MgB2 thick film with TC = 40.2 K deposited on sapphire substrate

We have successfully deposited thick MgB2 film on the (0001) crystalline surface of sapphire by the method of hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition (HPCVD). The film thickness is about 1.3 micron. It has a dense and interlaced structure. The film surface, shown by SEM, is stacked with MgB2 microcrystals. Transport measurements by the 4-probe technique have demonstrated that its critical temperature is about 40.2 K, with a sharp transition width of 0.15 K. The residual resistivity ratio (RRR) is about 11. By extrapolation, HC2(0) is determined as 13.7 T from the magneto-transport measurement. Also by hysteresis measurement and applying the Bean model, the critical current density is estimated as 5*1010 A/m2 in zero magnetic field. The present work has demonstrated that HPCVD is an effective technique to fabricate the MgB2 thick film with decent superconducting properties. Hence, it is important for the future superconducting application, in particular, as a crucial preliminary stage to fabricate superconducting tape.Comment: 7 pages with 4 figures included, Phys. Stat. Sol. (a) In pres

Preserved entropy and fragile magnetism

A large swath of strongly correlated electron systems can be associated with the phenomena of preserved entropy and fragile magnetism. In this overview we present our thoughts and plans for the discovery and development of lanthanide and transition metal based, strongly correlated systems that are revealed by suppressed, fragile magnetism or grow out of preserved entropy. We will present and discuss current examples such as YbBiPt, YbAgGe, YbFe2Zn20, PrAg2In, BaFe2As2, CaFe2As2, LaCrSb3 and LaCrGe3 as part of our motivation and to provide illustrative examples

Combined effects of pressure and Ru substitution on BaFe2As2

The ab-plane resistivity of Ba(Fe1-xRux)2As2 (x = 0.00, 0.09, 0.16, 0.21, and 0.28) was studied under nearly hydrostatic pressures, up to 7.4 GPa, in order to explore the T-P phase diagram and to compare the combined effects of iso-electronic Ru substitution and pressure. The parent compound BaFe2As2 exhibits a structural/magnetic phase transition near 134 K. At ambient pressure, progressively increasing Ru concentration suppresses this phase transition to lower temperatures at the approximate rate of ~5 K/% Ru and is correlated with the emergence of superconductivity. By applying pressure to this system, a similar behavior is seen for each concentration: the structural/magnetic phase transition is further suppressed and superconductivity induced and ultimately, for larger x Ru and P, suppressed. A detailed comparison of the T-P phase diagrams for all Ru concentrations shows that 3 GPa of pressure is roughly equivalent to 10% Ru substitution. Furthermore, due to the sensitivity of Ba(Fe1-xRux)2As2 to pressure conditions, the melting of the liquid media, 4 : 6 light mineral oil : n-pentane and 1 : 1 iso-pentane : n-pentane, used in this study could be readily seen in the resistivity measurements. This feature was used to determine the freezing curves for these media and infer their room temperature, hydrostatic limits: 3.5 and 6.5 GPa, respectively.Comment: 27 pages, 19 figure

Specific heat jump at the superconducting transition temperature in Ba(Fe(1-x)Cox)2As2 and Ba(Fe(1-x)Nix)2As2 single crystals

We present detailed heat capacity measurements for Ba(Fe(1-x)Cox)2As2 and Ba(Fe(1-x)Nix)2As2 single crystals in the vicinity of the superconducting transitions. The specific heat jump at the superconducting transition temperature (Tc), Delta Cp/Tc, changes by a factor ~ 10 across these series. The Delta Cp/T$ vs. Tc data of this work (together with the literature data for Ba(Fe0.939Co0.061)2As2, (Ba0.55K0.45)Fe2As2, and (Ba0.6K0.4)Fe2As2) scale well to a single log-log plot over two orders of magnitude in Delta Cp/Tc and over about an order of magnitude in Tc, giving Delta Cp/Tc ~ Tc^2

Anisotropic thermal expansion of AEFe2As2 (AE = Ba, Sr, Ca) single crystals

We report anisotropic thermal expansion of the parent, AEFe2As2 (AE = Ba, Sr, and Ca), compounds. Above the structural/antiferromagnetic phase transition anisotropy of the thermal expansion coefficients is observed, with the coefficient along the a-axis being significantly smaller than the coefficient for the c-axis. The high temperature (200 K < T < 300 K) coefficients themselves have similar values for the compounds studied. The sharp anomalies associated with the structural/antiferromagnetic phase transitions are clearly seen in the thermal expansion measurements. For all three pure compounds the "average" a-value increases and the c-lattice parameter decreases on warming through the transition with the smallest change in the lattice parameters observed for SrFe2As2. The data are in general agreement with the literature data from X-ray and neutron diffraction experiments