Anisotropic s-Wave Gap in the Vicinity of a Quantum Critical Point in Superconducting BaFe_(2)(As_(1-x)P_(x))_(2) Single Crystals:A Study of Point-Contact Spectroscopy

We report on soft c-axis point-contact Andreev reflection(PCAR)spectroscopy combining with resistivity measurements on BaFe_(2)(As_(0.7)P_(0.3))_(2),to elucidate the superconducting gap structure in the vicinity of the quantum critical point.A double peak at the gap edge plus a dip feature at zero-bias has been observed on the PCAR spectra,indicative of the presence of a nodeless gap in BaFe_(2)(As_(0.7)P_(0.3))_(2).Detailed analysis within a sophisticated theoretical model reveals an anisotropic gap with deep gap minima.The PCARs also feature additional structures related to the electron-bosonic coupling mode.Using the extracted superconducting energy gap value,a characteristic bosonic energy Ω_(b) and its temperature dependence are obtained,comparable with the spin-resonance energy observed in neutron scattering experiment.These results indicate a magnetism-driven quantum critical point in the BaFe_(2)(As_(1-x)P_(x))_(2) system.

Pressure-Dependent Point-Contact Spectroscopy of Superconducting PbTaSe2 Single Crystals

We develop an experimental tool to investigate the order parameter of superconductors by combining pointcontact spectroscopy measurement with high-pressure technique.It is demonstrated for the first time that planar point-contact spectroscopy measurement on noncentrosymmetric superconducting PbTaSe2 single crystals is systematically subjected to hydrostatic pressures up to 12.1 kbar.Under such a high pressure,the normal-state contact resistance is sensitive to the applied pressure,reflecting the underlying variation of contact transparency upon pressures.In a superconducting state,the pressure dependence of the energy gap△0 and the critical temperature Tc for gap opening/closing are extracted based on a generalized Blond-Tinkham-Klapwijk model.The gap ratio 2△0/kB Tc indicates a crossover from weak coupling to strong coupling in electron pairing strength upon pressure for PbTaSe2.Our experimental results show the accessibility and validity of high-pressure pointcontact spectroscopy,offering rich information about high-pressure superconductivity.

Pressure-Induced Metallization and Structural Phase Transition in the Quasi-One-Dimensional TlFeSe2

We report a comprehensive high-pressure study on the monoclinic TIFeSe2 single crystal,which is an antiferromagnetic jnsulator with quasi-one-dimensional crystal structure at ambient pressure.It is found that TIFeSe2 undergoes a pressure-induced structural transformation from the monoclinic phase to an orthorhombic structure above Pc≈13 GPa,accompanied with a large volume collapse of ΔV/V0=8.3%.In the low-pressure monoclinic phase,the insulating state is easily metallized at pressures above 2 GPa;while possible superconductivity with Tconset^2 K is found to emerge above 30 GPa in the high-pressure phase.Such a great tunability of TIFeSe2 under pressure indicates that the ternary AFeSe2 system(A=Tl,K,Cs,Rb) should be taken as an important platform for explorations of interesting phenomena such as insulator-metal transition,dimensionality crossover,and superconductivity.

A New Quasi-One-Dimensional Ternary Molybdenum Pnictide Rb2Mo3As3 with Superconducting Transition at 10.5K

We report superconductivity in a new ternary molybdenum pnictide Rb2 Mo3 As3,synthesized via the solid state reaction method.Powder x-ray diffraction analysis reveals a hexagonal crystal structure with space group P6 m2(No.187),and the refined lattice parameters are a=10.431(5)A,c=4.460(4)A.SEM images show rod-like grains with good ductility,confirming a quasi-one-dimensional(Q1 D)structure.Electrical resistivity and dc magnetic susceptibility characterizations exhibit superconductivity with an onset of Tc=10.5 K.The upper critical field of Rb2 Mo3 As3 is estimated to be 28.2 T at zero temperature,providing an evidence of possible unconventional superconductivity.Our recent discovery of MoAs-based superconductors above 10 K provides a unique platform for the study of exotic superconductivity in 4 d electron systems with Q1 D crystal structures.

Direct Microwave Synthesis of 11-Type Fe(Te,Se) Polycrystalline Superconductors with Enhanced Critical Current Density

We report a direct microwave synthesis method for the preparation of 11-type high quality Fe(Te,Se) polycrystalline superconductors. The bulk samples are rapidly synthesized under the microwave irradiation during several minutes, with a subsequent annealing process at 400℃. The samples exhibit a nearly single phase of the tetragonal PbO-type crystal structure with minor impurities. Morphology characterization shows high density, tight grain connectivity and large grain sizes around 100 μm with small cavities inside the sample. Resistivity and magnetization measurements both show similar superconducting transitions above 14 K. The magnetic hysteresis measurements display broad and symmetric loops without magnetic background, and a high critical current density J_c about 1.2 × 10~4 A/cm^2 at 2 K and 7 T is estimated by the Bean model. Compared with the solidstate reaction synthesized samples, these superconducting bulks from microwave-assisted synthesis are possibly free of the interstitial Fe due to smaller c-axis, higher T_c in magnetic transitions, better M–H loops without magnetic background and greatly enhanced J_c, and are promising as raw materials for the non-toxic Fe-based superconducting wires for large currents and high field applications.

Tip-induced superconductivity commonly existing in the family of transition-metal dipnictides MPn_(2)

We report the tip-induced superconductivity on the topological semimetal NbSb_(2), similar to the observation on TaAs_(2) and NbAs_(2). Belonging to the same family of MPn_(2), all these materials possess similar band structures, indicating that the tip-induced superconductivity may be closely related to their topological nature and share a common mechanism. Further analysis suggests that a bulk band should play the dominant role in such local superconductivity most likely through interface coupling. In addition, the compatibility between the induced superconductivity and tips’ ferromagnetism gives an evidence for its unconventional nature. These results provide further clues to elucidate the mechanism of the tip-induced superconductivity observed in topological materials.

Emergence of Superconductivity on the Border of Antiferromagnetic Order in RbMn6Bi5 under High Pressure:A New Family of Mn-Based Superconductors

We report the discovery of superconductivity on the border of antiferromagnetic order in a quasi-one-dimensional material RbMn_(6)Bi_(5)via measurements of resistivity and magnetic susceptibility under high pressures.Its phase diagram of temperature versus pressure resembles those of many magnetism-mediated superconducting systems.With increasing pressure,its antiferromagnetic ordering transition with T_(N)=83K at ambient pressure is first enhanced moderately and then suppressed completely at a critical pressure of P_(c)≈13GPa,around which bulk superconductivity emerges and exhibits a dome-like T_(c)(P)with a maximal T_(c)^(onset)≈9.5K at about 15GPa.In addition,the superconducting state around P_(c) is characterized by a large upper critical fieldμ_(0)H_(c2)(0)exceeding the Pauli paramagnetic limit,implying a possible unconventional paring mechanism.The present study,together with our recent work on KMn_(6)Bi_(5)(the maximum T_(c)^(onset)≈9.3 K),makes AMn_(6)Bi_(5)(A=alkali metal)a new family of Mn-based superconductors with relatively high T_(c).

Negative Longitudinal Magnetoresistance in the (8-Axis Resistivity of Cd

We report a systematic study on magnetotransport properties of the single crystal of cadmium(Cd). When the applied magnetic field B is perpendicular to the current I, the resistivities for both directions(I ‖ a, I ‖ c) show field induced metal-to-insulator-like transitions. The isothermal magnetoresistance(MR) at low temperatures increases approximately as the square of the magnetic field without any sign of saturation, and reaches up to 1140000% and 58000% at T = 2 K and B = 9 T for I ‖ a and I ‖ c, respectively. As the magnetic field rotates to parallel to the current, no sign of negative MR is observed for I ‖ a, while an obvious negative MR appears up to-70% at 2 K and 9 T for the current flowing along the c-axis, and the negative longitudinal MR shows a strong dependence of the electrode position on the single crystal. These results suggest that the negative longitudinal MR is caused by the dislocations formed in the process of crystal growing along the c-axis. Further studies are needed to clarify this point.

Transport properties of topological nodal-line semimetal candidate CaAs_3 under hydrostatic pressure

We report the transport properties of the CaAs_3 single crystal, which has been predicted to be a candidate for topological nodal-line semimetals. At ambient pressure, CaAs_3 exhibits semiconducting behavior with a small gap, while in some crystals containing tiny defects or impurities, a large "hump" in the resistivity is observed around 230 K. By applying hydrostatic pressure, the samples appear to a tendency towards metallic behavior, but not fully metallized up to 2 GPa.Further high pressure studies are needed to explore the topological characteristics for CaAs_3.

Superconducting properties of the C15-type Laves phase ZrIr_(2) with an Ir-based kagome lattice

We report systematic studies on superconducting properties of the Laves phase superconductor ZrIr_(2).It crystallizes in a C15-type(cubic MgCu_(2)-type,space group Fd3m)structure in which the Ir atoms form a kagome lattice,with cell parameters a=b=c=7.3596(1)?.Resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that ZrIr_(2) is a type-Ⅱsuperconductor with a transition temperature of 4.0 K.The estimated lower and upper critical fields are 12.8 mT and 4.78 T,respectively.Heat capacity measurements confirm the bulk superconductivity in ZrIr_(2).ZrIr_(2) is found to possibly host strong-coupled s-wave superconductivity with the normalized specific heat change△C_(e)/γT_(c)~1.86 and the coupling strength△_(0)/k_BT_(c)~1.92.First-principles calculations suggest that ZrIr_(2) has three-dimensional Fermi surfaces with simple topologies,and the states at Fermi level mainly originate from the Ir-5d and Zr-4d orbitals.Similar to SrIr_(2) and ThIr_(2),spin–orbit coupling has dramatic influences on the band structure in ZrIr_(2).

Substitution effect on the superconductivity in Mo_(3-x)Re_xAl_(2)C withβ-Mn structure prepared by microwave method

We report the microwave synthesis and the doping effect of Mo_(3-)xRe_xAl_(2)C(0≤x≤0.3)superconductor.Re doping into Mo_(3)Al_(2)C results in a regular shrinkage of the lattice,marked by the linear decrease of lattice parameter a from6.868(1)A(for Mo_(3)Al_(2)C)to 6.846(2)A(for Mo_(2.7)Re_(0.3)Al_(2)C).Upon Re doping,T_(c)of Mo_(3-x)Re_xAl_(2)C first increases and then decreases,with the maximum T_(c)=9.14 K at the optimal doping level of x=0.09.Our report provides a convenient method to synthesize Mo_(3-)xRe_xAl_(2)C within minutes,and also marks the first Re doping study with enhanced superconductivity on the non-centrosymmetric superconductor Mo_(3)Al_(2)C.

Maximum entropy mobility spectrum analysis for the type-ⅠWeyl semimetal TaAs

Due to non-saturating magnetoresistance(MR)and the special compensation mechanism,the Weyl semimetal Ta As single crystal has attracted considerable attention in condensed matter physics.Herein,we use maximum entropy mobility spectrum analysis(MEMSA)to extract charge carrier information by fitting the experimentally measured longitudinal and transverse electric transport curves of Ta As.The carrier types and the number of bands are obtained without any hypothesis.Study of the temperature dependence shows details of carrier property evolution.Our quantitative results explain the nonsaturated magnetoresistance and Hall sign change phenomena of TaAs.

Experimental Observations Indicating the Topological Nature of the Edge States on HfTe5

The topological edge states of two-dimensional topological insulators with large energy gaps furnish ideal conduction channels for dissipationless current transport. Transition metal tellurides XTe5X=Zr, Hf) are theoretically predicted to be large-gap two-dimensional topological insulators, and the experimental observations of their bulk insulating gap and in-gap edge states have been reported, but the topological nature of these edge states still remains to be further elucidated. Here, we report our low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy study on single crystals of HfTe5. We demonstrate a full energy gap of ~80 meV near the Fermi level on the surface monolayer of HfTe5 and that such an insulating energy gap gets filled with finite energy states when measured at the monolayer step edges. Remarkably, such states are absent at the edges of a narrow monolayer strip of one-unit-cell in width but persist at both step edges of a unit-cell wide monolayer groove. These experimental observations strongly indicate that the edge states of HfTe5 monolayers are not trivially caused by translational symmetry breaking, instead they are topological in nature protected by the 2 D nontrivial bulk properties.

Electric and thermal transport properties of topological insulator candidate LiMgBi

We report the transport properties of a topological insulator candidate,LiMgBi.The electric resistivity of the title compound exhibits a metal-to-semiconductor-like transition at around 160 K and tends to saturation below 50 K.At low temperatures,the magnetoresistance is up to~260%at 9 T and a clear weak antilocalization effect is observed in the low magnetic-field region.The Hall measurement reveals that LiMgBi is a multiband system,where hole-type carriers(nh~1018 cm^(-3))play a major role in the transport process.Remarkably,LiMgBi possess a large Seebeck coefficient(~440μV/K)and a moderate thermal conductivity at room temperature,which indicate that LiMgBi is a promising candidate in thermoelectric applications.

Superconductivity with a Violation of Pauli Limit and Evidences for Multigap in η-Carbide Type Ti_(4)Ir_(2)O

We report the synthesis,crystal structure,and superconductivity of Ti_(4)Ir_(2)O.The title compound crystallizes in an η-carbide type structure of the space group Fd3m(No.227),with lattice parameters a=b=c=11.6194(1)A.The superconducting temperature T_(c) is found to be 5.1-5.7 K.Most surprisingly,Ti_(4)Ir_(2)O hosts an upper critical field of 16.45 T,which is far beyond the Pauli paramagnetic limit.Strong coupled superconductivity with evidences for multigap is revealed by the measurements of heat capacity and upper critical field.First-principles calculations suggest that the density of states near the Fermi level originates from the hybridization of Ti-3d and Ir-5d orbitals,and the effect of spin-orbit coupling on the Fermi surfaces is prominent.Large values of the Wilson ratio(R_(W)∼3.9),the Kadowaki-Woods ratio[A/γ^(2)∼9.0×10^(−6)µΩ·cm/(mJ·mol^(−1)·K^(−1))^(2)],and the Sommerfeld coefficient(γ=33.74 mJ·mol^(−1)·K^(−2))all suggest strong electron correlations(similar to heavy fermion systems)in Ti_(4)Ir_(2)O.The violation of Pauli limit is possibly due to a combination of strong-coupled superconductivity and large spin-orbit scattering.With these intriguing behaviors,Ti_(4)Ir_(2)O serves as a candidate for unconventional superconductor.

Electric Field Induced Permanent Superconductivity in Layered Metal Nitride Chlorides HfNCl and ZrNCl

Devices of electric double-layer transistors （EDLTs） with ionic liquid have been employed as an effective way to dope carriers over a wide range. However, the induced electronic states can hardly survive in the materials after releasing the gate voltage VG at temperatures higher than the melting point of the selected ionic liquid. Here we show that a permanent superconductivity with transition temperature Tc of 24 and 15K is realized hi single crystals and polycrystalline samples of HfNCI and ZrNCI upon applying proper VG＇s at different temperatures. Reversible change between insulating and superconducting states can be obtained by applying positive and negative VG at low temperature such as 220K, whereas VG ＇s applied at 250K induce the irreversible superconducting transition. The upper critical field He2 of the superconducting states obtained at different gating temperatures shows similar temperature dependence. We propose a reasonable scenario that partial vacancy of Cl ions could be caused by applying proper VG＇s at slightly higher processing temperatures, which consequently results in a permanent electron doping in the system. Such a technique shows great potential to systematically tune the bulk electronic state in the similar two-dimensional systems.

Superconductivity at 7.8 K in the ternary LaRu2As2 compound

Here we report the discovery of superconductivity in the ternary LaRu2As2 compound. The polycrystalline LaRu2As2 samples were synthesized by the conventional solid state reaction method. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that LaRu2As2 crystallizes in the ThCr2Si2-type crystal structure with the space group 14/ mmm （No. 139）, and the refined lattice parameters are a = 4.182（6）A and c = 10.590（3）A. The temperature dependent resistivity measurement shows a clear superconducting transition with the onset Tc （critical tempera- ture） at 7.8 K, and zero resistivity happens at 6.8 K. The upper critical field at zero temperature μ0Hc2（0） was estimated to be 1.6 T from the resistivity measurement. DC magnetic susceptibility measurement shows a bulk superconducting Meissner transition at 7.0 K, and the isothermal magnetization measurement indicates that LaRu2As2 is a type-II superconductor.

Superconductivity at 10.4 K in a novel quasi-one-dimensional ternary molybdenum pnictide K2Mo3As3

Here we report the discovery of the first ternary molybdenum pnictide based superconductor K2Mo3As3. Polycrystalline samples were synthesized by the conventional solid state reaction method. X-ray diffrac- tion analysis reveals a quasi-one-dimensional hexagonal crystal structure with （Mo3As3）2 linear chains separated by K^＋ ions, similar as previously reported K2Cr3As3, with the space group of P-6m2 （No. 187） and the refined lattice parameters a = 10.145（5） A and c = 4.453（8） A. Electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity measurements exhibit bulk superconductivity with the onset Tc at 10.4 K in K2Mo3As3 which is higher than the isostructural Cr-based superconductors. Being the same group VIB transition elements and with similar structural motifs, these Cr and Mo based superconductors may share some common underlying origins for the occurrence of superconductivity and need more investigations to uncover the electron pairing within a quasi-one-dimensional chain structure.

Discovery of a novel 112-type iron-pnictide and La-doping induced superconductivity in Eu_(1-x)La_xFeAs_2(x=0–0.15)

We report the discovery and characterization of a novel 112-type iron pnictide EuFeAs2, with La-doping induced superconductivity in a series of Eu1- xLaxFeAs2. The polycrystalline samples were synthesized through solid state reaction method only within a very narrow temperature window around 1073 K. Small single crystals were also grown from a flux method with the size about 100μm. The crystal structure was identified by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis as a monoclinic structure with space group of P2 1/m. From resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements, we found that the parent compound EuFeAs2 shows distinct anomalies probably due to the Fe2＋ related antiferromagnetic/structural phase transition near 110K and the Eu2＋ related antiferromagnetic phase transition near 40K. La-doping suppressed both phase transitions to lower temperatures and induced superconducting transitions with a Tc - 11 K for Eu0.85La0.15FeAs2.

Anisotropic interfacial superconductivity induced at point contacts on topological semimetal grey arsenic

The origin of superconductivity observed at the point contact between the normal metal tip and the topological material remains uncertain due to the potential presence of superconducting elements or allotropes impurities.It is imperative to seek out a topological material entirely free of superconducting impurities and induce superconductivity between it and normal tips to verify the source of the induced superconductivity.Here,we report the observation of superconductivity up to 9 K induced at point contacts between normal metal tips and the topological material grey arsenic,which is free of superconductivity.The determined temperature dependencies of superconducting gapsΔ(T)deviate from the Bardeen-Cooper-Schriefer(BCS)superconductivity law,exhibiting abnormal behavior.Furthermore,the highly anisotropic upper critical field H_(c2)(T)suggests the anisotropy of the projected interfacial Fermi surface.By tuning the junction resistance,we obtained a negative correlation between the superconducting gapΔand the efective barrier height Z,which validates the interfacial coupling strength as a key factor in the observed tip-induced superconductivity.These experimental results provide guidance for the relevant theory about tip-induced superconductivity on topological materials.