153 research outputs found
Superconductivity in La1-xCexOBiSSe: carrier doping by mixed valence of Ce ions
We report the effects of Ce substitution on structural, electronic, and
magnetic properties of layered bismuth-chalcogenide La1-xCexOBiSSe (x = 0-0.9),
which are newly obtained in this study. Metallic conductivity was observed for
x > 0.1 because of electron carriers induced by mixed valence of Ce ions, as
revealed by bond valence sum calculation and magnetization measurements. Zero
resistivity and clear diamagnetic susceptibility were obtained for x = 0.2-0.6,
indicating the emergence of bulk superconductivity in these compounds.
Dome-shaped superconductivity phase diagram with the highest transition
temperature (Tc) of 3.1 K, which is slightly lower than that of F-doped
LaOBiSSe (Tc = 3.7 K), was established. The present study clearly shows that
the mixed valence of Ce ions can be utilized as an alternative approach for
electron-doping in layered bismuth-chalcogenides to induce superconductivity
Advantageous grain boundaries in iron pnictide superconductors
High critical temperature superconductors have zero power consumption and
could be used to produce ideal electric power lines. The principal obstacle in
fabricating superconducting wires and tapes is grain boundaries-the
misalignment of crystalline orientations at grain boundaries, which is
unavoidable for polycrystals, largely deteriorates critical current density.
Here, we report that High critical temperature iron pnictide superconductors
have advantages over cuprates with respect to these grain boundary issues. The
transport properties through well-defined bicrystal grain boundary junctions
with various misorientation angles (thetaGB) were systematically investigated
for cobalt-doped BaFe2As2 (BaFe2As2:Co) epitaxial films fabricated on bicrystal
substrates. The critical current density through bicrystal grain boundary
(JcBGB) remained high (> 1 MA/cm2) and nearly constant up to a critical angle
thetac of ~9o, which is substantially larger than the thetac of ~5o for YBCO.
Even at thetaGB > thetac, the decay of JcBGB was much smaller than that of
YBCO.Comment: to appear in Nature Communication
Thin film growth by pulsed laser deposition and properties of 122-type iron-based superconductor AE(Fe1--xCox)2As2 (AE = alkaline earth)
This paper reports comprehensive results on thin-film growth of 122-type
iron-pnictide superconductors, AE(Fe1-xCox)2As2 (AE = Ca, Sr, and Ba,
AEFe2As2:Co) by a pulsed laser deposition method using a neodymium-doped
yttrium aluminum garnet laser as an excitation source. The most critical
parameter to produce the SrFe2As2:Co and BaFe2As2:Co phases is the substrate
temperature (Ts). It is difficult to produce highly-pure CaFe2As2:Co phase thin
film at any Ts. For BaFe2As2:Co epitaxial films, controlling Ts at 800-850
{\deg}C and growth rate to 2.8-3.3 {\AA}/s produced high-quality films with
good crystallinity, flat surfaces, and high critical current densities > 1
MA/cm2, which were obtained for film thicknesses from 100 to 500 nm. The doping
concentration x was optimized for Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 epitaxial films, leading to
the highest critical temperature of 25.5 K in the epitaxial films with the
nominal x = 0.075.Comment: will be published in the special issue of Superconductor Science and
Technology, `Iron12
Analysis of interdiffusion between SmFeAsO0.92F0.08 and metals for ex situ fabrication of superconducting wire
We demonstrate the fabrication of superconducting SmFeAsO1-xFx (Sm-1111)
wires by using the ex-situ powder-in-tube technique. Sm-1111 powder and a
binder composed of SmF3, samarium arsenide, and iron arsenide were used to
synthesize the superconducting core. Although the F content of Sm-1111 is
reduced in the process of ex-situ fabrication, the binder compensates by
sufficiently supplementing the F content, thereby preventing a decrease in the
superconducting transition temperature and a shrinking of the superconducting
volume fraction. Thus, in the superconducting Sm-1111 wire with the binder, the
transport critical current density reaches the highest value of ~4000 A/cm2 at
4.2 K
DC superconducting quantum interference devices fabricated using bicrystal grain boundary junctions in Co-doped BaFe2As2 epitaxial films
DC superconducting quantum interference devices (dc-SQUIDs) were fabricated
in Co-doped BaFe2As2 epitaxial films on (La, Sr)(Al, Ta)O3 bicrystal substrates
with 30deg misorientation angles. The 18 x 8 micro-meter^2 SQUID loop with an
estimated inductance of 13 pH contained two 3 micro-meter wide grain boundary
junctions. The voltage-flux characteristics clearly exhibited periodic
modulations with deltaV = 1.4 micro-volt at 14 K, while the intrinsic flux
noise of dc-SQUIDs was 7.8 x 10^-5 fai0/Hz^1/2 above 20 Hz. The rather high
flux noise is mainly attributed to the small voltage modulation depth which
results from the superconductor-normal metal-superconductor junction nature of
the bicrystal grain boundary
Thin Film Growth and Device Fabrication of Iron-Based Superconductors
Iron-based superconductors have received much attention as a new family of
high-temperature superconductors owing to their unique properties and distinct
differences from cuprates and conventional superconductors. This paper reviews
progress in thin film research on iron-based superconductors since their
discovery for each of five material systems with an emphasis on growth,
physical properties, device fabrication, and relevant bulk material properties.Comment: To appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Epitaxial growth and anisotropy of La(O,F)FeAs thin films deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition
LaFeAsO1-xFx thin films were deposited successfully on (001)-oriented LaAlO3
and MgO substrates from stoichiometric LaFeAsO1-xFx polycrystalline targets
with fluorine concentrations up to x = 0.25 by PLD. Room temperature deposition
and post annealing of the films yield nearly phase pure films with a pronounced
c-axis texture and a strong biaxial in-plane orientation. Transport
measurements show metallic resistance and onset of superconductivity at 11 K.
Hc2(T) was determined by resistive measurements and yield Hc2 values of 3 T at
3.6 K for B||c and 6 T at 6.4 K for B||ab.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
A pigmented calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor associated with compound odontoma: a case report and review of literature
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pigmented intraosseous odontogenic lesions are rare with only 47 reported cases in the English literature. Among them, pigmented calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor, formerly known as calcifying odontogenic cyst, is the most common lesion with 20 reported cases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A case of pigmented calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor associated with odontoma occurring at the mandibular canine-premolar region of a young Japanese boy is presented with radiographic, and histological findings. Special staining, electron microscopic study and immunohistochemical staining were also done to characterize the pigmentation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The pigments in the lesion were confirmed to be melanin by Masson-Fontana staining and by transmission electron microscopy. The presence of dendritic melanocytes within the lesion was also demonstrated by S-100 immunostaining.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present case report of pigmented calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor associated with odontoma features a comprehensive study on melanin and melanocytes, including histochemical, immunohistochemical and transmission electron microscopic findings.</p
Spectroscopic scanning tunneling microscopy insights into Fe-based superconductors
In the first three years since the discovery of Fe-based high Tc
superconductors, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy have shed
light on three important questions. First, STM has demonstrated the complexity
of the pairing symmetry in Fe-based materials. Phase-sensitive quasiparticle
interference (QPI) imaging and low temperature spectroscopy have shown that the
pairing order parameter varies from nodal to nodeless s\pm within a single
family, FeTe1-xSex. Second, STM has imaged C4 -> C2 symmetry breaking in the
electronic states of both parent and superconducting materials. As a local
probe, STM is in a strong position to understand the interactions between these
broken symmetry states and superconductivity. Finally, STM has been used to
image the vortex state, giving insights into the technical problem of vortex
pinning, and the fundamental problem of the competing states introduced when
superconductivity is locally quenched by a magnetic field. Here we give a
pedagogical introduction to STM and QPI imaging, discuss the specific
challenges associated with extracting bulk properties from the study of
surfaces, and report on progress made in understanding Fe-based superconductors
using STM techniques.Comment: 36 pages, 23 figures, 229 reference
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