Excess-iron driven spin glass phase in Fe_(1+y)Te_(1-x)S_(ex)

The iron-chalcogenide superconductor FeTe_(1-x)Se_(x) displays a variety of exotic features distinct from iron pnictides.Although much effort has been devoted to understanding the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity near x=0.5,the existence of a spin glass phase with short-range magnetic order in the doping range(x~0.1-0.3)has rarely been studied.Here,we use DC/AC magnetization and(quasi)elastic neutron scattering to confirm the spin-glass nature of the short-range magnetic order in a Fe_(1.07)Te_(0.8)Se_(0.2) sample.The AC-frequency dependent spin-freezing temperature T_(f) generates a frequency sensitivityΔT_(f)(ω)/[T_(f)(ω)Δlog_(10)ω]≈0.028 and the description of the critical slowing down withτ=τ0(T_(f)/T_(SG-1))^(-zv) gives T_(SG)≈22 K and zv≈10,comparable to that of a classical spin-glass system.We have also extended the frequency-dependent T_(f) to the smaller time scale using energy-resolution-dependent neutron diffraction measurements,in which the T_(N) of the short-range magnetic order increases systematically with increasing energy resolution.By removing the excess iron through annealing in oxygen,the spin-freezing behavior disappears,and bulk superconductivity is realized.Thus,the excess Fe is the driving force for the formation of the spin-glass phase detrimental to bulk superconductivity.