Upper critical fields well above 100 T for the superconductor SmFeAsO0.85_{0.85}F0.15_{0.15} with Tc_c = 46 K

We report specific heat measurements at magnetic fields up to 20 T on the recently discovered superconductor SmFeAsO$_{0.85}$F$_{0.15}$. The B-T diagram of a polycrystalline SmFeAsO$_{0.85}$F$_{0.15}$ sample with T$_c$ = 46 K was investigated. The temperature dependence of B$_{c2}$ was extracted from the specific heat curves, the corresponding B$_{c2}$(T = 0) value derived from the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg formula being 150 T. Based on magnetization measurements up to 9 T, a first estimation of the field dependence of the inductive critical current J$_c$ is given. Evidence for granularity is found. The presence of a peak effect is reported, suggesting a crossover in the vortex dynamics, in analogy to the behaviour observed in high T$_c$ cuprates.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review

Thermally activated energy and critical magnetic fields of SmFeAsO0.9_{0.9}F0.1_{0.1}

Thermally activated flux flow and vortex glass transition of recently discovered SmFeAsO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1}$ superconductor are studied in magnetic fields up to 9.0 T. The thermally activated energy is analyzed in two analytic methods, of which one is conventional and generally used, while the other is closer to the theoretical description. The thermally activated energy values determined from both methods are discussed and compared. In addition, several critical magnetic fields determined from resistivity measurements are presented and discussed.Comment: Accepted by Superconductor Science and Technolog. 5 page, 4 figure

Superconducting properties of SmO1-xFxFeAs wires with Tc = 52 K prepared by the powder-in-tube method

We demonstrate that Ta sheathed SmO1-xFxFeAs wires were successfully fabricated by the powder-in-tube (PIT) method for the first time. Structural analysis by mean of x-ray diffraction shows that the main phase of SmO1-xFxFeAs was obtained by this synthesis method. The transition temperature of the SmO0.65F0.35FeAs wires was confirmed to be as high as 52 K. Based on magnetization measurements, it is found that a globe current can flow on macroscopic sample dimensions with Jc of ~3.9x10^3 A/cm^2 at 5 K and self field, while a high Jc about 2x10^5 A/cm^2 is observed within the grains, suggesting that a significant improvement in the globle Jc is possible. It should be noted that the Jc exhibits a very weak field dependence behavior. Furthermore, the upper critical fields (Hc2) determined according to the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg formula are (T= 0 K) = 120 T, indicating a very encouraging application of the new superconductors.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure