Crystal growth, transport phenomena and two-gap superconductivity in the mixed alkali metal (K1-zNaz)xFe 2-ySe2 iron selenide

Abstract

Using the self-flux technique we grew superconducting (K 1-zNaz)xFe2-ySe2 (z = 0.3) single crystals. EDX mapping revealed the uniform elements distribution on the crystal surface while XRD measurements indicate that the crystals are compositionally inhomogeneous on the nanoscale. The physical properties of the as-prepared sample are characterized by electrical resistivity, magnetization and specific heat measurements. Resistivity measurements show the onset of the superconducting transition at 33 K and zero resistivity at 31.7 K. The large upper critical field Hc2(0) was estimated as high as about 140 T for the in-plane field and 38 T for the out-of-plane field. The anisotropy of Habc2(0)/Hcc2(0) and coherence lengths ξab(0)/ξc(0) was found to be around 3.7. The pioneering studies by multiple Andreev reflections effect spectroscopy ("break-junction" technique) revealed the presence of two anisotropic superconducting gaps ΔL = (9.3 ± 1.5) meV, ΔS = (1.9 ± 0.4) meV, and provided a measurement of the ΔL(T) temperature dependence. The Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory ratio ratio for the large gap 2ΔL/kBTbulkc ≈ 6.3 points to a strong electron-boson coupling in the "driving" condensate characterized by the ΔL order parameter. This journal is © the Partner Organisations 2014.