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Akira Iyo

Publications and source records attributed to Akira Iyo.

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Single Crystal Growth and Characterization of the Iron-Based Superconductor KFe2As2 Synthesized by KAs Flux Method

Centimeter sized platelet single crystals of KFe2As2 were grown using a self-flux method. An encapsulation technique using commercial stainless steel container allowed the stable crystal growth lasting for more than 2 weeks. Ternary K-Fe-As systems with various starting compositions were examined to determine the optimal growth conditions. Employment of KAs flux led to the growth of large single crystals with the typical size of as large as 15 mm x 10 mm x 0.4 mm. The grown crystals exhibit sharp superconducting transition at 3.4 K with the transition width 0.2 K, as well as the very large residual resistivity ratio exceeding 450, evidencing the good sample quality.

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Absence of an appreciable iron isotope effect on the transition temperature of the optimally doped SmFeAsO_{1-y} superconductor

We report the iron (Fe) isotope effect on the transition temperature (Tc) in the oxygen-deficient SmFeAsO_{1-y}, a 50 K-class Fe-based superconductor. For the optimally-doped samples with Tc = 54 K, change of the Fe average atomic mass (MFe) causes a negligibly small shift in Tc, with the Fe isotope coefficient (alphaFe) as small as -0.024 \pm 0.015. This result contrasts with the finite, inverse isotope shift observed in optimally-doped (Ba,K)Fe2As2, indicating that the contribution of the electron-phonon interaction markedly differs between these two Fe-based high-Tc superconductors.

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Comment on "Quantum Criticality and Nodal Superconductivity in the FeAs-Based Superconductor KFe$_2$As$_2$"

In a recent Letter [J. K. Dong et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 087005 (2010)], Dong \textit{et al}. have observed a $T^{1.5}$ dependence of resistivity $ρ$ in KFe$_2$As$_2$ at the upper critical field $B_{c2}$ = 5 T parallel to the c axis and have suggested the existence of a field-induced quantum critical point (QCP) at $B_{c2}$. In this comment, we argue that observation of a $T^{1.5}$ dependence of $ρ$ in a sample showing broad resistive transitions does not constitute evidence for a QCP and that recent dHvA results do not support the proposed QCP.

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No anomalous spin fluctuation in optimally doped and overdoped iron-based oxypnictide superconductors LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$ probed by muon spin relaxation

Zero field and longitudinal field muon spin relaxation measurements have been performed in optimally doped and overdoped superconductors LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$ in order to investigate the magnetic fluctuation over a wide range of temperature and longitudinal field. We have observed no sign of magnetic fluctuation against temperature in the muons' time window (10$^{-5}\sim$ 10$^{-9}$s). Considering the current results and other results, i.e., spin fluctuation observed by neutron scattering, pseudogap-like behaviors by NMR and photoemission spectroscopy, it is suggested that not only the spin fluctuation but also the multiband character with several different orbital contributions at the Fermi surface may play an important role in the superconducting pairing mechanism of LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$F$_x$.

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Fermi surface and mass enhancement in KFe$_2$As$_2$ from de Haas-van Alphen effect measurements

We report on a band structure calculation and de Haas-van Alphen measurements of KFe$_2$As$_2$. Three cylindrical Fermi surfaces are found. Effective masses of electrons range from 6 to 18$m_e$, $m_e$ being the free electron mass. Remarkable discrepancies between the calculated and observed Fermi surface areas and the large mass enhancement ($\gtrsim 3$) highlight the importance of electronic correlations in determining the electronic structures of iron pnicitide superconductors.

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Extremely high sensitivity to uniaxial stress in pressure induced superconductivity of BaFe2As2

We have performed electrical resistivity measurements on single crystal BaFe2As2 under high pressure P up to 16 GPa with a cubic anvil apparatus, and up to 3 GPa with a modified Bridgman anvil cell. The samples were obtained from the same batch, which was grown with a self-flux method. A cubic anvil apparatus provides highly hydrostatic pressure, and a modified Bridgman anvil cell, which contains liquid pressure transmitting medium, provides quasi hydrostatic pressure. For highly hydrostatic pressure, the crystal phase and magnetic transition temperature decreases robustly with P and disappears at around 10 GPa. The superconducting phase appears adjacent to magnetic phase in narrow pressure region between 11 and 14 GPa. The tiny difference of hydrostaticity between the cubic anvil apparatus and modified Bridgman anvil cell induces a drastic effect on the phase diagram of BaFe2As2. This result indicates that small uniaxial stress along c-axis strongly suppresses the structural/antiferromagnetic ordering and stabilizes superconductivity at much lower pressure.

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Inverse Iron Isotope Effect on the transition temperature of the (Ba,K)Fe2As2 superconductor

We report that (Ba,K)Fe2As2 superconductor (a transition temperature, Tc = 38 K) shows inverse Iron isotope effect (-0.18) (the sample including the larger atomic weight of Fe depicts higher Tc). Measurements of both temperature dependent magnetization and resistivity reveal a clear inverse shift by systematic studies on Tc using three types of Fe-isotopes (Fe-54, natural Fe and Fe-57). This indicates the first evidence of the inverse isotope effect in high-Tc superconductors. This atomic mass dependence on Tc implies the exotic coupling mechanism.

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Effect of K Doping on Phonons in Ba1-xKxFe2As2

The lattice dynamics of Ba1-xKxFe2As2 (x = 0.00, 0.27) have been studied by inelastic X-ray scattering measurement at room temperature. K doping induces the softening and broadening of phonon modes in the energy range E = 10-15 meV. Analysis with a Born-von Karman force-constant model indicates that the softening results from reduced interatomic force constants around (Ba,K) sites following the displacement of divalent Ba by monovalent K. The phonon broadening may be explained by the local distortions induced by the K substitution. Extra phonon modes are observed around the wave vector q = (0.5,0,0) at E = 16.5 meV for the x = 0.27 sample. These modes may arise either from the local disorder induced by K doping or from electron-phonon coupling.

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Three-dimensional electronic structure of superconducting iron pnictides observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

We have performed an angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) study of the undoped and electron-doped iron pnictides BaFe2\_{-x}CoxAs2 (Ba122) (x=0, 0.14) and studied the Fermi surfaces (FSs) and band dispersions near the Fermi level. The FS sheets we observed are consistent with the shrinkage of the hole-like pockets around the Brillouin Zone (BZ) center and the expansion of the electron pockets around the BZ corner in the electron-doped compound as compared to the undoped parent compound. Band dispersions and FSs around the BZ center strongly depend on the photon energy, indicating the three-dimensional (3D) electronic structure. This observation suggests that the antiferromagnetism and superconductivity in the pnictides may have to be considered including the orbital-dependent 3D electronic structure, where FS nesting is not necessarily strong.

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Fermi surface in BaNi$_2$P$_2$

We report measurements of the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) oscillation and a band structure calculation for the pnictide superconductor BaNi$_2$P$_2$, which is isostructural to BaFe$_2$As$_2$, the mother compound of the iron-pnictide high-$T_c$ superconductor (Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$)Fe$_2$As$_2$. Six dHvA-frequency branches with frequencies up to $\sim$8 kT were observed, and they are in excellent agreement with results of the band-structure calculation. The determined Fermi surface is large, enclosing about one electron and hole per formula unit, and three-dimensional. This is in contrast to the small two-dimensional Fermi surface expected for the iron-pnictide high-$T_c$ superconductors. The mass enhancement is about two.

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Superconductivity above 50K in LnFeAsO1-y (Ln= Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb and Dy) Synthesized by High-pressure Technique

We have succeeded in synthesizing single-phase polycrystalline samples of oxygen-deficient oxypnictide superconductors, LnFeAsO1-y (Ln: lanthanide elements) with Ln=La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb and Dy using high-pressure synthesis technique. It is found out that the synthesis pressure is the most important parameter for synthesizing single-phase samples, in particular for the heavier Ln?s, such as Tb and Dy. The lattice parameters systematically decrease with the atomic number of Ln, reflecting the shrinkage of Ln ionic radius. For the lighter Ln?s (La, Ce, Pr, Nd), Tc increases monotonously with decreasing the lattice parameters from 26K for Ln=La to 54K for Ln=Nd, then stays at the constant value around 53K for the heavier counterpart (Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb and Dy). The results suggest the intimate relationship between the crystal structural parameters and the superconductivity on the one hand, as well as the possible existence of the inherent maximum Tc on the other, which is located around 50 K in the LnFeAsO based materials.

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Evidence of spin density wave in LaFeAsO, the parent material of the new Fe-based oxypnictide superconductors

The Fe-based Oxypnicide superconductors have generated a huge amount of interest; they are a high temperature superconductor, with a Tc of 55K, but do not have the two dimensional copper oxygen layer that was thought essential for superconductivity at these high temperatures. Initial studies have hinted towards the possibility of a spin density wave (SDW) in these compounds and how they could play an important role in the superconductivity. SDW's occur at low temperatures in low-dimensional materials with strong electron correlations or in metals with a high density of states at the Fermi surface. A transition to the SDW state has many similarities to the superconducting transition, driven by the condensation energy with an energy gap opening, and in many materials the SDW state occurs adjacent in the phase diagram to the superconducting state. In these materials it is believed that electron doping suppresses the SDW instability allowing superconductivity to emerge. In this paper we report on the first direct experimental evidence of a SDW in the LaFeAsO parent compound as observed with inelastic neutron scattering. We show that these excitation derive from a two-dimensional Fermi surface nesting with a nesting vector of (π,π,0).

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Sheet Dependence on Superconducting Gap in Oxygen-Deficient Iron-based Oxypnictide Superconductors NdFeAs0.85

Photoemission spectroscopy with low-energy tunable photons on oxygen-deficient iron-based oxypnictide superconductors NdFeAsO0.85 (Tc=52K) reveals a distinct photon-energy dependence of the electronic structure near the Fermi level (EF). A clear shift of the leading-edge can be observed in the superconducting states with 9.5 eV photons, while a clear Fermi cutoff with little leading-edge shift can be observed with 6.0 eV photons. The results are indicative of the superconducting gap opening not on the hole-like ones around Gamma (0,0) point but on the electron-like sheets around M(pi,pi) point.

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Disorder-driven quantum phase transition from antiferromagnetic metal to insulating state in multilayered high-Tc cuprate (Cu,C)Ba2Ca4Cu5Oy

We report on superconducting(SC) characteristics for oxygen-reduced Cu-based five-layered high-temperature superconductor (Cu,C)Ba2Ca4Cu5Oy(Cu-1245(OPT)), which includes five-fold outer planes (OP) and four-fold inner planes (IP).As a result of the reduction of the carrier density, the bulk SC for Cu-1245 (OPT) takes place at the nearly optimally-doped OP with Tc= 98 K that is different from previously-reported Cu-1245(OVD) where IP plays a primary role for the onset of SC. It gives an evidence that the carrier density of the optimally-doped layer determines its bulk Tc.Static antiferromagnetic(AFM) order is evidenced at IP's by zero-field Cu-NMR at low temperature, irrespective of the SC transition at OP's below 98K. This AFM state at IP's is characterized by a carrier localization at low temperatures due to disorder effect, whereas the carrier densities in each layer are similar to Hg-1245(OPT) where the AFM metallic state are realized in IP's. This finding reinforces the phase diagram in which the AFM metallic phase exists between AFM insulator and SC states for the case of ideally-flat CuO2 plane without disorder.

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Anomalous Fermi-Surface Dependent Pairing in a Self-Doped High-Tc Superconductor

We report the discovery of a self-doped multi-layer high Tc superconductor Ba2Ca3Cu4O8F2(F0234) which contains distinctly different superconducting gap magnitudes along its two Fermi surface(FS) sheets. While formal valence counting would imply this material to be an undoped insulator, it is a self-doped superconductor with a Tc of 60K, possessing simultaneously both electron- and hole-doped FS sheets. Intriguingly, the FS sheet characterized by the much larger gap is the electron-doped one, which has a shape disfavoring two electronic features considered to be important for the pairing mechanism: the van Hove singularity and the antiferromagnetic (Pi/a, Pi/a) scattering.

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