Perturbing the superconducting planes in CeCoIn5 by Sn substitution

Phys Rev Lett. 2005 Jul 1;95(1):016406. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.016406. Epub 2005 Jul 1.

Abstract

In contrast to substitution on the Co or Ce site, Sn substitution has a remarkably strong effect on superconductivity in CeCoIn5-xSnx, with Tc-->0 beyond only 3.6% Sn. Instead of being randomly distributed on in-plane and out-of-plane In sites, extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements show the Sn atoms preferentially substitute within the Ce-In plane. This result highlights the importance of the In1 site to impurity scattering and clearly demonstrates the two-dimensional nature of superconductivity in CeCoIn5.