Unabridged phase diagram for single-phased FeSe(x)Te(1-x) thin films

Jincheng Zhuang; Wai Kong Yeoh; Xiangyuan Cui; Xun Xu; Yi Du; Zhixiang Shi; Simon P Ringer; Xiaolin Wang; Shi Xue Dou

doi:10.1038/srep07273

Unabridged phase diagram for single-phased FeSe(x)Te(1-x) thin films

Sci Rep. 2014 Dec 2:4:7273. doi: 10.1038/srep07273.

Authors

Jincheng Zhuang¹, Wai Kong Yeoh², Xiangyuan Cui³, Xun Xu⁴, Yi Du⁴, Zhixiang Shi⁵, Simon P Ringer³, Xiaolin Wang⁴, Shi Xue Dou⁴

Affiliations

¹ 1] Department of Physics and Key Laboratory of MEMS of the Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People's Republic of China [2] Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, North Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia.
² 1] Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, North Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia [2] Australian Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia [3] School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
³ 1] Australian Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia [2] School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
⁴ Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, North Wollongong, New South Wales 2500, Australia.
⁵ Department of Physics and Key Laboratory of MEMS of the Ministry of Education, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

A complete phase diagram and its corresponding physical properties are essential prerequisites to understand the underlying mechanism of iron-based superconductivity. For the structurally simplest 11 (FeSeTe) system, earlier attempts using bulk samples have not been able to do so due to the fabrication difficulties. Here, thin FeSe(x)Te(1-x) films with the Se content covering the full range (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) were fabricated by using pulsed laser deposition method. Crystal structure analysis shows that all films retain the tetragonal structure in room temperature. Significantly, the highest superconducting transition temperature (T(C) = 20 K) occurs in the newly discovered domain, i.e., 0.6 ≤ x ≤ 0.8. The single-phased superconducting dome for the full Se doping range is the first of its kind in iron chalcogenide superconductors. Our results present a new avenue to explore novel physics as well as to optimize superconductors.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't