Feifei Yuan

Upper critical fields and anisotropy of Ca1−xLaxFe2As2 single crystals

Superconductivity of Ca1-xLaxFe2As2 single crystals with various doping level were investigated via electromagnetic measurements for out-plane (H//c) and in-plane (H//ab) directions. Obvious double superconducting transitions, which can survive in magnetic fields up to several Tesla, were observed in the medium-doped (x = 0.13) sample. Two kinds of distinct Hc2 phase diagrams were established for the low superconducting phase with Tc lower than 15 K and the high superconducting phase with Tc of over 40 K, respectively. Both the two kinds of phase diagrams exist in the medium-doped sample. Unusual upward curvature near Tc was observed in Hc2 phase diagrams and analyzed in detail. Temperature dependences of anisotropy for different doping concentrations were obtained and compared. Both superconducting phases manifest extremely large anisotropies, which may originate from the interface or intercalation superconductivity.

Localized Surface Plasmons Selectively Coupled to Resonant Light in Tubular Microcavities.

Vertical gold nanogaps are created on microtubular cavities to explore the coupling between resonant light supported by the microcavities and surface plasmons localized at the nanogaps. Selective coupling of optical axial modes and localized surface plasmons critically depends on the exact location of the gold nanogap on the microcavities, which is conveniently achieved by rolling up specially designed thin dielectric films into three-dimensional microtube cavities. The coupling phenomenon is explained by a modified quasipotential model based on perturbation theory. Our work reveals the coupling of surface plasmon resonances localized at the nanoscale to optical resonances confined in microtubular cavities at the microscale, implying a promising strategy for the investigation of light-matter interactions.

Monolithically Integrated Microelectromechanical Systems for On-Chip Strain Engineering of Quantum Dots

Elastic strain fields based on single crystal piezoelectric elements represent an effective way for engineering the quantum dot (QD) emission with unrivaled precision and technological relevance. However, pioneering researches in this direction were mainly based on bulk piezoelectric substrates, which prevent the development of chip-scale devices. Here, we present a monolithically integrated Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device with great potential for on-chip quantum photonic applications. High-quality epitaxial PMN-PT thin films have been grown on SrTiO3 buffered Si and show excellent piezoelectric responses. Dense arrays of MEMS with small footprints are then fabricated based on these films, forming an on-chip strain tuning platform. After transferring the QD-containing nanomembranes onto these MEMS, the nonclassical emissions (e.g., single photons) from single QDs can be engineered by the strain fields. We envision that the strain tunable QD sources on the individually addressable and monolithically integrated MEMS pave the way toward complex quantum photonic applications on chip.

Evidence of two superconducting phases in Ca1−xLaxFe2As2

Single crystals of Ca1−xLaxFe2As2 with x ranging from 0 to 0.25, have been grown and characterized by structural, transport, and magnetic measurements. Coexistence of two superconducting phases is observed, in which the phase with the lower superconducting transition temperature (Tc) has Tc ∼ 20 K and the higher Tc phase has Tc higher than 40 K. These data also delineate an x-T phase diagram in which the single magnetic/structural phase transition in undoped CaFe2As2 appears to split into two distinct phase transitions, both of which are suppressed with increasing La substitution. Superconductivity emerges when x is about 0.06 and coexists with the structural/magnetic transition until x is ∼ 0.13. With increasing concentration of La, the structural/magnetic transition is totally suppressed, and Tc reaches its maximum value of about 45 K for 0.15 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.19. A domelike superconducting region is not observed in the phase diagram, however, because no obvious over-doping region can be found. Two superconducti...

Influence of substrate type on transport properties of superconducting FeSe0.5Te0.5 thin films

FeSe0.5Te0.5 thin films were grown by pulsed laser deposition on CaF2, LaAlO3 and MgO substrates and structurally and electro-magnetically characterized in order to study the influence of the substrate on their transport properties. The in-plane lattice mismatch between FeSe0.5Te0.5 bulk and the substrate shows no influence on the lattice parameters of the films, whereas the type of substrate affects the crystalline quality of the films and, therefore, the superconducting properties. The film on MgO showed an extra peak in the angular dependence of critical current density Jc(θ) at θ = 180° (H||c), which arises from c-axis defects as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. In contrast, no Jc(θ) peaks for H||c were observed in films on CaF2 and LaAlO3. Jc(θ) can be scaled successfully for both films without c-axis correlated defects by the anisotropic Ginzburg–Landau approach with appropriate anisotropy ratio γJ. The scaling parameter γJ is decreasing with decreasing temperature, which is different from what we observed in FeSe0.5Te0.5 films on Fe-buffered MgO substrates.

Anisotropic Ginzburg–Landau scaling of H c2 and transport properties of 112-type Ca0.8La0.2Fe0.98Co0.02As2 single crystal

High-quality single crystal Ca0.8La0.2Fe0.98Co0.02As2 has been successfully synthesized using a self-flux method. The magnetization measurement reveals a second peak effect and high critical current density exceeding 2 × 106 A cm−2 at 5 K (self-field). The upper critical field anisotropy was systematically studied by measuring the electrical resistivity under various magnetic fields and angles. The angle-dependent magnetoresistance, by choosing an appropriate anisotropy parameter within the framework of the anisotropic Ginzburg–Landau (AGL) theory, can be scaled onto one single curve. In the normal state, the negative Hall coefficient shows strong but nonmonotonic T-dependence through a minimum at ~175 K. Moreover, it is shown that the magnetoresistance apparently violates the semiclassical Kohlers rule below ~175 K but can be well scaled by the Hall angle instead. This suggests either a change of carriers with T or exotic anisotropic scattering in the system.

Universal scaling behavior of the upper critical field in strained FeSe0.7Te0.3 thin films

Revealing the universal behaviors of iron-based superconductors (FBS) is important to elucidate the microscopic theory of superconductivity. In this work, we investigate the effect of in-plane strain on the slope of the upper critical field H c2 at the superconducting transition temperature T c (i.e. −dH c2/dT) for FeSe0.7Te0.3 thin films. The in-plane strain tunes T c in a broad range, while the composition and disorder are almost unchanged. We show that −dH c2/dT scales linearly with T c, indicating that FeSe0.7Te0.3 follows the same universal behavior as observed for pnictide FBS. The observed behavior is consistent with a multiband superconductivity paired by interband interaction such as sign change s ± superconductivity.

The influence of the in-plane lattice constant on the superconducting transition temperature of FeSe0.7Te0.3 thin films

Epitaxial Fe(Se,Te) thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition on (La0.18Sr0.82)(Al0.59Ta0.41)O3 (LSAT), CaF2-buffered LSAT and bare CaF2 substrates, which exhibit an almost identical in-plane lattice parameter. The composition of all Fe(Se,Te) films were determined to be FeSe0.7Te0.3 by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, irrespective of the substrate. Albeit the lattice parameters of all templates have comparable values, the in-plane lattice parameter of the FeSe0.7Te0.3 films varies significantly. We found that the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of FeSe0.7Te0.3 thin films is strongly correlated with their a-axis lattice parameter. The highest Tc of over 19 K was observed for the film on bare CaF2 substrate, which is related to unexpectedly large in-plane compressive strain originating mostly from the thermal expansion mismatch between the FeSe0.7Te0.3 film and the substrate.Epitaxial Fe(Se,Te) thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition on (La0.18Sr0.82)(Al0.59Ta0.41)O3 (LSAT), CaF2-buffered LSAT and bare CaF2 substrates, which exhibit an almost identical in-plane lattice parameter. The composition of all Fe(Se,Te) films were determined to be FeSe0.7Te0.3 by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, irrespective of the substrate. Albeit the lattice parameters of all templates have comparable values, the in-plane lattice parameter of the FeSe0.7Te0.3 films varies significantly. We found that the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of FeSe0.7Te0.3 thin films is strongly correlated with their a-axis lattice parameter. The highest Tc of over 19 K was observed for the film on bare CaF2 substrate, which is related to unexpectedly large in-plane compressive strain originating mostly from the thermal expansion mismatch between the FeSe0.7Te0.3 film and the substrate.