arXiv subjects

V. M. Fim

Publications and source records attributed to V. M. Fim.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Substitution modulated transition from semimetal to superconductor in ZrTe$_{2-x}$Se$_x$ with coexistence of nontrivial electronic topology

This study explores the emergence of superconductivity in high-quality ZrTe$_{2-x}$Se$_x$ crystals, grown via the isothermal chemical vapor transport (ICVT) technique. Resistive, structural, and thermal measurements reveal that substituting Te with Se in the ZrTe$_2$ matrix induces a superconducting state at low temperatures. The critical temperature ($T_c$) exhibits a clear dependence on the selenium concentration, peaking at $x=0.15$ with a $T_c$ of $4.8$ K. Calorimetric data indicates that even a low Se substitution range is capable of modifying both the electronic contribution and the vibrational modes of the crystal lattice. Combined with ab initio calculations and Wannier Hamiltonian interpolation between ZrTe$_2$/ZrSe$_2$, we established an extensive phase diagram mapping the transition from charge density wave (CDW) to the state with coexistence between the Dirac semimetal and superconductivity (SC), up to the semiconductor phase. This coexistence suggests that ZrTe$_{1.85}$Se$_{0.15}$ could be a candidate platform for topological superconductivity, as it hosts a nontrivial $\mathbb Z_2$ invariant, with nonvanishing surface states in its $(001)$ planes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Superconductivity in Te-deficient ZrTe$_2$

We present structural, electrical, and thermoelectric potential measurements on high-quality single crystals of ZrTe$_{1.8}$ grown from isothermal chemical vapor transport. These measurements show that the Te-deficient ZrTe$_{1.8}$, which forms the same structure as the non-superconducting ZrTe$_2$, is superconducting below 3.2\,K. The temperature dependence of the upper critical field (H$_{c2}$) deviates from the behavior expected in conventional single-band superconductors, being best described by an electron-phonon two-gap superconducting model with strong intraband coupling. For the ZrTe$_{1.8}$ single crystals, the Seebeck potential measurements suggest that the charge carriers are predominantly negative, in agreement with the ab initio calculations. Through first-principles calculations within DFT, we show that the slight reduction of Te occupancy in ZrTe$_2$ unexpectedly gives origin to density of states peaks at the Fermi level due to the formation of localized Zr-$d$ bands, possibly promoting electronic instabilities at the Fermi level and an increase at the critical temperature according to the standard BCS theory. These findings highlight that the Te deficiency promotes the electronic conditions for the stability of the superconducting ground state, suggesting that defects can fine-tune the electronic structure to support superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗