arXiv subjects

P. Zheng

Publications and source records attributed to P. Zheng.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Two successive field-induced spin-flop transitions in single-crystalline CaCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$

CaCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$, a ThCr$_{2}$Si$_{2}$-structure compound, undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition at \emph{T$_{N}$}=76K with the magnetic moments being aligned parallel to the \emph{c} axis. Electronic transport measurement reveals that the coupling between conducting carriers and magnetic order in CaCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$ is much weaker comparing to the parent compounds of iron pnictide. Applying magnetic field along \emph{c} axis induces two successive spin-flop transitions in its magnetic state. The magnetization saturation behaviors with \emph{\textbf{H}$\parallel$c} and \emph{\textbf{H}$\parallel$ab} at 10K indicate that the antiferromagnetic coupling along \emph{c} direction is very weak. The interlayer antiferromagntic coupling constant \emph{J$_{c}$} is estimated to be about 2 meV.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Nanoscale phase separation of antiferromagnetic order and superconductivity in K$_{0.75}$Fe$_{1.75}$Se$_2$

We report an in-plane optical spectroscopy study on the iron-selenide superconductor K$_{0.75}$Fe$_{1.75}$Se$_2$. The measurement revealed the development of a sharp reflectance edge below T$_c$ at frequency much smaller than the superconducting energy gap on a relatively incoherent electronic background, a phenomenon which was not seen in any other Fe-based superconductors so far investigated. Furthermore, the feature could be noticeably suppressed and shifted to lower frequency by a moderate magnetic field. Our analysis indicates that this edge structure arises from the development of a Josephson-coupling plasmon in the superconducting condensate. Together with the transmission electron microscopy analysis, our study yields compelling evidence for the presence of nanoscale phase separation between superconductivity and magnetism. The results also enable us to understand various seemingly controversial experimental data probed from different techniques.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Optical study of the multiple charge density wave transitions in ErTe$_3$

We present an optical spectroscopy study on singe crystalline ErTe$_3$, a rare-earth-element tri-telluride which experiences two successive charge density wave (CDW) transitions at T$_{c1}$ = 267 K and T$_{c2}$ = 150 K. Two corresponding gap features, centered at 2770 \cm ($\sim$ 343 meV) and 890 \cm ($\sim$ 110 meV) respectively, are clearly seen in ordered state. A pronounced Drude component, which exists at all measurement temperatures, demonstrates the partial gap character of both CDW orders. About half of the unmodulated Fermi surface (FS) remains in the CDW state at the lowest measurement temperature. The study also reveals that fluctuation effect is still prominent in this two-dimensional (2D) material.

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arXiv2011

Infrared spectrum and its implications for the electronic structure of the semiconducting iron selenide K$_{0.83}$Fe$_{1.53}$Se$_2$

We report an infrared spectroscopy study on K$_{0.83}$Fe$_{1.53}$Se$_2$, a semiconducting parent compound of the new iron-selenide system. The major spectral features are found to be distinctly different from all other Fe-based superconducting systems. Our measurement revealed two peculiar spectral structures: a double peak structure between 4000-6000 cm$^{-1}$ and abundant phonon modes much more than those expected for a 122 structure. We elaborate that those features could be naturally explained from the blocked antiferromagnetism due to the presence of Fe vacancy ordering as determined by recent neutron diffraction experiments. The double peaks reflect the coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic couplings between the neighboring Fe sites.

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arXiv2011

Observation of a ubiquitous three-dimensional superconducting gap function in optimally-doped Ba$_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$Fe$_2$As$_2$

The iron-pnictide superconductors have a layered structureformed by stacks of FeAs planes from which the superconductivity originates. Given the multiband and quasi three-dimensional \cite{3D_SC} (3D) electronic structure of these high-temperature superconductors, knowledge of the quasi-3D superconducting (SC) gap is essential for understanding the superconducting mechanism. By using the \KZ-capability of angle-resolved photoemission, we completely determined the SC gap on all five Fermi surfaces (FSs) in three dimensions on \BKFAOP samples. We found a marked \KZ dispersion of the SC gap, which can derive only from interlayer pairing. Remarkably, the SC energy gaps can be described by a single 3D gap function with two energy scales characterizing the strengths of intralayer $Δ_1$ and interlayer $Δ_2$ pairing. The anisotropy ratio $Δ_2/Δ_1$, determined from the gap function, is close to the c-axis anisotropy ratio of the magnetic exchange coupling $J_c/J_{ab}$ in the parent compound \cite{NeutronParent}. The ubiquitous gap function for all the 3D FSs reveals that pairing is short-ranged and strongly constrain the possible pairing force in the pnictides. A suitable candidate could arise from short-range antiferromagnetic fluctuations.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Optical spectroscopy study on CeTe$_3$: evidence for multiple charge-density-wave orders

We performed optical spectroscopy measurement on single crystal of CeTe$_3$, a rare-earth element tri-telluride charge density wave (CDW) compound. The optical spectra are found to display very strong temperature dependence. Besides a large and pronounced CDW energy gap being present already at room temperature as observed in earlier studies, the present measurement revealed the formation of another energy gap at smaller energy scale at low temperature. The second CDW gap removes the electrons near E$_F$ which undergo stronger scattering. The study yields evidence for the presence of multiple CDW orders or strong fluctuations in the light rare-earth element tri-telluride.

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arXiv2010

Three dimensionality of band structure and a large residual quasiparticle population in Ba$_{0.67}$K$_{0.33}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ as revealed by the c-axis polarized optical measurement

We report on a c-axis polarized optical measurement on a Ba$_{0.67}$K$_{0.33}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ single crystal. We find that the c-axis optical response is significantly different from that of high-T$_c$ cuprates. The experiments reveal an anisotropic three-dimensional optical response with the absence of the Josephson plasma edge in R($ω$) in the superconducting state. Furthermore, different from the ab-plane optical response, a large residual quasiparticle population down to $T\sim\frac{1}{5}T_c$ was observed in the c-axis polarized reflectance measurement. We elaborate that there exist nodes for the superconducting gap in regions of the 3D Fermi surface that contribute dominantly to the c-axis optical conductivity.

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arXiv2010

Measurement of the c-axis optical reflectance of AFe$_2$As$_2$ (A=Ba, Sr) single crystals: Evidence of different mechanisms for the formation of two energy gaps

We present the c-axis optical reflectance measurement on single crystals of BaFe$_2$As$_2$ and SrFe$_2$As$_2$, the parent compounds of FeAs based superconductors. Different from the ab-plane optical response where two distinct energy gaps were observed in the SDW state, only the smaller energy gap could be seen clearly for \textbf{E}$\parallel$c-axis. The very pronounced energy gap structure seen at a higher energy scale for \textbf{E}$\parallel$ab-plane is almost invisible. We propose a novel picture for the band structure evolution across the SDW transition and suggest different driving mechanisms for the formation of the two energy gaps.

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arXiv2009

Possible high temperature superconductivity in Ti-doped A-Sc-Fe-As-O (A= Ca, Sr) system

We report a systematic study on the effect of partial substitution of Sc$^{3+}$ by Ti$^{4+}$ in Sr$_{2}$ScFeAsO$_{3}$, Ca$_{2}$ScFeAsO$_{3}$ and Sr$_{3}$Sc$_{2}$Fe$_{2}$As$_{2}$O$_{5}$ on their electrical properties. High level of doping results in an increased carrier concentration and leads to the appearance of superconductivity with the onset of T$_{c}$ up to 45 K.

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arXiv2009

Optical study on the spin-density wave properties in single crystalline Na$_{1-δ}$FeAs

We report an optical investigation on the in-plane charge dynamics for Na$_{1-δ}$FeAs single crystal. A clear optical evidence for the spin-density wave (SDW) gap is observed. As the structural/magnetic transitions are separated in the Na$_{1-δ}$FeAs case, we find the SDW gap opens in accordance with the magnetic transition. Comparing with the optical response of other FeAs-based parent compounds, both the gap value 2$Δ$ and the energy scale for the gap-induced spectral weight redistribution are smaller in Na$_{1-δ}$FeAs. Our findings support the itinerant origin of the antiferromagnetic transition in the FeAs-based system.

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arXiv2009

Origin of the structural phase transition at 130 K in BaNi$_2$As$_2$: a combined study of optical spectroscopy and band structure calculations

BaNi$_2$As$_2$ exhibits a first order structural transition at 130 K. Understanding this structural transition is a crucial step towards understanding the electronic properties of the material. We present a combined optical spectroscopy and band structure calculation study on the compound across the transition. The study reveals that BaNi$_2$As$_2$ is a good metal with a rather high plasma frequency. The phase transition leads to a small reduction of conducting carriers. We identify that this reduction is caused by the removal of several small Fermi surface sheets contributed dominantly from the As-As bonding and Ni-As antibonding states.

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arXiv2008

Transport and anisotropy in single-crystalline SrFe$_2$As$_2$ and $A_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ ($A$ = Sr, Ba) superconductors

We have successfully grown high quality single crystals of SrFe$_2$As$_2$ and A$_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$Fe$_2$As$_2$(A=Sr, Ba) using flux method. The resistivity, specific heat and Hall coefficient have been measured. For parent compound SrFe$_2$As$_2$, an anisotropic resistivity with $ρ_c$ / $ρ_{ab}$ as large as 130 is obtained at low temperatures. A sharp drop in both in-plane and out-plane resistivity due to the SDW instability is observed below 200 K. The angular dependence of in-plane magnetoresistance shows 2-fold symmetry with field rotating within ab plane below SDW transition temperature. This is consistent with a stripe-type spin ordering in SDW state. In K doped A$_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$Fe$_2$As$_2$(A=Sr. Ba), the SDW instability is suppressed and the superconductivity appears with T$_c$ above 35 K. The rather low anisotropy in upper critical field between H$\parallel$ab and H$\parallel$c indicates inter-plane coupling play an important role in hole doped Fe-based superconductors.

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arXiv2008

Origin of the spin density wave instability in AFe$_2$As$_2$ (A=Ba, Sr) as revealed by optical spectroscopy

We performed optical spectroscopy measurement on single crystals of BaFe$_2$As$_2$ and SrFe$_2$As$_2$, the parent compounds of FeAs based superconductors. Both are found to be quite metallic with fairly large plasma frequencies at high temperature. Upon entering the spin-density-wave (SDW) state, formation of partial energy gaps was clearly observed with the presence of surprisingly two different energy scales. A large part of the Drude component was removed by the gapping of Fermi surfaces (FS). Meanwhile, the carrier scattering rate was even more dramatically reduced. We elaborate that the SDW instability is more likely to be driven by the FS nesting of itinerant electrons rather than a local-exchange mechanism.

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arXiv2008

Electronic properties of single-crystalline Fe$_{1.05}$Te and Fe$_{1.03}$Se$_{0.30}$Te$_{0.70}$

We report on a comprehensive study of the transport, specific heat, magnetic susceptibility and optical spectroscopy on single crystal of Fe$_{1.05}$Te. We confirm that Fe$_{1.05}$Te undergoes a first-order phase transition near 65 K. However, its physical properties are considerably different from other parent compounds of FeAs-based systems, presumably attributed to the presence of excess Fe ions. The charge transport is rather incoherent above the transition, and no clear signature of the gap is observed below the transition temperature. Strong impurity scattering effect exists also in Se-doped superconducting sample Fe$_{1.03}$Se$_{0.30}$Te$_{0.70}$, leading to a relatively low T$_c$ but a rather high upper critical field.

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arXiv2008

Probing superconducting energy gap from infrared spectroscopy on a Ba$_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ single crystal with T$_c$=37 K

We performed optical spectroscopy measurement on a superconducting Ba$_{0.6}$K$_{0.4}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ single crystal with T$_c$=37 K. Formation of the superconducting energy gaps in the far-infared reflectance spectra below T$_c$ is clearly observed. The gap amplitudes match well with the two distinct superconducting gaps observed in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments on different Fermi surfaces. We determined absolute value of the penetration depth at 10 K as $λ\simeq2000 Å$. A spectral weight analysis shows that the Ferrell-Glover-Timkham sum rule is satisfied at low energy scale, less than 6$Δ$.

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arXiv2008

Superconducting properties of Fe-based layered superconductor LaO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1-δ}$FeAs

We have employed a new route to synthesize single phase F-doped LaOFeAs compound and confirmed the superconductivity above 20 K in this Fe-based system. We show that the new superconductor has a rather high upper critical field of about 54 T. A clear signature of superconducting gap opening below T$_c$ was observed in the far-infrared reflectance spectra, with 2$Δ/\textit{k}T_c\approx$3.5-4.2. Furthermore, we show that the new superconductor has electron-type conducting carrier with a rather low carrier density.

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arXiv2008

Superconductivity in hole-doped (Sr$_{1-x}$K$_x$)Fe$_2$As$_2$

A series of layered (Sr$_{1-x}$K$_x$)Fe$_2$As$_2$ compounds with nominal x=0 to 0.40 are synthesized by solid state reaction method. Similar to other parent compounds of iron-based pnictide superconductors, the pure SrFe$_2$As$_2$ shows a strong resistivity anomaly near 210 K, which was ascribed to the spin-density-wave instability. The anomaly temperature is much higher than those observed in LaOFeAs and BaFe$_2$As$_2$, the two prototype parent compounds with ZrCuSiAs- and ThCr$_2$Si$_2$-type structures. K-doping strongly suppresses this anomaly and induces superconductivity. Like in the case of K-doped BaFe$_2$As$_2$, sharp superconducting transitions at T$_c\sim$38 K was observed. We performed the Hall coefficient measurement, and confirmed that the dominant carriers are hole-type. The carrier density is enhanced by a factor of 3 in comparison to F-doped LaOFeAs superconductor.

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arXiv2008

Superconductivity at 41 K and its competition with spin-density-wave instability in layered CeO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs

A series of layered CeO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs compounds with x=0 to 0.20 are synthesized by solid state reaction method. Similar to the LaOFeAs, the pure CeOFeAs shows a strong resistivity anomaly near 145 K, which was ascribed to the spin-density-wave instability. F-doping suppresses this instability and leads to the superconducting ground state. Most surprisingly, the superconducting transition temperature could reach as high as 41 K. The very high superconducting transition temperature strongly challenges the classic BCS theory based on the electron-phonon interaction. The very closeness of the superconducting phase to the spin-density-wave instability suggests that the magnetic fluctuations play a key role in the superconducting paring mechanism. The study also reveals that the Ce 4f electrons form local moments and ordered antiferromagnetically below 4 K, which could coexist with superconductivity.

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