Electronic and magnetic phase diagram of superconductors, SmFeAsO 1-xFx

Abstract

A crystallographic and magnetic phase diagram of SmFeAsO 1-xFx is determined as a function of x in terms of temperature based on electrical transport and magnetization, synchrotron powder x-ray diffraction, 57Fe Mössbauer spectra (MS), and 149Sm nuclear resonant forward scattering (NRFS) measurements. MS revealed that the magnetic moments of Fe were aligned antiferromagnetically at ~144 K (TN(Fe)). The magnetic moment of Fe (MFe) is estimated to be 0.34 μB/Fe at 4.2 K for undoped SmFeAsO; MFe is quenched in superconducting F-doped SmFeAsO. 149Sm NRFS spectra revealed that the magnetic moments of Sm start to order antiferromagnetically at 5.6 K (undoped) and 4.4 K (TN(Sm)) (x = 0.069). Results clearly indicate that the antiferromagnetic (AF) Sm sublattice coexists with the superconducting phase in SmFeAsO1-xFx below T N(Sm), while the AF Fe sublattice does not coexist with the superconducting phase. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.