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Akira Sugimoto

Publications and source records attributed to Akira Sugimoto.

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Comparative study of superconducting and normal-state anisotropy in Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{0.6}$Se$_{0.4}$ superconductors with controlled amounts of interstitial excess Fe

We report a systematic study of the superconducting (SC) and normal-state anisotropy of Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{0.6}$Se$_{0.4}$ single crystals with controlled amounts of excess Fe ($y$ = 0, 0.07, and 0.14). The SC state anisotropy $γ_{H}$ was obtained by measuring the upper critical fields under high magnetic fields over 50 T for both $H\parallel ab$ and $H\parallel c$. On the other hand, the normal state anisotropy $γ_ρ$ was obtained by measuring the resistivity with current flowing in the $ab$ plane ($ρ_{ab}$) and along the $c$ axis ($ρ_c$). To precisely measure $ρ_{ab}$ and $ρ_c$ in the same part of a specimen avoiding the variation dependent on pieces or parts, we adopt a new method using a micro-fabricated bridge with an additional neck part along $c$ axis. The $γ_{H}$ decreases from a value dependent on the amount of excess Fe at $T_{\rm{c}}$ to a common value $\sim$ 1 at 2 K. The different $γ_{H}$ at $T_{\rm{c}}$ ($\sim$1.5 for $y$ = 0, and 2.5 for $y$ = 0.14) suggests that the anisotropy of effective mass $m_c^*/m_{ab}^*$ increases from $\sim$ 2.25 ($y$ = 0) to 6.25 ($y$ = 0.14) with the excess Fe. The almost isotropic $γ_{H}$ at low temperatures is due to the strong spin paramagnetic effect at $H\parallel ab$. By contrast, the $γ_ρ$ shows a much larger value of $\sim$ 17 ($y$ = 0) to $\sim$ 50 ($y$ = 0.14) at the temperature just above $T_{\rm{c}}$. Combined the results of $γ_{H}$ and $γ_ρ$ near $T_{\rm{c}}$, we found out that the discrepant anisotropies between the SC and normal states originates from a large anisotropy of scattering time $τ_{ab}$/$τ_c$ $\sim$ 7.8. The $τ_{ab}$/$τ_c$ is found to be independent of the excess Fe.

cond-mat.supr-con

Multilayered cuprate superconductor Ba$_2$Ca$_5$Cu$_6$O$_{12}$(O$_{1-x}$,F$_x$)$_2$ studied by temperature-dependent scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy

Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) measurements were carried out on a multi-layered cuprate superconductor Ba$_2$Ca$_5$Cu$_6$O$_{12}$(O$_{1-x}$,F$_x$)$_2$. STM topography revealed random spot structures with the characteristic length $\le 0.5$ nm. The conductance spectra dI/dV(V) show the coexistence of smaller gaps $Δ_S$ and large gaps (pseudogaps) $Δ_L$. The pseudogap-related features in the superconducting state were traced with the spatial resolution of $\sim$ 0.07 nm. Here, $I$ and $V$ are the tunnel current and bias voltage, respectively. The temperature, $T$, dependence of $Δ_S$ follows the reduced Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) dependence. The hallmark ratio 2$Δ_{S}(T=0)/k_B T_c$ equals to 4.9, which is smaller than those of other cuprate superconductors. Here, $T_c$ is the superconducting critical temperature and $k_B$ is the Boltzmann constant. The larger gap $Δ_L$ survives in the normal state and even increases with $T$ above $T_c$. The $T$ dependences of the spatial distributions for both relevant gaps ($Δ$ map), as well as for each gap separately ($Δ_S$ and $Δ_L$) were obtained. From the histogram of $Δ$ map, the averaged gap values were found to be $\bar Δ_S = \sim 24$ meV and $\bar Δ_L = \sim 79$ meV. The smaller gap $Δ_S$ shows a spatially homogeneous distribution while the larger gap $Δ_L$ is quite inhomogeneous, indicating that rather homogeneous superconductivity coexists with the patchy distributed pseudogap. The spatial variation length $ξ_{Δ_L}$ of $Δ_L$ correlates with the scale of the topography spot structures, being approximately 0.4 nm. This value is considerably smaller than the coherence length of this class of superconductors, suggesting that $Δ_L$ is strongly affected by the disorder of the apical O/F.

cond-mat.supr-con

Pressure-induced Superconductivity in the Iron-based Ladder Material BaFe2S3

All the iron-based superconductors identified to date share a square lattice composed of Fe atoms as a common feature, despite having different crystal structures. In copper-based materials, the superconducting phase emerges not only in square lattice structures but also in ladder structures. Yet iron-based superconductors without a square lattice motif have not been found despite being actively sought out. Here, we report the discovery of pressure-induced superconductivity in the iron-based spin-ladder material BaFe2S3, a Mott insulator with striped-type magnetic ordering below ~120 K. On the application of pressure this compound exhibits a metal-insulator transition at about 11 GPa, followed by the appearance of superconductivity below Tc = 14 K, right after the onset of the metallic phase. Our findings indicate that iron-based ladder compounds represent promising material platforms, in particular for studying the fundamentals of iron-based superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con

Dynamics and mechanism of oxygen annealing in Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{0.6}$Se$_{0.4}$ single crystal

Iron chalcogenide Fe(Te,Se) attracted much attention due to its simple structure, which is favorable for probing the superconducting mechanism. Its less toxic nature compared with iron arsenides is also advantageous for applications of iron-based superconductors. By intercalating spacer layers, superconducting transition temperature has been raised over 40 K. On the other hand, the presence of excess Fe is almost unavoidable in Fe(Te,Se) single crystals, which hinders the appearance of bulk superconductivity and causes strong controversies over its fundamental properties. Here we report a systematical study of O$_2$-annealing dynamics in Fe$_{1+y}$Te$_{1-x}$Se$_{x}$ by controlling the amount of O$_2$, annealing temperature, and time. Bulk superconductivity can be gradually induced by increasing the amount of O$_2$ and annealing time at suitable temperatures. The optimally annealed crystals can be easily obtained by annealing with ~ 1.5% molar ratio of oxygen at 400 $^{\circ}$C for more than 1 hour. Superconductivity was witnessed to evolve mainly from the edge of the crystal to the central part. After the optimal annealing, the complete removal of excess Fe was demonstrated via STM measurements. Some fundamental properties were recharacterized and compared with those of as-grown crystals to discuss the influence of excess Fe.

cond-mat.supr-con