arXiv subjects

P. Szabo

Publications and source records attributed to P. Szabo.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2006

Point-contact spectroscopy of Al- and C-doped MgB2. Superconducting energy gaps and scattering studies

The two-band/two-gap superconductivity in aluminium and carbon doped MgB$_2$ has been addressed by the point-contact spectroscopy. Two gaps are preserved in all samples with $T_c's$ down to 22 K. The evolution of two gaps as a function of the critical temperature in the doped systems suggest the dominance of the band-filling effects but for the increased Al-doping the enhanced interband scattering approaching two gaps must be considered. The magnetic field dependences of the Andreev reflection excess currents as well as zero-energy density of states determined from the experimental data are used to analyze the intraband scattering. It is shown, that while the C-doping increases the intraband scattering in the $π$-band more rapidly then in the $σ$ band, the Al-doping does not change their relative weight.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Influence of Al doping on the critical fields and gap values in magnesium diboride single crystals

The lower ($H_{c1}$) and upper ($H_{c2}$) critical fields of Mg$_{1-x}$Al$_{x}$B$_2$ single crystals (for $x = 0$, 0.1 and $\gtrsim 0.2$) have been deduced from specific heat and local magnetization measurements, respectively. We show that $H_{c1}$ and $H_{c2}$ are both decreasing with increasing doping content. The corresponding anisotropy parameter $Γ_{H_{c2}}(0) = H^{ab}_{c2}(0)/H^c_{c2}(0)$ value also decreases from $\sim 5$ in pure MgB$_2$ samples down to $\sim 1.5$ for $x \gtrsim 0.2$ whereas $Γ_{H_{c1}}(0)=H^c_{c1}(0)/H^{ab}_{c1}(0)$ remains on the order of 1 in all samples. The small and large gap values have been obtained by fitting the temperature dependence of the zero field electronic contribution to the specific heat to the two gap model for the three Al concentrations. Very similar values have also been obtained by point contact spectroscopy measurements. The evolution of those gaps with Al concentration suggests that both band filling and interband scattering effects are present.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Comment on: "Band Filling and Interband Scattering Effects in MgB2: Carbon versus Aluminium Doping"

In a recent Physical Review Letter Kortus et al. claim that the observed decrease of $T_c$ in Al and C doped MgB$_2$ samples is mainly due to the band filling by the electron doping but for a fuller understanding of the different behavior of the superconducting energy gaps in Al and C doped samples it is necessary to also include an increased interband scattering for the carbon doped samples. We argue in the following that this latter statement is misleading and is based on the assumption that for carbon doping the two superconducting gaps merge near 10 % carbon doping: an assumption that contradicts most of the existing experimental data.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

Systematic study of the two band/two gap superconductivity in carbon-substituted MgB2 by point-contact spectroscopy

Point-contact measurements on the carbon-substituted Mg(B$_{1-x}$C$_x$)$_2$ filament/powder samples directly reveal a retention of the two superconducting energy gaps in the whole doping range from $x = 0$ to $x \approx 0.1$. The large gap on the $σ$-band is decreased in an essentially linear fashion with increasing the carbon concentrations. The changes in the the small gap $Δ_π$ up to 3.8 % C are proportionally smaller and are more difficult to detect but for the heavily doped sample with $x \approx 0.1$ and $T_c = 22$ K both gaps are still present, and significantly reduced, consistent with a strong essentially linear, reduction of each gap with the transition temperature.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Anisotropies of the lower and upper critical fields in MgB$_2$ single crystals

The temperature dependence of the London penetration depth ($λ$) and coherence length ($ξ$) has been deduced from Hall probe magnetization measurements in high quality MgB$_2$ single crystals in the two main crystallographic directions. We show that, in contrast to conventional superconductors, MgB$_2$ is characterized by two different anisotropy parameters ($Γ_λ= λ_c/λ_{ab}$ and $Γ_ξ= ξ_{ab}/ξ_c$) which strongly differ at low temperature and merge at $T_c $. These results are in very good agreement with recent calculations in weakly coupled two bands suprerconductors (Phys. Rev. B, 66, 020509(R) (2002).

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Two band/two gap superconductivity in carbon-substituted MgB2 evidenced by point-contact spectroscopy

The Andreev reflection measurements of the superconducting energy gap in the carbon-substituted MgB$_2$ are presented. Despite the strong suppression of the transition temperature by 17 K in comparison with the pure MgB$_2$, the same reduced value of the small superconducting energy gap with $2Δ/kT_c \approx$ 1.7 has been systematically observed. This indicates that the two band/two gap superconductivity is still preserved here.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2002

Point-contact spectroscopy of MgB2

Point-contact spectroscopy measurements on magnesium diboride reveal the existence of two superconducting energy gaps closing at the same transition temperature in line with the multiband model of superconductivity. The sizes of the two gaps ($Δ_π$ = 2.8 meV and $Δ_σ$ = 6.5-7 meV) are respectively smaller and larger than the expected weak coupling value of the one-gap superconductor. The smaller gap is rapidly filled by a small magnetic field of about 1-2 Tesla much lower than the real upper critical field $H_{c2}$. The larger gap is closed at the anisotropic $H_{c2}$. Above the gap energies reproducible non-linearities are observed at the characteristic phonon energies of MgB$_2$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2002

Anisotropy of the Upper Critical Field and Critical Current in Single Crystal MgB$_2$

We report on specific heat, high magnetic field transport and $ac-$susceptibility measurements on magnesium diboride single crystals. The upper critical field $H_{c2}$ for magnetic fields perpendicular and parallel to the Mg and B planes is presented for the first time in the entire temperature range. A very different temperature dependence has been observed in the two directions which yields to a temperature dependent anisotropy with $Γ\sim$ 5 at low temperatures and about 2 near $T_c$. A peak effect is observed in susceptibility measurements for $H \sim $2 T parallel to the $c-$axis and the critical current density presnts a sharp maximum for $H$ parallel to the ab-plane.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2002

Anomalous magnetic field dependence of the thermodynamic transition line in the isotropic superconductor (K,Ba)Bi03

Thermodynamic (specific heat, reversible magnetization, tunneling spectroscopy) and transport measurements have been performed on high quality (K,Ba)BiO$_3$ single crystals. The temperature dependence of the magnetic field $H_{Cp}$ corresponding to the onset of the specific heat anomaly presents a clear positive curvature. $H_{Cp}$ is significantly smaller than the field $H_Δ$ for which the superconducting gap vanishes but is closely related to the irreversibility line deduced from transport data. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the reversible magnetization present a strong deviation from the Ginzburg--Landau theory emphasazing the peculiar nature of the superconducting transition in this material.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

3D-2D crossover in the naturally layered superconductor (LaSe)1.14(NbSe2)

The temperature and angular dependencies of the resistive upper critical magnetic field $B_{c2}$ reveal a dimensional crossover of the superconducting state in the highly anisotropic misfit-layer single crystal of (LaSe)$_{1.14}$(NbSe$_2$) with the critical temperature $T_c$ of 1.23 K. The temperature dependence of the upper critical field $B_{c2\parallel ab}(T)$ for a field orientation along the conducting $(ab)$-planes displays a characteristic upturn at 1.1 K and below this temperature the angular dependence of $B_{c2}$ has a cusp around the parallel field orientation. Both these typical features are observed for the first time in a naturally crystalline layered system.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Magnetotransport and the upper critical magnetic field in MgB2

Magnetotransport measurements are presented on polycrystalline MgB2 samples. The resistive upper critical magnetic field reveals a temperature dependence with a positive curvature from Tc = 39.3 K down to about 20 K, then changes to a slightly negative curvature reaching 25 T at 1.5 K. The 25- Tesla upper critical field is much higher than what is known so far on polycrystals of MgB2 but it is in agreement with recent data obtained on epitaxial MgB2 films. The deviation of Bc2(T) from standard BCS might be due to the proposed two-gap superconductivity in this compound. The observed quadratic normal-state magnetoresistance with validity of Kohler's rule can be ascribed to classical trajectory effects in the low-field limit.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Evidence for two superconducting energy gaps in MgB2 by point-contact spectroscopy

Experimental support is found for the multiband model of the superconductivity in the recently discovered system MgB2 with the transition temperature Tc = 39 K. By means of Andreev reflection evidence is obtained for two distinct superconducting energy gaps. The sizes of the two gaps (Delta_S = 2.8 meV and Delta_L = 7 meV) are respectively smaller and larger than the expected weak coupling value. Due to the temperature smearing of the spectra the two gaps are hardly distinguishable at elevated temperatures but when a magnetic field is applied the presence of two gaps can be demonstrated close to the bulk T_c in the raw data.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Interlayer transport in highly anisotropic misfit-layer superconductor (LaSe)1.14(NbSe2)

We show that the interlayer transport in a two-dimensional superconductor can reveal a peak in the temperature as well as the magnetic field dependence of the resistivity near the superconducting transition. The magnetotransport experiment was performed on the highly anisotropic misfit-layer superconductor (LaSe)$_{1.14}$(NbSe$_2$) with critical tempertaure $T_c$ of 1.2 K. The effect is interpreted within the tunneling mechanism of the charge transport across the Josephson-coupled layers via two parallel channels - the quasiparticles and the Cooper pairs. Similar behavior can be found in the high-$T_c$ cuprates but there it is inevitably interfering with the anomalous normal state. The upper critical magnetic field can be obtained from the interlayer tunneling conductance.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2001

Upper critical field in {Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$BiO$_3$}: magnetotransport versus magnetotunneling

Elastic tunneling is used as a powerful direct tool to determine the upper critical field $H_{c2}(T)$ in the high-$T_c$ oxide Ba$_{1-x}$K$_x$BiO$_3$. The temperature dependence of $H_{c2}$ inferred from the tunneling follows the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg prediction for type-II superconductors. A comparison will be made with resistively determined critical field data.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2000

Magnetic pair-breaking in superconducting (Ba,K)BiO_3 investigated by magnetotunneling

The de Gennes and Maki theory of gapless superconductivity for dirty superconductors is used to interpret the tunneling measurements on the strongly type-II high-Tc oxide-superconductor Ba1-xKxBiO3 in high magnetic fields up to 30 Tesla. We show that this theory is applicable at all temperatures and in a wide range of magnetic fields starting from 50 percent of the upper critical field Bc2. In this magnetic field range the measured superconducting density of states (DOS) has the simple energy dependence as predicted by de Gennes from which the temperature dependence of the pair-breaking parameter alpha(T), or Bc2(T), has been obtained. The deduced temperature dependence of Bc2(T) follows the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg prediction for classical type-II superconductors in agreement with our previous direct determination. The amplitudes of the deviations in the DOS depend on the magnetic field via the spatially averaged superconducting order parameter which has a square-root dependence on the magnetic field. Finally, the second Ginzburg-Landau parameter kappa2(T) has been determined from the experimental data.

cond-mat.supr-con↗