arXiv subjects

Atsutaka Maeda

Publications and source records attributed to Atsutaka Maeda.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Fabrication of oxide/FeSe multilayer films using the PLD technique

In this study, we demonstrate the successful fabrication of TiO2/FeSe/STO and TiO2/FeSe/LaAlO3 heterostructures using PLD. When the growth rates were sufficiently low, anatase TiO2, which has been reported to induce superconductivity in FeSe, could be grown epitaxially on FeSe. For TiO2/FeSe/STO, the FeSe/TiO2 interface was relatively clean, as confirmed by the observation of Laue fringes in FeSe(001) reflection. Although a thinner FeSe layer is expected to enhance Tc, our results instead suggest that deposition of TiO2 introduces additional disorder in FeSe. Most strikingly, superconductivity appeared when TiO2 was deposited on FeSe/LaAlO3, clearly demonstrating that the interaction between the top oxide layer and underlying FeSe can induce superconductivity. This work demonstrates the feasibility of fabricating FeSe/oxide superlattices by PLD, establishing a novel platform for the exploration of interfacial superconductivity in iron-based superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2026

Studies of superconductivity of Fe chalcogenides in films grown by PLD technique

Studies on Fe chalcogenide superconductor using thin films grown by the PLD technique are reviewed in terms of electronic phase diagram, properties in the normal state, properties in the superconducting state, together with the comparison with properties in bulk crystals, MBE grown films and exfoliated crystals. Challenges to increase superconducting Tc will also be introduced.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Nonlinear planar Hall effect from superconducting vortex motion

We report the nonreciprocal charge transport along the longitudinal and transverse directions in the vortex flow regime of FeSe superconducting films. Clear nonreciprocal signals under an inplane magnetic field reveals symmetry breaking at the film surfaces since the crystal structure of FeSe is centrosymmetric. Although the symmetry in such polar superconductors allows the nonreciprocal transverse response under a magnetic field parallel to the electric current, its observation is physically counterintuitive because vortex motion is not expected in this configuration. We propose that thermally excited (anti)vortices due to the two-dimensional nature of FeSe give rise to the nonreciprocal transverse signals when the mirror symmetry is broken by the inplane magnetic field.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Study on fluctuations of interface-enhanced superconductivity in ultrathin FeSe/SrTiO3 by the Nernst effect

Ultrathin FeSe films on SrTiO3 substrate show interface-enhanced superconductivity. However, how the superconductivity is established including superconducting fluctuations remains unclear. This study investigates the Nernst effect, which is sensitive to superconducting fluctuations, in ultrathin FeSe films on SrTiO3. Temperature dependence of Nernst signals in the normal state is similar to bulk FeSe, suggesting that the electrons of SrTiO3 are transferred only to a few layers near the FeSe/SrTiO3 interface. The Nernst effect caused by SC fluctuations was observed only below T ~ 1.2 Tconset within our measurement resolution, which is similar to other Fe chalcogenide systems. Our results suggest that the pseudogap in monolayer FeSe/STO possibly originates in other electronic states rather than superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

A new collective mode in an iron-based superconductor with electronic nematicity

Elucidation of the symmetry and structure of order parameter(OP) is a fundamental subject in the study of superconductors. Recently, a growing number of superconducting materials have been identified that suggest additional spontaneous symmetry breakings besides the primal breaking of U(1) gauge symmetry, including time-reversal, chiral, and rotational symmetries. Observation of collective modes in those exotic superconductors is particularly important, as they provide the fingerprints of the superconducting OP. Here we investigate the collective modes in an iron-based superconductor, FeSe, a striking example of superconductivity emergent in an electronic nematic phase where the rotational symmetry of electronic degree of freedom is spontaneously broken. By using terahertz nonlinear spectroscopy technique, we discovered a collective mode resonance located substantially below the superconducting gap energy, distinct from the amplitude Higgs mode. Comparison with theoretical calculations demonstrates that the observed mode is attributed to a collective fluctuation between the s+d-wave-like ground state and the subleading pairing channel, which corresponds to the so-called Bardasis-Schrieffer mode but also resembles an intraband Leggett mode. Our result corroborates the multicomponent pairing channels in FeSe activated in the lower space group symmetry in the electronic nematic phase.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Study of superconductivity of very thin $\mathrm{FeSe}_{1-x}\mathrm{Te}_x$ films investigated by microwave complex conductivity measurements

Complex conductivity measurements spanning the entire temperature range, including the vicinity of $T_c$, were conducted on systematically varied FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_x$ ($x$ = 0 - 0.5) very thin films. By applying a novel cavity measurement technique employing microwave electric fields parallel to FeSe$_{1-x}$Te$_x$ films, we observed distinct temperature-dependent alterations in superfluid fraction and quasiparticle scattering rate at the nematic boundary. These changes in the nematic boundary suggests variations in the superconducting gap structure between samples in the nematic and non-nematic phase. Moreover, fluctuation is visible up to 1.2 $T_c$ irrespective of nematic order, consistent with large superconducting fluctuations in iron chalcogenide superconductors reported previously in [H. Takahashi $\textit{et al}$, Phys. Rev. B 99, 060503(R) (2019)] and [F. Nabeshima $\textit{et al}$, Phys. Rev. B 97, 024504(R) (2018)].

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2024

Picosecond Trajectory of Two-dimensional Vortex Motion in FeSe$_{0.5}$Te$_{0.5}$ Visualized by Terahertz Second Harmonic Generation

We have investigated the vortex dynamics in a thin film of an iron-based superconductor FeSe$_{0.5}$Te$_{0.5}$ by observing second-harmonic generation (SHG) in the THz frequency range. We visualized the picosecond trajectory of two-dimensional vortex motion in a pinning potential tilted by Meissner shielding current. The SHG perpendicular to the driving field is observed, corresponding to the nonreciprocal nonlinear Hall effect under the current-induced inversion symmetry breaking, whereas the linear Hall effect is negligible. The estimated vortex mass, as light as a bare electron, suggests that the vortex core moves independently from quasiparticles at such a high frequency and large velocity $\approx$300 km/s.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Anisotropy of upper critical fields and interface superconductivity in FeSe/SrTiO3 grown by PLD

In this study, we grow FeSe/SrTiO$_{3}$ with thicknesses of 4-19 nm using pulsed laser deposition and investigate their magneto-transport properties. The thinnest film (4 nm) exhibit negative Hall effect, indicating electron transfer into FeSe from the SrTiO$_{3}$ substrate. This is in agreement with reports on ultrathin FeSe/SrTiO$_{3}$ grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The upper critical field is found to exhibit large anisotropy ($γ>$ 11.9), estimated from the data near the transition temperature ($T_{\mathrm{c}}$). In particular, the estimated coherence lengths in the perpendicular direction are 0.15-0.27 nm, which are smaller than the c-axis length of FeSe, and are found to be almost independent of the total thicknesses of the films. These results indicate that superconductivity is confined at the interface of FeSe/SrTiO$_{3}$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Thermodynamic approach for enhancing superconducting critical current performance

The addition of artificial pinning centers has led to an impressive increase in critical current density ($J_{\rm c}$) in a superconductor, enabling record-breaking all-superconducting magnets and other applications. $J_{\rm c}$ has reached $\sim 0.2$-$0.3$ $J_{\rm d}$, where $J_{\rm d}$ is the depairing current density, and the numerical factor depends on the pinning optimization. By modifying $λ$ and/or $ξ$, the penetration depth and coherence length, respectively, we can increase $J_{\rm d}$. For (Y$_{0.77}$Gd$_{0.23}$)Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ ((Y,Gd)123) we achieve this by controlling the carrier density, which is related to $λ$ and $ξ$. We also tune $λ$ and $ξ$ by controlling the chemical pressure in the Fe-based superconductors, BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$ films. The variation of $λ$ and $ξ$ leads to an intrinsic improvement of $J_{\rm c}$, via $J_{\rm d}$, obtaining extremely high values of $J_{\rm c}$ of $130$ MA/cm$^2$ and $8.0$ MA/cm$^2$ at $4.2$ K, consistent with an enhancement of $J_{\rm d}$ of a factor of $2$ for both incoherent nanoparticle-doped (Y,Gd)123 coated conductors (CCs) and BaFe$_2$(As$_{1-x}$P$_x$)$_2$ films, showing that this new material design is useful to achieving high critical current densities for a wide array of superconductors. The remarkably high vortex-pinning force in combination with this thermodynamic and pinning optimization route for the (Y,Gd)123 CCs reached $\sim 3.17$ TN/m$^3$ at $4.2$ K and 18 T (${\bf H}\parallel c$), the highest values ever reported in any superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Electronic States and Energy Dissipations of Vortex Core in Pure FeSe Single Crystals Investigated by Microwave Surface Impedance Measurements

In order to clarify electronic states and energy dissipations due to a motion of a vortex core in pure FeSe, which is a candidate superconductor possessing a super-clean core, we measured the microwave surface impedance of pure FeSe single crystals under finite magnetic fields. From the magnetic-field dependence of the flux-flow resistivity, we found that a barometer of electronic states inside the vortex core $ω_{0}τ_{\rm core}$ is $1\pm0.5$, suggesting that the vortex core of pure FeSe is in the moderately clean regime contrary to the expectation of the super-clean core. We also found that the mean-free path inside the vortex core is suppressed at the distance of the order of the core radius. Based on observed results and previous reports, we discussed possible origins of rather small $ω_{0}τ_{\rm core}$ value in terms of the multiple-bands nature of FeSe and additional mechanisms producing extra energy dissipations specific to the vortex core in motion.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Atomic Manipulation of In-gap States on the $β$-Bi$_2$Pd Superconductor

Electronic states in the gap of a superconductor inherit intriguing many-body properties from the superconductor. Here, we create these in-gap states by manipulating Cr atomic chains on the $β$-Bi$_2$Pd superconductor. We find that the topological properties of the in-gap states can greatly vary depending on the crafted spin chain. These systems make an ideal platform for non-trivial topological phases because of the large atom-superconductor interactions and the existence of a large Rashba coupling at the Bi-terminated surface. We study two spin chains, one with atoms two-lattice-parameter apart and one with square-root-of-two lattice parameters. Of these, only the second one is in a topologically non-trivial phase, in correspondence with the spin interactions for this geometry.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2021

Deep Learning Model for Finding New Superconductors

Exploration of new superconductors still relies on the experience and intuition of experts and is largely a process of experimental trial and error. In one study, only 3% of the candidate materials showed superconductivity. Here, we report the first deep learning model for finding new superconductors. We introduced the method named "reading periodic table" which represented the periodic table in a way that allows deep learning to learn to read the periodic table and to learn the law of elements for the purpose of discovering novel superconductors that are outside the training data. It is recognized that it is difficult for deep learning to predict something outside the training data. Although we used only the chemical composition of materials as information, we obtained an $R^{2}$ value of 0.92 for predicting $T_\text{c}$ for materials in a database of superconductors. We also introduced the method named "garbage-in" to create synthetic data of non-superconductors that do not exist. Non-superconductors are not reported, but the data must be required for deep learning to distinguish between superconductors and non-superconductors. We obtained three remarkable results. The deep learning can predict superconductivity for a material with a precision of 62%, which shows the usefulness of the model; it found the recently discovered superconductor CaBi2 and another one Hf0.5Nb0.2V2Zr0.3, neither of which is in the superconductor database; and it found Fe-based high-temperature superconductors (discovered in 2008) from the training data before 2008. These results open the way for the discovery of new high-temperature superconductor families. The candidate materials list, data, and method are openly available from the link https://github.com/tomo835g/Deep-Learning-to-find-Superconductors.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2020

Microwave Hall effect measurement for materials in the skin depth region

We developed a new microwave Hall effect measurement method for materials in the skin depth region at low temperatures using a cross-shaped bimodal cavity. We analytically calculated electromagnetic fields in the cross-shaped cavity, and the response of the cavity including the sample, whose property is represented by the surface impedance tensor; further, we constructed the method to obtain the Hall component of the surface impedance tensor in terms of the change in resonance characteristics. To confirm the validity of the new method, we applied our method to measure the Hall effect in metallic Bi single crystals at low temperatures, and we confirmed that the microwave Hall angles coincide with the DC Hall angle. Thus, it becomes clear that the Hall angle measurement under cryogenic conditions becomes possible without any complicated tuning mechanisms, and our bimodal cavity method can be used to measure the microwave Hall effect on materials in the skin depth region. The result opens a new approach to discuss the Hall effect in condensed matter physics such as the microwave flux-flow Hall effect in superconductors.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

Enhancement of superconducting transition temperature in electrochemically etched FeSe/LaAlO$_3$ films

In this study, we investigated the gate voltage dependence of $T_{\mathrm c}$ in electrochemically etched FeSe films with an electric-double layer transistor structure. The $T_{\mathrm c}^{\mathrm {zero}}$ value of the etched FeSe films with a lower gate voltage ($V_{\mathrm g}$ = 2.5 and 3.3 V) reaches 46 K, which is the highest value among almost all reported values from the resistivity measurements except for the data by Ge et al. This enhanced $T_{\mathrm c}$ remains unchanged even after the discharge process, unlike the results for electrostatic doping without an etching process. Our results suggest that the origin of the increase in $T_{\mathrm c}$ is not electrostatic doping but rather the electrochemical reaction at the surface of an etched films.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Close correlation between superconducting transition temperatures and carrier densities in Te- and S-substituted FeSe thin films

We comparatively investigated the transport properties for S- and Te-substituted FeSe thin films under magnetic fields to clarify the origin of the contrasting behavior of the superconducting transition temperature in S and Te substitution. A classical two carrier analysis revealed that the carrier densities of the films increased with increasing Te content, while no significant change was observed for the S-substitution. This composition dependence of the carrier density well corresponds to the $T_{\mathrm c}$ behavior. The clear correlation between $T_{\mathrm c}$ and the carrier densities suggests that the structural transition affects the electronic structure in a different manner between Fe(Se,S) and Fe(Se,Te) and that this fact is the direct cause of the difference in the $T_{\mathrm c}$ behaviors at the end point of the structural transition.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Charge carrier dynamics of FeSe thin film investigated by terahertz magneto-optical spectroscopy

We performed terahertz magneto-optical spectroscopy of FeSe thin film to elucidate the charge carrier dynamics. The measured diagonal (longitudinal) and off-diagonal (Hall) conductivity spectra are well reproduced by two-carrier Drude model, from which the carrier densities, scattering times and effective masses of electron and hole carriers are determined in a wide range of temperature. The hole density decreases below the structural transition temperature while electron density increases, which is attributed to the band structure modification in the electronic nematic phase. The scattering time of the hole carrier becomes substantially longer than that of the electron at lower temperature, which accounts for the increase of the positive dc Hall coefficient at low temperature.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Superconducting fluctuation in FeSe investigated by precise torque magnetometry

We investigated the superconducting fluctuation in FeSe, which is assumed to be located in the BCS--BEC crossover region, via magnetic torque measurements. In our method, the absolute cantilever displacement is measured by detecting the interference intensity of the Fabry--Perot cavity formed between the cantilever and optical fiber. Our findings are totally different from the results of the previous torque magnetometry using a piezoresistive cantilever; the "giant" fluctuation diamagnetism related to the BCS--BEC crossover does not exist. Instead, a considerably smaller fluctuation signal originating from the vortex liquid was observed that showed a qualitatively similar behavior to those in cuprate superconductors. We also discuss the inconsistency between our torque data and the existence of a pseudogap proposed by an NMR experiment.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Superconductivity at 38 K in an electrochemical interface between ionic liquid and Fe(Se0.8Te0.2) on various substrates

Superconducting FeSe0.8Te0.2 thin films on SrTiO3, LaAlO3 and CaF2 substrates were electrochemically etched in an ionic liquid DEME-TFSI electrolyte with a gate bias of 5 V. Superconductivity at 38 K was commonly observed on all substrates after etching the films with a thickness above 30 nm, in spite of different Tc of 8 K, 12 K and 19 K before the etching on SrTiO3, LaAlO3 and CaF2 substrates, respectively. Tc returned to the original value by removing the gate bias. The Tc enhancement on the thick film indicates no relationship between the Tc enhancement and any interface effects between the film and the substrate. The sheet resistance and the Hall coefficient of the surface conducting layer were estimated from the gate bias dependence of the transport properties. The sheet resistance of the surface conducting layer of the films on LaAlO3 and CaF2 showed an identical temperature dependence, and the Hall coefficient is almost temperature independent and -0.05 to -0.2 m2/C, corresponding to 4-17 electrons per one FeSe0.8Te0.2 unit cell area in two dimension. These common transport properties on various substrates suggest that the superconductivity at 38 K appeared in the surface conducting layer produced by electrochemical reaction between the surface of the FeSe0.8Te0.2 thin film and the ionic liquid electrolyte.

cond-mat.supr-con↗