arXiv subjects

R. Puzniak

Publications and source records attributed to R. Puzniak.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

High-pressure high-temperature solution growth, structural, and superconducting properties of Fe-substituted MgB2 single crystals

Clarifying the impact of Fe doping on the structural and superconducting properties of MgB2 is crucial, considering that iron is commonly used as a sheath material for the fabrication of metal-clad MgB2 wires and tapes. To date the effects of Fe doping have only been investigated in polycrystalline samples, but the obtained results are controversial. Here, we report the successful growth of Mg1-xFexB2 single crystals in a quaternary Mg-Fe-B-N system using the cubic anvil high-pressure and high-temperature technique. The reaction took place in a closed boron nitride crucible at a pressure of 3 GPa and a temperature of 1960 °C. The grown crystals exhibit plate-like shapes with sizes up to 0.9 x 0.7 x 0.1 mm3. The variation of the critical temperature Tc of Mg1-xFexB2 crystals with Fe content was found to be different from that observed in polycrystalline samples. For a small Fe doping, up to x < 0.03, the behaviour of Tc(x) is similar to that for the crystals with Al and C substitutions, which suggests that Fe is in non-magnetic state. In this doping range, measurements of the temperature-dependent magnetization performed in high magnetic fields exclude spin states other than S = 0 for the Fe ions. However, for x > 0.03, certain crystals start to show a dramatic decrease in Tc, suggesting that Fe might be in a magnetic state. The M-H dependence for these crystals shows significant increase of magnetization with increasing field in low magnetic field, pointing to a weak ferromagnetism. Overall, the availability of Fe substituted MgB2 single crystals exhibiting such peculiar behaviour offers a unique opportunity to investigate the effect of disorder alone on one hand and the influence of magnetic substituent on the superconducting characteristics on the other.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Quantum versus classical nature of a low-temperature magnetic phase transition in TbAl$_3$(BO$_3$)$_4$

Specific heat, $C_B$, of a TbAl$_3$(BO$_3$)$_4$ crystal was studied for 50 mK $<T<$ 300 K, with emphasis on $T<1$ K, where a phase transition was found at $T_c =0.68$ K. Nuclear, non-phonon ($C_m$), and lattice contributions to $C_B$ were separated. Lowering of $T_c$ with ncrease of magnetic field parallel to the easy magnetization axis, $B_{||}$, was found. It was established that $C_m$ and a Grüneisen ratio depend on $B_{||}$ and $T$ in a way characteristic of systems, in which a classical transition is driven by quantum fluctuations, QF, to a quantum critical point at $T=0$, by tuning a control parameter ($B_{||}$). The $B_{||} - T$ phase diagram was constructed and the dynamical critical exponent $0.82 \le z \le 0.96$ was assessed. Nature of the transition was not established explicitly. Magnetization studies point at the ferromagnetic ordering of Tb$^{3+}$ magnetic moments, however, lowering of $T_c$ with increase in $B_{||}$ is opposite to the classical behavior. Hence, a dominant role of QF was supposed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Dynamics of trapped magnetic flux in superconducting FeTe0.65Se0.35

The magnetic moment in the superconducting and normal state of a crystalline FeTe0.65Se0.35 superconductor, grown by the Bridgman's method with relatively high growth rate, was measured. The temperature and magnetic field dependences of magnetization and its relaxation time were determined. Studied crystal, being non-uniform due to high growth rate of 5 mm/h, exhibits smaller width of superconducting transition in comparison with an ideal crystal grown with velocity of 1 mm/h, and the difference in magnetic properties of crystals grown with various growth rate, related to their microstructure, is discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Microstructural and transport properties of superconducting FeTe0.65Se0.35 crystals

The issue concerning the nature and the role of microstructural inhomogeneities in iron chalcogenide superconducting crystals of FeTe0.65Se0.35 and their correlation with transport properties of this system was addressed. Presented data demonstrate that chemical disorder originating from the kinetics of the crystal growth process significantly influences the superconducting properties of an Fe-Te-Se system. Transport measurements of the transition temperature and critical current density performed for microscopic bridges allow us to deduce the local properties of a superconductor with microstructural inhomogeneities, and significant differences were noted. The variances observed in the local properties were explained as a consequence of weak superconducting links existing in the studied crystals. The results confirm that inhomogeneous spatial distribution of ions and small hexagonal symmetry nanoscale regions with nanoscale phase separation also seem to enhance the superconductivity in this system with respect to the values of the critical current density. Magnetic measurements confirm the conclusions drawn from the transport measurements.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

High-pressure flux growth, structural, and superconducting properties of LnFeAsO (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm) single crystals

Single crystals of the LnFeAsO (Ln1111, Ln = Pr, Nd, and Sm) family with lateral dimensions up to 1 mm were grown from NaAs and KAs flux at high pressure. The crystals are of good structural quality and become superconducting when O is partially substituted by F (PrFeAsO1-xFx and NdFeAsO1-xFx) or when Fe is substituted by Co (SmFe1-xCoxAsO). From magnetization measurements, we estimate the temperature dependence and anisotropy of the upper critical field and the critical current density of underdoped PrFeAsO0.7F0.3 crystal with Tc = 25 K. Single crystals of SmFe1-xCoxAsO with maximal Tc up to 16.3 K for x = 0.08 were grown for the first time. From transport and magnetic measurements we estimate the critical fields and their anisotropy, and find these superconducting properties to be quite comparable to the ones in SmFeAsO1-xFx with a much higher Tc of = 50 K. The magnetically measured critical current densities are as high as 109 A/m2 at 2 K up to 7 T, with indication of the usual fishtail effect. The upper critical field estimated from resistivity measurements is anisotropic with slopes of -8.7 T/K (H // ab-plane) and -1.7 T/K (H // c-axis). This anisotropy (= 5) is similar to that in other Ln1111 crystals with various higher Tc s.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Superconductivity and magnetism in RbxFe2-ySe2: Impact of thermal treatment on mesoscopic phase separation

An extended study of the superconducting and normal-state properties of various as-grown and post-annealed RbxFe2-ySe2 single crystals is presented. Magnetization experiments evidence that annealing of RbxFe2-ySe2 at 413 K, well below the onset of phase separation Tp=489 K, neither changes the magnetic nor the superconducting properties of the crystals. In addition, annealing at 563 K, well above Tp, suppresses the superconducting transition temperature Tc and leads to an increase of the antiferromagnetic susceptibility accompanied by the creation of ferromagnetic impurity phases, which are developing with annealing time. However, annealing at T=488K=Tp increases Tc up to 33.3 K, sharpens the superconducting transition, increases the lower critical field, and strengthens the screening efficiency of the applied magnetic field. Resistivity measurements of the as-grown and optimally annealed samples reveal an increase of the upper critical field along both crystallographic directions as well as its anisotropy. Muon spin rotation and scanning transmission electron microscopy experiments suggest the coexistence of two phases below Tp: a magnetic majority phase of Rb2Fe4Se5 and a non-magnetic minority phase of Rb0.5Fe2Se2. Both microscopic techniques indicate that annealing the specimens just at Tp does not affect the volume fraction of the two phases, although the magnetic field distribution in the samples changes substantially. This suggests that the microstructure of the sample, caused by mesoscopic phase separation, is modified by annealing just at Tp, leading to an improvement of the superconducting properties of RbxFe2-ySe2 and an enhancement of Tc.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Vortex lock-in transition coinciding with the 3D to 2D crossover in YBa2Cu3O7

A vortex lock-in transition was directly detected by torque magnetometry in an overdoped YBa2Cu3O7 single crystal of low anisotropy (\approx 7). The locked-in state was observed below the 3D to 2D crossover temperature Tcr = 76 K, independently of extrinsic pinning effects thanks to a high quality clean crystal and the use of a vortex shaking technique. The shape of the torque signal as a function of the angle between the applied magnetic field and the crystallographic c-axis is in very good agreement with the model developped by Feinberg and Ettouhami [Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 7, 2085 (1993)] for quasi-2D superconductors, despite the low anisotropy of the material.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Growth conditions, structure, and superconductivity of pure and metal-doped FeTe1-xSex single crystals

Superconducting single crystals of pure FeTe1 xSex and FeTe0.65Se0.35 doped with Co, Ni, Cu, Mn, Zn, Mo, Cd, In, Pb, Hg, V, Ga, Mg, Al, Ti, Cr, Sr or Nd into Fe ions site have been grown applying Bridgman's method. It has been found that the sharpness of transition to the superconducting state in FeTe1 xSex is evidently inversely correlated with crystallographic quality of the crystals. Among all of the studied dopants only Co, Ni and Cu substitute Fe ions in FeTe0.65Se0.35 crystals. The remaining examined ions do not incorporate into the crystal structure. Nevertheless, they form inclusions together with selenium, tellurium and/or iron, what changes the chemical composition of host matrix and therefore influences Tc value. Small disorder introduced into magnetic sublattice, by partial replacement of Fe ions by slight amount of nonmagnetic ions of Cu (~ 1.5 at%) or by magnetic ions of Ni (~ 2 at%) and Co (~5 at%) with spin value different than that of Fe ion, completely suppresses superconductivity in FeTe1 xSex system. This indicates that even if superconductivity is observed in the system containing magnetic ions it can not survive when the disorder in magnetic ions sublattice is introduced, most likely because of magnetic scattering of Cooper pairs.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Microstructural magnetic phases in superconducting FeTe0.65Se0.35

In this paper, we address a number of outstanding issues concerning the nature and the role of magnetic inhomogenities in the iron chalcogenide system FeTe1-xSex and their correlation with superconductivity in this system. We report morphology of superconducting single crystals of FeTe0.65Se0.35 studied with transmission electron microscopy, high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy and their magnetic and superconducting properties characterized with magnetization, specific heat and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Our data demonstrate a presence of nanometre scale hexagonal regions coexisting with tetragonal host lattice, a chemical disorder demonstrating non homogeneous distribution of host atoms in the crystal lattice, as well as hundreds-of-nanometres-long iron-deficient bands. From magnetic data and ferromagnetic resonance temperature dependence, we attribute magnetic phases in Fe-Te-Se to Fe3O4 inclusions and to hexagonal symmetry nanometre scale regions with structure of Fe7Se8 type. Our results suggest that nonhomogeneous distribution of host atoms might be an intrinsic feature of superconducting Fe-Te-Se chalcogenides and we find a surprising correlation indicating that faster grown crystal of inferior crystallographic properties is a better superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Magnetic-field tuned anisotropy in superconducting Rb(x)Fe(2-y)Se(2)

The anisotropic superconducting properties of a Rb(x)Fe(2-y)Se(2) single crystal with transition temperature 32 K were investigated by means of SQUID and torque magnetometry, probing the effective magnetic penetration depth and the magnetic penetration depth anisotropy. Interestingly, the anisotropy is found to be temperature independent in the superconducting state, but strongly field dependent. This unusual anisotropic behavior, together with a large zero-temperature effective magnetic penetration depth is possibly related to a superconducting state heavily biased by the coexisting antiferromagnetic phase.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Study of the anisotropic magnetic order of the Eu sublattice in single crystals of EuFe_2-xCo_xAs_2 (x = 0, 0.2) by means of magnetization and magnetic torque

Here, we present a combination of magnetization and magnetic torque experiments to investigate the magnetic orders in undoped EuFe2As2 and Co doped EuFe1.8Co0.2As2 single crystals. Although at low temperatures typical results for an antiferromagnetic (AFM) state in EuFe2As2 were found, our data strongly indicate the occurrence of a canted antiferromagnetic (C-AFM) order of the Eu2+ moments between 17 K and 19 K, observed even in the lowest studied magnetic fields. However, unlike in the parent compound, no low-field and low-temperature AFM state of the Eu^2+ moments was observed in the doped EuFe1.8Co0.2As2. Only a C-AFM phase is present at low fields and low temperatures, with a reduced magnetic anisotropy as compared to the undoped system. We present and discuss for both, EuFe2As2 and EuFe1.8Co0.2As2, the experimentally deduced magnetic phase diagrams of the magnetic ordering of the Eu^2+ sublattice with respect to the temperature, the applied magnetic field, and its orientation to the crystallographic axes. It is likely that the magnetic coupling of the Eu and the Fe sublattice is strongly depending on Co doping, having detrimental influence on the magnetic phase diagrams as determined in this work. Their impact on the occurrence of superconductivity with higher Co doping is discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Study of the mixed state of La_{1.83}Sr_{0.17}CuO_{4} by means of muon-spin rotation and magnetization experiments in a low magnetic field

Muon-spin rotation (muSR) experiments are often used to study the magnetic field distribution in type-II superconductors in the vortex state. Based on the determination of the magnetic penetration depth it is frequently speculated---also controversially---about the order-parameter symmetry of the studied superconductors. This article reports on a combined muSR and magnetization study of the mixed state in the cuprate high-temperature superconductor La_{1.83}Sr_{0.17}CuO_{4} in a low magnetic field of 20 mT applied along the c axis of a single crystal. The macroscopic magnetization measurements reveal substantial differences for various cooling procedures. Yet, indicated changes in the vortex dynamics between different temperature regions as well as the results of the microscopic muSR experiments are virtually independent of the employed cooling cycles. Additionally, it is found that the mean magnetic flux density, locally probed by the muons, strongly increases at low temperatures. This can possibly be explained by a non-random sampling of the spatial field distribution of the vortex lattice in this cuprate superconductor caused by intensified vortex pinning.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Phase transitions in single-crystalline magnetoelectric LiCoPO4

Specific heat, magnetic torque, and magnetization studies of LiCoPO4 olivine are presented. They show that an unique set of physical properties of LiCoPO4 leads to the appearance of features characteristic of 2D Ising systems near the Neel temperature, T_N =21.6 K, and to the appearance of an uncommon effect of influence of magnetic field on the magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The latter effect manifests itself as a first-order transition, discovered at ~9 K, induced by magnetic field of 8 T. Physical nature of this transition was explained and a model describing experimental dependences satisfactorily was proposed.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

Interplay of composition, structure, magnetism, and superconductivity in SmFeAs1-xPxO1-y

Polycrystalline samples and single crystals of SmFeAs1-xPxO1-y were synthesized and grown employing different synthesis methods and annealing conditions. Depending on the phosphorus and oxygen content, the samples are either magnetic or superconducting. In the fully oxygenated compounds the main impact of phosphorus substitution is to suppress the Néel temperature TN of the spin density wave (SDW) state, and to strongly reduce the local magnetic field in the SDW state, as deduced from muon spin rotation measurements. On the other hand the superconducting state is observed in the oxygen deficient samples only after heat treatment under high pressure. Oxygen deficiency as a result of synthesis at high pressure brings the Sm-O layer closer to the superconducting As/P-Fe-As/P block and provides additional electron transfer. Interestingly, the structural modifications in response to this variation of the electron count are significantly different when phosphorus is partly substituting arsenic. Point contact spectra are well described with two superconducting gaps. Magnetic and resistance measurements on single crystals indicate an in-plane magnetic penetration depth of 200 nm and an anisotropy of the upper critical field slope of 4-5. PACS number(s): 74.70.Xa, 74.62.Bf, 74.25.-q, 81.20.-n

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Magnetic torque study of the temperature dependent anisotropy parameter in overdoped superconducting single-crystal YBa_2Cu_3O_7

An overdoped YBa2Cu3O7 single crystal was studied by SQUID and torque magnetometry in order to investigate the temperature dependence of the anisotropy parameter close to the transition temperature T_c (0.87 T_c < T < T_c). Angle dependent torque measurements were performed and analyzed with the widely used Kogan model [Phys. Rev. B 38, 7049 (1988)] as well as with an extended model by Hao and Clem [Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 2371 (1991)], taking into account the influence of the vortex cores on the magnetization. Both approaches yield similar results, with an out-of-plane anisotropy parameter around 6.5 which slightly increases with decreasing temperature, and a temperature independent in-plane anisotropy parameter gamma_ab}= 1.12(5).

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

{Rearrangement of the antiferromagnetic ordering at high magnetic fields in SmFeAsO and SmFeAsO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1}$ single crystals

The low-temperature antiferromagnetic state of the Sm-ions in both nonsuperconducting SmFeAsO and superconducting SmFeAsO$_{0.9}$F$_{0.1}$ single crystals was studied by magnetic torque, magnetization, and magnetoresistance measurements in magnetic fields up to 60~T and temperatures down to 0.6~K. We uncover in both compounds a distinct rearrangement of the antiferromagnetically ordered Sm-moments near $35-40$~T. This is seen in both, static and pulsed magnetic fields, as a sharp change in the sign of the magnetic torque, which is sensitive to the magnetic anisotropy and hence to the magnetic moment in the $ab$-plane, ({\it i.e.} the FeAs-layers), and as a jump in the magnetization for magnetic fields perpendicular to the conducting planes. This rearrangement of magnetic ordering in $35-40$~T is essentially temperature independent and points towards a canted or a partially polarized magnetic state in high magnetic fields. However, the observed value for the saturation moment above this rearrangement, suggests that the complete suppression of the antiferromagnetism related to the Sm-moments would require fields in excess of 60~T. Such a large field value is particularly remarkable when compared to the relatively small Néel temperature $T_{\rm N}\simeq5$~K, suggesting very anisotropic magnetic exchange couplings. At the transition, magnetoresistivity measurements show a crossover from positive to negative field-dependence, indicating that the charge carriers in the FeAs planes are sensitive to the magnetic configuration of the rare-earth elements. This is indicates a finite magnetic/electronic coupling between the SmO and the FeAs layers which are likely to mediate the exchange interactions leading to the long range antiferromagnetic order of the Sm ions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Field Dependent Superfluid Density in the Optimally Doped SmFeAsO_(1-x)F_y Superconductor

The magnetic field dependence of the in-plane magnetic penetration depth for optimally doped SmFeAsO_(1-x)F_y was investigated by combining torque magnetometry, SQUID magnetometry, and muon-spin rotation. The results obtained from these techniques show all a pronounced decrease of the superfluid density as the field is increased up to 1.4 T. This behavior is analysed within a two-band model with self-consistently derived coupled gaps, where the superfluid density related to the larger gap is field independent and the superfluid density related to the smaller gap is strongly suppressed with increasing field.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Evidence for a temperature dependent anisotropy of the superconducting state parameters in underdoped SmBa2Cu3Ox

The temperature dependence of the anisotropy of the superconducting state parameters, γ, was studied by torque magnetometry for the high temperature superconductor SmBa2Cu3Ox in magnetic fields of up to 9 T. The measurements were performed on four underdoped single crystals with oxygen contents corresponding to Tc's varying from 42.8 to 63.6 K. The anisotropy was found to be strongly temperature dependent, while only a weak dependence on the magnetic field was observed. No evidence for a field dependent superfluid density was found. Possible origins of the temperature dependence of the anisotropy are discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗