Anisotropic Superconducting Properties of MgB2 Single Crystals

In-plane electrical transport properties of MgB2 single crystals grown under high pressure of 4-6 GPa and temperature of 1400-1700oC in Mg-B-N system have been measured. For all specimens we found sharp superconducting transition around 38.1-38.3K with transition width within 0.2-0.3K. Estimated resistivity value at 40K is about 1 mkOhmcm and resistivity ratio R(273K)/R(40K) of about 4.9. Results of measurements in magnetic field up to 5.5T perpendicular to Mg and B planes and up to 9T in parallel orientation show temperature dependent anisotropy of the upper critical field with anisotropy ratio increasing from 2.2 close to Tc up to about 3 below 30K. Strong deviation of the angular dependence of Hc2 from anisotropic mass model has been also found.Comment: 10pages, including 5 figures,submitted to Physica C (in press

Atmospheric conditions and their effect on ball-milled magnesium diboride

Magnesium diboride bulk pellets were fabricated from pre-reacted MgB2 powder ball milled with different amounts of exposure to air. Evidence of increased electron scattering including increased resistivity, depressed Tc, and enhanced Hc2 of the milled and heat treated samples were observed as a result of increased contact with air. These and other data were consistent with alloying with carbon as a result of exposure to air. A less clear trend of decreased connectivity associated with air exposure was also observed. In making the case that exposure to air should be considered a doping process, these results may explain the wide varibability of "undoped" MgB2 properties extant in the literature.Comment: Work presented at ASC 2006 in Seattl

Suppression of the critical temperature of superconducting NdFeAs(OF) single crystals by Kondo-like defect sites induced by alpha-particle irradiation

We report a comprehensive investigation of the suppression of the critical temperature Tc of NdFeAs(OF) single crystal by alpha-particle irradiation. Our data indicate that irradiation defects produce both nonmagnetic and magnetic scattering, resulting in the Kondo-like excess resistance $\Delta\rho(T)\propto ln T$ over 2 decades in temperatures above $T_c$. Despite high densities of irradiation defects, the dose at which $T_c$ is suppressed to zero is comparable to that for MgB2 but is well above the corresponding values for cuprates.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure