Thickness dependence of the resistivity of Platinum group metal thin films

We report on the thin film resistivity of several platinum-group metals (Ru, Pd, Ir, Pt). Platinum-group thin films show comparable or lower resistivities than Cu for film thicknesses below about 5\,nm due to a weaker thickness dependence of the resistivity. Based on experimentally determined mean linear distances between grain boundaries as well as ab initio calculations of the electron mean free path, the data for Ru, Ir, and Cu were modeled within the semiclassical Mayadas--Shatzkes model [Phys. Rev. B 1, 1382 (1970)] to assess the combined contributions of surface and grain boundary scattering to the resistivity. For Ru, the modeling results indicated that surface scattering was strongly dependent on the surrounding material with nearly specular scattering at interfaces with SiO2 or air but with diffuse scattering at interfaces with TaN. The dependence of the thin film resistivity on the mean free path is also discussed within the Mayadas--Shatzkes model in consideration of the experimental findings.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figure

The influence of transition metal solutes on dislocation core structure and values of Peierls stress and barrier in tungsten

Several transition metals were examined to evaluate their potential for improving the ductility of tungsten. The dislocation core structure and Peierls stress and barrier of $1/2$ screw dislocations in binary tungsten-transition metal alloys (W$_{1-x}$TM$_{x}$) were investigated using first principles electronic structure calculations. The periodic quadrupole approach was applied to model the structure of $1/2$ dislocation. Alloying with transition metals was modeled using the virtual crystal approximation and the applicability of this approach was assessed by calculating the equilibrium lattice parameter and elastic constants of the tungsten alloys. Reasonable agreement was obtained with experimental data and with results obtained from the conventional supercell approach. Increasing the concentration of a transition metal from the VIIIA group, i.e. the elements in columns headed by Fe, Co and Ni, leads to reduction of the $C^\prime$ elastic constant and increase of elastic anisotropy A=$C_{44}/C^\prime$. Alloying W with a group VIIIA transition metal changes the structure of the dislocation core from symmetric to asymmetric, similar to results obtained for W$_{1-x}$Re$_{x}$ alloys in the earlier work of Romaner {\it et al} (Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 195503 (2010))\comments{\cite{WRECORE}}. In addition to a change in the core symmetry, the values of the Peierls stress and barrier are reduced. The latter effect could lead to increased ductility in a tungsten-based alloy\comments{\cite{WRECORE}}. Our results demonstrate that alloying with any of the transition metals from the VIIIA group should have similar effect as alloying with Re.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 3 table

Detection of Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking in the Noncentrosymmetric Superconductor Re6_6Zr Using Muon-Spin Spectroscopy

We have investigated the superconducting state of the non-centrosymmetric compound Re$_6$Zr using magnetization, heat capacity, and muon-spin relaxation/rotation ($\mu$SR) measurements. Re$_6$Zr has a superconducting transition temperature, T$_c$ = 6.75±0.05 K. Transverse-field $\mu$SR experiments, used to probe the superfluid density, suggest an $s$-wave character for the superconducting gap. However, zero and longitudinal-field $\mu$SR data reveal the presence of spontaneous static magnetic fields below $T$$_c$ indicating that time-reversal symmetry is broken in the superconducting state and an unconventional pairing mechanism. An analysis of the pairing symmetries identifies the ground states compatible with time-reversal symmetry breaking