pd .

Heat capacity jump at T c and pressure derivatives of superconducting transition temperature in the Ba 1 - x Na x Fe 2 As 2 ( 0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.9 ) series

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bud'ko, Sergey L.; Chung, Duck Young; Bugaris, Daniel

2014-01-16

We present the evolution of the initial (up to ~ 10 kbar) hydrostatic pressure dependencies of T c and of the ambient pressure, and the jump in the heat capacity associated with the superconducting transition as a function of Na doping in the Ba1-xNaxFe2As2 family of iron-based superconductors. For Na concentrations 0.15 ≤ x ≤ 0.9, the jump in specific heat at T c, ΔC p| Tmore » $$_c$$, follows the ΔC p ∝ to T 3 (the so-called BNC scaling) found for most BaFe 2As 2 based superconductors. This finding suggests that, unlike the related Ba 1-xK xFe 2As 2 series, there is no significant modification of the superconducting state (e. g., change in superconducting gap symmetry) in the Ba 1-xNa xFe 2As 2 series over the whole studied Na concentration range. Pressure dependencies are nonmonotonic for x = 0.2 and 0.24. For other Na concentrations, T c decreases under pressure in an almost linear fashion. The anomalous behavior of the x = 0.2 and 0.24 samples under pressure is possibly due to the crossing of the phase boundaries of the narrow antiferromagnetic tetragonal phase, unique for the Ba 1-xNa xFe 2As 2 series, with the application of pressure. The negative sign of the pressure derivatives of T c across the whole superconducting dome (except for x = 0.2) is a clear indication of the nonequivalence of substitution and pressure for the Ba 1-xNa xFe 2As 2 series.« less

Electrical transport properties of sputtered Nd2-xCexCuO4±δ thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guarino, Anita; Leo, Antonio; Avella, Adolfo; Avitabile, Francesco; Martucciello, Nadia; Grimaldi, Gaia; Romano, Alfonso; Pace, Sandro; Romano, Paola; Nigro, Angela

2018-05-01

Thin films of the electron-doped high-temperature superconductor Nd2-xCexCuO4±δ have been deposited by dc sputtering technique on (100) SrTiO3 substrates. A tuning of the oxygen content in the as-grown non-superconducting samples has been achieved by changing the oxygen partial pressure during the growth in the Argon sputtering atmosphere. All samples show the superconducting transition after a suitable two-step thermal treatment in an oxygen-reducing environment. Structural and electrical transport properties on the as-grown as well as on the superconducting samples have been investigated. We find that the structural properties are consistent with a deficiency of the oxygen content with respect to optimally annealed samples, and that the transition to the superconducting phase is always accompanied by an increase of the c-axis lattice parameter. Measurements of the Hall coefficient RH as a function of temperature and in the normal state of our epitaxial films are presented and discussed. RH results negative for all the films regardless of the oxygen content and it decreases with the temperature. In particular, the Hall coefficient is only about 10% lower than the value measured in the as-grown oxygen-deficient phase, in contrast to the results reported in literature. The removal of the excess oxygen in as-grown samples seems not to be the only requirement for triggering the superconducting transition in electron-doped compounds. The microstructural change associated with the increase of the c-axis parameter in our deoxygenated samples could help in understanding the microscopic mechanism underlying the reduction process of n-type superconductors, which is still under debate.

Unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle graphene superlattices.

PubMed

Cao, Yuan; Fatemi, Valla; Fang, Shiang; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Kaxiras, Efthimios; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo

2018-04-05

The behaviour of strongly correlated materials, and in particular unconventional superconductors, has been studied extensively for decades, but is still not well understood. This lack of theoretical understanding has motivated the development of experimental techniques for studying such behaviour, such as using ultracold atom lattices to simulate quantum materials. Here we report the realization of intrinsic unconventional superconductivity-which cannot be explained by weak electron-phonon interactions-in a two-dimensional superlattice created by stacking two sheets of graphene that are twisted relative to each other by a small angle. For twist angles of about 1.1°-the first 'magic' angle-the electronic band structure of this 'twisted bilayer graphene' exhibits flat bands near zero Fermi energy, resulting in correlated insulating states at half-filling. Upon electrostatic doping of the material away from these correlated insulating states, we observe tunable zero-resistance states with a critical temperature of up to 1.7 kelvin. The temperature-carrier-density phase diagram of twisted bilayer graphene is similar to that of copper oxides (or cuprates), and includes dome-shaped regions that correspond to superconductivity. Moreover, quantum oscillations in the longitudinal resistance of the material indicate the presence of small Fermi surfaces near the correlated insulating states, in analogy with underdoped cuprates. The relatively high superconducting critical temperature of twisted bilayer graphene, given such a small Fermi surface (which corresponds to a carrier density of about 10 11 per square centimetre), puts it among the superconductors with the strongest pairing strength between electrons. Twisted bilayer graphene is a precisely tunable, purely carbon-based, two-dimensional superconductor. It is therefore an ideal material for investigations of strongly correlated phenomena, which could lead to insights into the physics of high-critical-temperature superconductors and quantum spin liquids.

Torsional texturing of superconducting oxide composite articles

DOEpatents

Christopherson, Craig John; Riley, Jr., Gilbert N.; Scudiere, John

2002-01-01

A method of texturing a multifilamentary article having filaments comprising a desired oxide superconductor or its precursors by torsionally deforming the article is provided. The texturing is induced by applying a torsional strain which is at least about 0.3 and preferably at least about 0.6 at the surface of the article, but less than the strain which would cause failure of the composite. High performance multifilamentary superconducting composite articles having a plurality of low aspect ratio, twisted filaments with substantially uniform twist pitches in the range of about 1.00 inch to 0.01 inch (25 to 0.25 mm), each comprising a textured desired superconducting oxide material, may be obtained using this texturing method. If tighter twist pitches are desired, the article may be heat treated or annealed and the strain repeated as many times as necessary to obtain the desired twist pitch. It is preferred that the total strain applied per step should be sufficient to provide a twist pitch tighter than 5 times the diameter of the article, and twist pitches in the range of 1 to 5 times the diameter of the article are most preferred. The process may be used to make a high performance multifilamentary superconducting article, having a plurality of twisted filaments, wherein the degree of texturing varies substantially in proportion to the radial distance from the center of the article cross-section, and is substantially radially homogeneous at any given cross-section of the article. Round wires and other low aspect ratio multifilamentary articles are preferred forms. The invention is not dependent on the melting characteristics of the desired superconducting oxide. Desired oxide superconductors or precursors with micaceous or semi-micaceous structures are preferred. When used in connection with desired superconducting oxides which melt irreversibly, it provides multifilamentary articles that exhibit high DC performance characteristics and AC performance markedly superior to any currently available for these materials. In a preferred embodiment, the desired superconducting oxide material is BSCCO 2223.

Role of thermal resistance on the performance of superconducting radio frequency cavities

DOE PAGES

Dhakal, Pashupati; Ciovati, Gianluigi; Myneni, Ganapati Rao

2017-03-07

Thermal stability is an important parameter for the operation of the superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities used in particle accelerators. The rf power dissipated on the inner surface of the cavities is conducted to the helium bath cooling the outer cavity surface and the equilibrium temperature of the inner surface depends on the thermal resistance. In this manuscript, we present the results of direct measurements of thermal resistance on 1.3 GHz single cell SRF cavities made from high purity large-grain and fine-grain niobium as well as their rf performance for different treatments applied to outer cavity surface in order tomore » investigate the role of the Kapitza resistance to the overall thermal resistance and to the SRF cavity performance. The results show no significant impact of the thermal resistance to the SRF cavity performance after chemical polishing, mechanical polishing or anodization of the outer cavity surface. Temperature maps taken during the rf test show nonuniform heating of the surface at medium rf fields. Calculations of Q 0(B p) curves using the thermal feedback model show good agreement with experimental data at 2 and 1.8 K when a pair-braking term is included in the calculation of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer surface resistance. In conclusion, these results indicate local intrinsic nonlinearities of the surface resistance, rather than purely thermal effects, to be the main cause for the observed field dependence of Q 0(B p).« less

Role of thermal resistance on the performance of superconducting radio frequency cavities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dhakal, Pashupati; Ciovati, Gianluigi; Myneni, Ganapati Rao

Thermal stability is an important parameter for the operation of the superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities used in particle accelerators. The rf power dissipated on the inner surface of the cavities is conducted to the helium bath cooling the outer cavity surface and the equilibrium temperature of the inner surface depends on the thermal resistance. In this manuscript, we present the results of direct measurements of thermal resistance on 1.3 GHz single cell SRF cavities made from high purity large-grain and fine-grain niobium as well as their rf performance for different treatments applied to outer cavity surface in order tomore » investigate the role of the Kapitza resistance to the overall thermal resistance and to the SRF cavity performance. The results show no significant impact of the thermal resistance to the SRF cavity performance after chemical polishing, mechanical polishing or anodization of the outer cavity surface. Temperature maps taken during the rf test show nonuniform heating of the surface at medium rf fields. Calculations of Q 0(B p) curves using the thermal feedback model show good agreement with experimental data at 2 and 1.8 K when a pair-braking term is included in the calculation of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer surface resistance. In conclusion, these results indicate local intrinsic nonlinearities of the surface resistance, rather than purely thermal effects, to be the main cause for the observed field dependence of Q 0(B p).« less

Model construction and superconductivity analysis of organic conductors β-(BDA-TTP)2MF6 (M = P, As, Sb and Ta) based on first-principles band calculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aizawa, H.; Kuroki, K.; Yasuzuka, S.; Yamada, J.

2012-11-01

We perform a first-principles band calculation for a group of quasi-two-dimensional organic conductors β-(BDA-TTP)2MF6 (M = P, As, Sb and Ta). The ab-initio calculation shows that the density of states is correlated with the bandwidth of the singly occupied (highest) molecular orbital, while it is not necessarily correlated with the unit-cell volume. The direction of the major axis of the cross section of the Fermi surface lies in the Γ-B-direction, which differs from that obtained by the extended Hückel calculation. Then, we construct a tight-binding model which accurately reproduces the ab-initio band structure. The obtained transfer energies give a smaller dimerization than in the extended Hückel band. As to the difference in the anisotropy of the Fermi surface, the transfer energies along the inter-stacking direction are smaller than those obtained in the extended Hückel calculation. Assuming spin-fluctuation-mediated superconductivity, we apply random phase approximation to a two-band Hubbard model. This two-band Hubbard model is composed of the tight-binding model derived from the first-principles band structure and an on-site (intra-molecule) repulsive interaction taken as a variable parameter. The obtained superconducting gap changes sign four times along the Fermi surface like in a d-wave gap, and the nodal direction is different from that obtained in the extended Hückel model. Anion dependence of Tc is qualitatively consistent with the experimental observation.

Surface impedance and optimum surface resistance of a superconductor with an imperfect surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurevich, Alex; Kubo, Takayuki

2017-11-01

We calculate a low-frequency surface impedance of a dirty, s -wave superconductor with an imperfect surface incorporating either a thin layer with a reduced pairing constant or a thin, proximity-coupled normal layer. Such structures model realistic surfaces of superconducting materials which can contain oxide layers, absorbed impurities, or nonstoichiometric composition. We solved the Usadel equations self-consistently and obtained spatial distributions of the order parameter and the quasiparticle density of states which then were used to calculate a low-frequency surface resistance Rs(T ) and the magnetic penetration depth λ (T ) as functions of temperature in the limit of local London electrodynamics. It is shown that the imperfect surface in a single-band s -wave superconductor results in a nonexponential temperature dependence of Z (T ) at T ≪Tc which can mimic the behavior of multiband or d -wave superconductors. The imperfect surface and the broadening of the gap peaks in the quasiparticle density of states N (ɛ ) in the bulk give rise to a weakly temperature-dependent residual surface resistance. We show that the surface resistance can be optimized and even reduced below its value for an ideal surface by engineering N (ɛ ) at the surface using pair-breaking mechanisms, particularly by incorporating a small density of magnetic impurities or by tuning the thickness and conductivity of the normal layer and its contact resistance. The results of this work address the limit of Rs in superconductors at T ≪Tc , and the ways of engineering the optimal density of states by surface nanostructuring and impurities to reduce losses in superconducting microresonators, thin-film strip lines, and radio-frequency cavities for particle accelerators.

Improving the work function of the niobium surface of SRF cavities by plasma processing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tyagi, P. V.; Doleans, M.; Hannah, B.

2016-01-01

An in situ plasma processing technique using chemically reactive oxygen plasma to remove hydrocarbons from superconducting radio frequency cavity surfaces at room temperature was developed at the spallation neutron source, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. To understand better the interaction between the plasma and niobium surface, surface studies on small samples were performed. In this article, we report the results from those surface studies. The results show that plasma processing removes hydrocarbons from top surface and improves the surface work function by 0.5₋1.0 eV. Improving the work function of RF surface of cavities can help to improve their operational performance.

Nb3Sn SRF Cavities for Nuclear Physics Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eremeev, Grigory

2017-01-01

Nuclear physics experiments rely increasingly on accelerators, which employ superconducting RF (SRF) technology. CEBAF, SNS, FRIB, ESS, among others exploit the low surface resistance of SRF cavities to efficiently accelerate particle beams towards experimental targets. Niobium is the cavity material of choice for all current or planned SRF accelerators, but it has been long recognized that other superconductors with high superconducting transition temperatures have the potential to surpass niobium for SRF applications. Among the alternatives, Nb3Sn coated cavities are the most advanced on the path to practical applications: Nb3Sn coatings on R&D cavities have Tc consistently close the optimal 18 K, very low RF surface resistances, and very recently were shown to reach above Hc1 without anomalous RF surface resistance increase. In my talk I will discuss the prospects of Nb3Sn SRF cavities, the research efforts to realize Nb3Sn coatings on practical multi-cell accelerating structures, and the path toward possible inclusion in CEBAF. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics.

Fermi-Surface Topological Phase Transition and Horizontal Order-Parameter Nodes in CaFe2As2 Under Pressure

PubMed Central

Gonnelli, R. S.; Daghero, D.; Tortello, M.; Ummarino, G. A.; Bukowski, Z.; Karpinski, J.; Reuvekamp, P. G.; Kremer, R. K.; Profeta, G.; Suzuki, K.; Kuroki, K.

2016-01-01

Iron-based compounds (IBS) display a surprising variety of superconducting properties that seems to arise from the strong sensitivity of these systems to tiny details of the lattice structure. In this respect, systems that become superconducting under pressure, like CaFe2As2, are of particular interest. Here we report on the first directional point-contact Andreev-reflection spectroscopy (PCARS) measurements on CaFe2As2 crystals under quasi-hydrostatic pressure, and on the interpretation of the results using a 3D model for Andreev reflection combined with ab-initio calculations of the Fermi surface (within the density functional theory) and of the order parameter symmetry (within a random-phase-approximation approach in a ten-orbital model). The almost perfect agreement between PCARS results at different pressures and theoretical predictions highlights the intimate connection between the changes in the lattice structure, a topological transition in the holelike Fermi surface sheet, and the emergence on the same sheet of an order parameter with a horizontal node line. PMID:27216477

Fermi-Surface Topological Phase Transition and Horizontal Order-Parameter Nodes in CaFe2As2 Under Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonnelli, R. S.; Daghero, D.; Tortello, M.; Ummarino, G. A.; Bukowski, Z.; Karpinski, J.; Reuvekamp, P. G.; Kremer, R. K.; Profeta, G.; Suzuki, K.; Kuroki, K.

2016-05-01

Iron-based compounds (IBS) display a surprising variety of superconducting properties that seems to arise from the strong sensitivity of these systems to tiny details of the lattice structure. In this respect, systems that become superconducting under pressure, like CaFe2As2, are of particular interest. Here we report on the first directional point-contact Andreev-reflection spectroscopy (PCARS) measurements on CaFe2As2 crystals under quasi-hydrostatic pressure, and on the interpretation of the results using a 3D model for Andreev reflection combined with ab-initio calculations of the Fermi surface (within the density functional theory) and of the order parameter symmetry (within a random-phase-approximation approach in a ten-orbital model). The almost perfect agreement between PCARS results at different pressures and theoretical predictions highlights the intimate connection between the changes in the lattice structure, a topological transition in the holelike Fermi surface sheet, and the emergence on the same sheet of an order parameter with a horizontal node line.

Ubiquitous strong electron–phonon coupling at the interface of FeSe/SrTiO3

PubMed Central

Zhang, Chaofan; Liu, Zhongkai; Chen, Zhuoyu; Xie, Yanwu; He, Ruihua; Tang, Shujie; He, Junfeng; Li, Wei; Jia, Tao; Rebec, Slavko N.; Ma, Eric Yue; Yan, Hao; Hashimoto, Makoto; Lu, Donghui; Mo, Sung-Kwan; Hikita, Yasuyuki; Moore, Robert G.; Hwang, Harold Y.; Lee, Dunghai; Shen, Zhixun

2017-01-01

The observation of replica bands in single-unit-cell FeSe on SrTiO3 (STO)(001) by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has led to the conjecture that the coupling between FeSe electrons and the STO phonons are responsible for the enhancement of Tc over other FeSe-based superconductors. However the recent observation of a similar superconducting gap in single-unit-cell FeSe/STO(110) raised the question of whether a similar mechanism applies. Here we report the ARPES study of the electronic structure of FeSe/STO(110). Similar to the results in FeSe/STO(001), clear replica bands are observed. We also present a comparative study of STO(001) and STO(110) bare surfaces, and observe similar replica bands separated by approximately the same energy, indicating this coupling is a generic feature of the STO surfaces and interfaces. Our findings suggest that the large superconducting gaps observed in FeSe films grown on different STO surface terminations are likely enhanced by a common mechanism. PMID:28186084

Ubiquitous strong electron–phonon coupling at the interface of FeSe/SrTiO 3

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Chaofan; Liu, Zhongkai; Chen, Zhuoyu; ...

2017-02-10

The observation of replica bands in single-unit-cell FeSe on SrTiO 3 (STO)(001) by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) has led to the conjecture that the coupling between FeSe electrons and the STO phonons are responsible for the enhancement of T c over other FeSe-based superconductors. However the recent observation of a similar superconducting gap in single-unit-cell FeSe/STO(110) raised the question of whether a similar mechanism applies. Here we report the ARPES study of the electronic structure of FeSe/STO(110). Similar to the results in FeSe/STO(001), clear replica bands are observed. We also present a comparative study of STO(001) and STO(110) bare surfaces,more » and observe similar replica bands separated by approximately the same energy, indicating this coupling is a generic feature of the STO surfaces and interfaces. Lastly, our findings suggest that the large superconducting gaps observed in FeSe films grown on different STO surface terminations are likely enhanced by a common mechanism.« less

Impurity Content Optimization to Maximize Q-Factors of Superconducting Resonators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martinello, Martina; Checchin, Mattia; Grassellino, Anna

2017-05-01

Quality factor of superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities is degraded whenever magnetic flux is trapped in the cavity walls during the cooldown. In this contribution we study how the trapped flux sensitivity, defined as the trapped flux surface resistance normalized for the amount of trapped flux, depends on the mean free path. A systematic study of a variety of 1.3 GHz cavities with different surface treatments (EP, 120 C bake and different N-doping) is carried out. A bell shaped trend appears for the range of mean free path studied. Over-doped cavities fall at the maximum of this curve defining the largestmore » values of sensitivity. In addition, we have studied the trend of the BCS surface resistance contribution as a function of mean free path, showing that N-doped cavities follow close to the theoretical minimum. Adding these results together we show that the 2/6 N-doping treatment gives the highest Q-factor values at 2 K and 16 MV/m, as long as the magnetic field fully trapped during the cavity cooldown is lower than 10 mG.« less

Realization of high temperature superconductivity in carbon nanotubes and its low powerapplications

DTIC Science & Technology

radial breathing phonon mode and hybrid orbital electrons. Previously, I tried to realize high-Tc SC in thin films consisting of randomly placed CNTs...based on such advantages. Moreover, I applied ionic-gel (liquid) gating to the CNT thin films in order to cause extremely high EDOS on the surface and...bromide (CTAB)) to chemically modify CNT surface and create thin films consisting of highly oriented (aligned) CNTs with flat and homogeneous surface

Hyperbolic polaritons in nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zhiyuan; Rubio, Angel; Guinea, Francisco; Basov, Dimitri; Fogler, Michael

2015-03-01

Hyperbolic optical materials (HM) are characterized by permittivity tensor that has both positive and negative principal values. Collective electromagnetic modes (polaritons) of HM have novel properties promising for various applications including subdiffractional imaging and on-chip optical communication. Hyperbolic response is actively investigated in the context of metamaterials, anisotropic polar insulators, and layered superconductors. We study polaritons in spheroidal HM nanoparticles using Hamiltonian optics. The field equations are mapped to classical dynamics of fictitious particles (wave packets) of an indefinite Hamiltonian. This dynamics is quantized using the Einstein-Brillouin-Keller quantization rule. The eigenmodes are classified as either bulk or surface according to whether their transverse momenta are real or imaginary. To model how such hyperbolic polaritons can be probed by near-field experiments, we compute the field distribution induced inside and outside the spheroid by an external point dipole. At certain magic frequencies the field shows striking geometric patterns whose origin is traced to the classical periodic orbits. The theory is applied to natural hyperbolic materials hexagonal boron nitride and superconducting LaSrCuO.

Investigation of Pb doping on electrical, structural and superconducting properties of YBa2-xPbxCu3O7-δ superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ezzatpour, S.; Sharifzadegan, L.; Sarvari, F.; Sedghi, H.

2018-06-01

In this study the high temperature superconductor YBa2-xPbxCu3O7-δ with doping x = ,0.05,0.1,0.15 were prepared by the standard solid-state reaction method. The effect of Pb substitution on Ba site of YBCO superconducting system, structural, electrical and superconducting properties of Y-based superconductor has been investigated. The measurements of dc resisitivity were performed on all samples with four-probe method using low frequency/lowAC current (4 mA) . The superconducting temperature, Tc, were determined from the resistivity versus temperature (R-T) curves. Results show that Pb doping reduced the cirtical temperature(Tc) and superconductivity properties of our samples. The maximum and the minimum Tc were observed for the samples with x = 0.15 and x = 0.1 respectively. The structure and phase purity of samples were examined by the X-ray powder diffraction technique (XRD) performed by means of D8 Advance Bruker diffractometer with Cu kα radiation. The grain morphology of surface of the samples was analyzed by sacanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD patterns of polycrystalline materials of composition YBa2-xPbxCu3O7-δ revealed that all prepared samples are orthorhombic. All of the peaks of YBCO and YBa2-xPbxCu3O7-δ have been used for the estimation of volume fractions of the phases and ignored the void peaks.

Cooperative oscillations of electron-copper-oxygen interaction: Possible relevance for superconduction theory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tributsch, H.

1989-01-01

Interfaces of copper containing crystallized materials (Cu/sub 5/FeS/sub 4/, CuFeS/sub 2/, Cu/sub 2/S, CuS, CuInS/sub 2/, and CuInSe/sub 2/), exposed to oxidation by H/sub 2/O/sub 2/, undergo sustained electrochemical oscillations. They involve electronic (Cu/sup +/), (Cu/sup 2 +/), and (Cu/sup 3 +/) interactions with chemically bound oxygen similar as in superconducting YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/ or (La,Sr)/sub 2/CuO/sub 4/ and may be a phenomenon of irreversible thermodynamics which is related to the kind of cooperative electron-copper-oxygen interactions which also give rise to high-temperature superconduction. The relevance of the model system is supported by the formation of the H/sub 2/O/sub 2/more » species on the surface of high-temperature superconducting materials in contact with ambiental humidity. It is shown how, by a simple modification of the interaction mechanism, an oscillatory phenomenon such as that observed with oxidized copper sulfide interfaces, which follows a limiting cycle, can be converted into a triple-state phenomenon. Such a cooperative mechanism that involves a lowest steady state which is unable to turn over energy may be the background for the pairing of electrons or a related cooperative interaction process in superconduction. As a possible support, no interfacial oscillations could yet be induced with Ba/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/Y/sub 7/.« less

High temperature superconducting thin film microwave circuits: Fabrication, characterization, and applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhasin, K. B.; Warner, J. D.; Romanofsky, R. R.; Heinen, V. O.; Chorey, C. M.

1990-01-01

Epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7 films were grown on several microwave substrates. Surface resistance and penetration depth measurements were performed to determine the quality of these films. Here the properties of these films on key microwave substrates are described. The fabrication and characterization of a microwave ring resonator circuit to determine transmission line losses are presented. Lower losses than those observed in gold resonator circuits were observed at temperatures lower than critical transition temperature. Based on these results, potential applications of microwave superconducting circuits such as filters, resonators, oscillators, phase shifters, and antenna elements in space communication systems are identified.

High temperature superconducting thin film microwave circuits - Fabrication, characterization, and applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhasin, K. B.; Warner, J. D.; Romanofsky, R. R.; Heinen, V. O.; Chorey, C. M.

1990-01-01

Epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7 films were grown on several microwave substrates. Surface resistance and penetration depth measurements were performed to determine the quality of these films. Here, the properties of these films on key microwave substrates are described. The fabrication and characterization of a microwave ring resonator circuit to determine transmission line losses are presented. Lower losses than those observed in gold resonator circuits were observed at temperatures lower than critical transition temperature. Based on these results, potential applications of microwave superconducting circuits such as filters, resonators, oscillators, phase shifters, and antenna elements in space communication systems are identified.

Microwave-assisted synthesis and critical analysis for YBa2Cu3O6+δ nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chhaganlal Gandhi, Ashish; Lin, Jauyn Grace

2018-05-01

A new cost effective scheme of a microwave-assisted sol–gel route followed by a short annealing time is proposed to synthesize YBCO nanoparticles (NPs) of various sizes. The advanced techniques of synchrotron radiation x-ray diffraction (SRXRD) and electron spin resonance (ESR) are used to analyze the size effects on their magnetic/superconducting properties. The major interesting finding is that the size of YBCO NPs could confine the amount of oxygen content and consequently change the superconducting transition temperature (T C ) of YBCO NPs. The ESR result demonstrates a sensitive probe to characterize surface defects in the oxygen-deficient YBCO NPs.

Scanning Tunneling Microscopy/Spectroscopy study on Optimally Potassium Doped Single Crystal BaFe2 As 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jihua; Li, Ang; Zhang, Chenglin; Dai, Pengcheng; Pan, Shuheng

2011-03-01

The iron pnictide parent compound material can be brought into superconducting state by chemical doping. It is worthwhile to study and compare the hole- and electron-doped iron pnictides. Among the well-known family of AEFe 2 As 2 (AE=Ca, Sr, Ba), the scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy study on hole-doped samples is insufficient. In this talk we will present high resolution STM/STS results on (001) surface of the optimally doped single crystal Ba 0.6 K0.4 Fe 2 As 2 (Tc ~ 37 K). With the data we will discuss the spatial variation of the superconducting energy gap.

Hidden order and unconventional superconductivity in URu2Si2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rau, Jeffrey; Kee, Hae-Young

2012-02-01

The nature of the so-called hidden order in URu2Si2 and the subsequent superconducting phase have remained a puzzle for over two decades. Motivated by evidence for rotational symmetry breaking seen in recent magnetic torque measurements [Okazaki et al. Science 331, 439 (2011)], we derive a simple tight-binding model consistent with experimental Fermi surface probes and ab-initio calculations. From this model we use mean-field theory to examine the variety of hidden orders allowed by existing experimental results, including the torque measurements. We then construct a phase diagram in temperature and pressure and discuss relevant experimental consequences.

Free energy surfaces in the superconducting mixed state

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Finnemore, D. K.; Fang, M. M.; Bansal, N. P.; Farrell, D. E.

1989-01-01

The free energy surface for Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O1O has been measured as a function of temperature and magnetic field to determine the fundamental thermodynamic properties of the mixed state. The change in free energy, G(H)-G(O), is found to be linear in temperature over a wide range indicating that the specific heat is independent of field.

Metal alkoxides and methods of making same

DOEpatents

Hentges, Patrick J.; Greene, Laura H.; Pafford, Margaret Mary; Westwood, Glenn; Klemperer, Walter G.

2005-01-04

A method of making a superconducting structure includes depositing a metal alkoxide on a surface of a metal and hydrolyzing the metal alkoxide on the surface to form a pinhole-free film. The metal is a superconductor. The metal alkoxide may be a compound of formula (I): where M is zirconium or hafnium, and the purity of the compound is at least 97% as measured by NMR spectroscopy.

Forming YBa2Cu3O7-x Superconductors On Copper Substrates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mackenzie, J. Devin; Young, Stanley G.

1991-01-01

Experimental process forms layer of high-critical-temperature ceramic superconductor YBa2Cu3O7-x on surface of copper substrate. Offers possible solution to problem of finishing ceramic superconductors to required final sizes and shapes (difficult problem because these materials brittle and cannot be machined or bent). Further research necessary to evaluate superconducting qualities of surface layers and optimize process.

Phase diagram of electron systems near the superconductor-insulator transition.

PubMed

Pokrovsky, V L; Falco, G M; Nattermann, T

2010-12-31

The zero temperature phase diagram of Cooper pairs exposed to disorder and a magnetic field is determined theoretically from a variational approach. Four distinct phases are found: a Bose and a Fermi insulating, a metallic, and a superconducting phase, respectively. The results explain the giant negative magnetoresistance found experimentally in In-O, TiN, Be and high-T(c) materials.

Subsurface bending and reorientation of tilted vortex lattices in bulk isotropic superconductors due to Coulomb-like repulsion at the surface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Herrera, E.; Guillamón, I.; Galvis, J. A.

Here, we study vortex lattices (VLs) in superconducting weak-pinning platelet-like single crystals of β–Bi 2Pd in tilted magnetic fields with a scanning tunneling microscope. We show that vortices exit the sample perpendicular to the surface and are thus bent beneath the surface. The structure and orientation of the tilted VLs in the bulk are, for large tilt angles, strongly affected by Coulomb-type intervortex repulsion at the surface due to stray magnetic fields.

Subsurface bending and reorientation of tilted vortex lattices in bulk isotropic superconductors due to Coulomb-like repulsion at the surface

DOE PAGES

Herrera, E.; Guillamón, I.; Galvis, J. A.; ...

2017-11-03

Here, we study vortex lattices (VLs) in superconducting weak-pinning platelet-like single crystals of β–Bi 2Pd in tilted magnetic fields with a scanning tunneling microscope. We show that vortices exit the sample perpendicular to the surface and are thus bent beneath the surface. The structure and orientation of the tilted VLs in the bulk are, for large tilt angles, strongly affected by Coulomb-type intervortex repulsion at the surface due to stray magnetic fields.

Emerging applications of high temperature superconductors for space communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heinen, Vernon O.; Bhasin, Kul B.; Long, Kenwyn J.

1990-01-01

Proposed space missions require longevity of communications system components, high input power levels, and high speed digital logic devices. The complexity of these missions calls for a high data bandwidth capacity. Incorporation of high temperature superconducting (HTS) thin films into some of these communications system components may provide a means of meeting these requirements. Space applications of superconducting technology has previously been limited by the requirement of cooling to near liquid helium temperatures. Development of HTS materials with transition temperatures above 77 K along with the natural cooling ability of space suggest that space applications may lead the way in the applications of high temperature superconductivity. In order for HTS materials to be incorporated into microwave and millimeter wave devices, the material properties such as electrical conductivity, current density, surface resistivity and others as a function of temperature and frequency must be well characterized and understood. The millimeter wave conductivity and surface resistivity were well characterized, and at 77 K are better than copper. Basic microwave circuits such as ring resonators were used to determine transmission line losses. Higher Q values than those of gold resonator circuits were observed below the transition temperature. Several key HTS circuits including filters, oscillators, phase shifters and phased array antenna feeds are feasible in the near future. For technology to improve further, good quality, large area films must be reproducibly grown on low dielectric constant, low loss microwave substrates.

4π-periodic Josephson supercurrent in HgTe-based topological Josephson junctions

PubMed Central

Wiedenmann, J.; Bocquillon, E.; Deacon, R. S.; Hartinger, S.; Herrmann, O.; Klapwijk, T. M.; Maier, L.; Ames, C.; Brüne, C.; Gould, C.; Oiwa, A.; Ishibashi, K.; Tarucha, S.; Buhmann, H.; Molenkamp, L. W.

2016-01-01

The Josephson effect describes the generic appearance of a supercurrent in a weak link between two superconductors. Its exact physical nature deeply influences the properties of the supercurrent. In recent years, considerable efforts have focused on the coupling of superconductors to the surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator. In such a material, an unconventional induced p-wave superconductivity should occur, with a doublet of topologically protected gapless Andreev bound states, whose energies vary 4π-periodically with the superconducting phase difference across the junction. In this article, we report the observation of an anomalous response to rf irradiation in a Josephson junction made of a HgTe weak link. The response is understood as due to a 4π-periodic contribution to the supercurrent, and its amplitude is compatible with the expected contribution of a gapless Andreev doublet. Our work opens the way to more elaborate experiments to investigate the induced superconductivity in a three-dimensional insulator. PMID:26792013

Induced unconventional superconductivity on the surface states of Bi2Te3 topological insulator.

PubMed

Charpentier, Sophie; Galletti, Luca; Kunakova, Gunta; Arpaia, Riccardo; Song, Yuxin; Baghdadi, Reza; Wang, Shu Min; Kalaboukhov, Alexei; Olsson, Eva; Tafuri, Francesco; Golubev, Dmitry; Linder, Jacob; Bauch, Thilo; Lombardi, Floriana

2017-12-08

Topological superconductivity is central to a variety of novel phenomena involving the interplay between topologically ordered phases and broken-symmetry states. The key ingredient is an unconventional order parameter, with an orbital component containing a chiral p x  + ip y wave term. Here we present phase-sensitive measurements, based on the quantum interference in nanoscale Josephson junctions, realized by using Bi 2 Te 3 topological insulator. We demonstrate that the induced superconductivity is unconventional and consistent with a sign-changing order parameter, such as a chiral p x  + ip y component. The magnetic field pattern of the junctions shows a dip at zero externally applied magnetic field, which is an incontrovertible signature of the simultaneous existence of 0 and π coupling within the junction, inherent to a non trivial order parameter phase. The nano-textured morphology of the Bi 2 Te 3 flakes, and the dramatic role played by thermal strain are the surprising key factors for the display of an unconventional induced order parameter.

The Key Ingredients of the Electronic Structure of FeSe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coldea, Amalia I.; Watson, Matthew D.

2018-03-01

FeSe is a fascinating superconducting material at the frontier of research in condensed matter physics. Here, we provide an overview of the current understanding of the electronic structure of FeSe, focusing in particular on its low-energy electronic structure as determined from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, quantum oscillations, and magnetotransport measurements of single-crystal samples. We discuss the unique place of FeSe among iron-based superconductors, as it is a multiband system exhibiting strong orbitally dependent electronic correlations and unusually small Fermi surfaces and is prone to different electronic instabilities. We pay particular attention to the evolution of the electronic structure that accompanies the tetragonal-orthorhombic structural distortion of the lattice around 90 K, which stabilizes a unique nematic electronic state. Finally, we discuss how the multiband multiorbital nematic electronic structure impacts our understanding of the superconductivity, and show that the tunability of the nematic state with chemical and physical pressure helps to disentangle the role of different competing interactions relevant for enhancing superconductivity.

Spin-valley locking in the normal state of a transition-metal dichalcogenide superconductor.

PubMed

Bawden, L; Cooil, S P; Mazzola, F; Riley, J M; Collins-McIntyre, L J; Sunko, V; Hunvik, K W B; Leandersson, M; Polley, C M; Balasubramanian, T; Kim, T K; Hoesch, M; Wells, J W; Balakrishnan, G; Bahramy, M S; King, P D C

2016-05-23

Metallic transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are benchmark systems for studying and controlling intertwined electronic orders in solids, with superconductivity developing from a charge-density wave state. The interplay between such phases is thought to play a critical role in the unconventional superconductivity of cuprates, Fe-based and heavy-fermion systems, yet even for the more moderately-correlated TMDCs, their nature and origins have proved controversial. Here, we study a prototypical example, 2H-NbSe2, by spin- and angle-resolved photoemission and first-principles theory. We find that the normal state, from which its hallmark collective phases emerge, is characterized by quasiparticles whose spin is locked to their valley pseudospin. This results from a combination of strong spin-orbit interactions and local inversion symmetry breaking, while interlayer coupling further drives a rich three-dimensional momentum dependence of the underlying Fermi-surface spin texture. These findings necessitate a re-investigation of the nature of charge order and superconducting pairing in NbSe2 and related TMDCs.

Quantized conductance doubling and hard gap in a two-dimensional semiconductor-superconductor heterostructure.

PubMed

Kjaergaard, M; Nichele, F; Suominen, H J; Nowak, M P; Wimmer, M; Akhmerov, A R; Folk, J A; Flensberg, K; Shabani, J; Palmstrøm, C J; Marcus, C M

2016-09-29

Coupling a two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor heterostructure to a superconductor opens new research and technology opportunities, including fundamental problems in mesoscopic superconductivity, scalable superconducting electronics, and new topological states of matter. One route towards topological matter is by coupling a 2D electron gas with strong spin-orbit interaction to an s-wave superconductor. Previous efforts along these lines have been adversely affected by interface disorder and unstable gating. Here we show measurements on a gateable InGaAs/InAs 2DEG with patterned epitaxial Al, yielding devices with atomically pristine interfaces between semiconductor and superconductor. Using surface gates to form a quantum point contact (QPC), we find a hard superconducting gap in the tunnelling regime. When the QPC is in the open regime, we observe a first conductance plateau at 4e 2 /h, consistent with theory. The hard-gap semiconductor-superconductor system demonstrated here is amenable to top-down processing and provides a new avenue towards low-dissipation electronics and topological quantum systems.

Experimental determination of the Fermi surface of Sr3Ir4Sn13

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiaoye; Goh, Swee K.; Tompsett, David A.; Yu, Wing Chi; Klintberg, Lina; Friedemann, Sven; Tan, Hong'En; Yang, Jinhu; Chen, Bin; Imai, M.; Yoshimura, Kazuyoshi; Gamza, Monika B.; Grosche, F. Malte; Sutherland, Michael L.

2016-06-01

The stannide family of materials A3T4 Sn13 (A =La ,Sr ,Ca ; T =Ir ,Rh ) is interesting due to the interplay between a tunable lattice instability and phonon-mediated superconductivity with Tc˜5 -7 K . In Sr3Ir4Sn13, a structural transition temperature T˜147 K associated with this instability has been reported, which is believed to result from a superlattice distortion of the high-temperature phase on cooling. Here we report an experimental study of the electronic structure of a member of this material family, Sr3Ir4Sn13, through measurements of quantum oscillations and comparison with density functional theory calculations. Our measurements reveal good agreement with theory using the lattice parameters consistent with a body-centered-cubic lattice of symmetry I 4 ¯3 d of the low-temperature phase. The study of the fermiology of Sr3Ir4Sn13 that we present here should help inform models of multiband superconductivity in the superconducting stannides.

Crystal structure and superconductivity in atomic hydrogen: Deformation between I41/amd and Fddd

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishikawa, T.; Nagara, H.; Oda, T.; Suzuki, N.; Shimizu, K.

2017-10-01

We investigated crystal structures of solid metallic hydrogen using the potential energy surface trekking for structure search. We applied this technique to a tetragonal I41/amd structure at pressures of 500 and 600 GPa and obtained the transformation into multiple orthorhombic Fddd structures, which are formed by distortions in the ab plane of I41/amd. The potential barriers are easily surmounted by few trekking steps, which indicates that in solid metallic hydrogen crystal structure is softened with respect to the distortion and is easily fluctuated among the I41/amd and Fddd structures. Calculated superconducting critical temperatures show 269 K for I41/amd and 263 K for Fddd at 500 GPa. The structures are softened and the electron-phonon coupling are enhanced with pressurization to 600 GPa. As the results, the superconducting critical temperature is increased to 281 K for I41/amd, whereas it is decreased to 252 K for Fddd owing to its larger phonon softening than that of I41/amd.

Emergent loop-nodal s(±)-wave superconductivity in CeCu(2)Si(2): similarities to the iron-based superconductors.

PubMed

Ikeda, Hiroaki; Suzuki, Michi-To; Arita, Ryotaro

2015-04-10

Heavy-fermion superconductors are prime candidates for novel electron-pairing states due to the spin-orbital coupled degrees of freedom and electron correlations. Superconductivity in CeCu_{2}Si_{2} discovered in 1979, which is a prototype of unconventional (non-BCS) superconductors in strongly correlated electron systems, still remains unsolved. Here we provide the first report of superconductivity based on the advanced first-principles theoretical approach. We find that the promising candidate is an s_{±}-wave state with loop-shaped nodes on the Fermi surface, different from the widely expected line-nodal d-wave state. The dominant pairing glue is magnetic but high-rank octupole fluctuations. This system shares the importance of multiorbital degrees of freedom with the iron-based superconductors. Our findings reveal not only the long-standing puzzle in this material, but also urge us to reconsider the pairing states and mechanisms in all heavy-fermion superconductors.

Chiral topological superconductor and half-integer conductance plateau from quantum anomalous Hall plateau transition

DOE PAGES

Wang, Jing; Zhou, Quan; Lian, Biao; ...

2015-08-31

Here, we propose to realize a two-dimensional chiral topological superconducting (TSC) state from the quantum anomalous Hall plateau transition in a magnetic topological insulator thin film through the proximity effect to a conventional s -wave superconductor. This state has a full pairing gap in the bulk and a single chiral Majorana mode at the edge. The optimal condition for realizing such chiral TSC is to have inequivalent superconducting pairing amplitudes on top and bottom surfaces of the doped magnetic topological insulator. We further propose several transport experiments to detect the chiral TSC. One unique signature is that the conductance willmore » be quantized into a half-integer plateau at the coercive field in this hybrid system. In particular, with the point contact formed by a superconducting junction, the conductance oscillates between e 2 /2h and e2 /h with the frequency determined by the voltage across the junction. We close by discussing the feasibility of these experimental proposals.« less