arXiv subjects

Soshi Iimura

Publications and source records attributed to Soshi Iimura.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Distinctive Doping Dependence of Upper Critical Field in Iron-Based Superconductor LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$H$_{x}$

High magnetic fields up to 105 T have been utilized in deriving the upper critical field $B_{\rm c2}$ of LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$H$_x$ throughout whole temperatures below $T_{\rm c}$. Resistivity measurements demonstrate that $B_{\rm c2}$ behaves differently in samples with $x = 0.12$ (SC1) from those with 0.32 (SC2). In SC1, the two-band model assuming the $s$-wave pairing gives a good fitting with repulsive intraband interaction and dominant interband coupling. In SC2, we have to assume attractive intraband interaction with weak interband coupling, which in fact suggests a non-$s$-wave pairing in view of the strong Coulomb repulsion. These results support the possibility that SC1 and SC2 have different pairing symmetries.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2023

Superconductivity in an Orbital-reoriented SnAs Square Lattice: a Case Study of Li0.6Sn2As2 and NaSnAs

Searching for functional square lattices in layered superconductor systems offers an explicit clue to modify the electron behavior and find exotic properties. The trigonal SnAs3 structural units in SnAs-based systems are relatively conformable to distortion, which provides the possibility to achieve structurally topological transformation and higher superconducting transition temperatures. In the present work, the functional As square lattice was realized and activated in Li0.6Sn2As2 and NaSnAs through a topotactic structural transformation of trigonal SnAs3 to square SnAs4 under pressure, resulting in a record-high Tc among all synthesized SnAs-based compounds. Meanwhile, the conductive channel transfers from the out-of-plane pz orbital to the in-plane px+py orbitals, facilitating electron hopping within the square 2D lattice and boosting the superconductivity. The reorientation of p-orbital following a directed local structure transformation provides an effective strategy to modify layered superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

High upper critical field (120 T) with small anisotropy of highly hydrogen-substituted SmFeAsO epitaxial film

The electronic transport properties of a highly hydrogen-substituted 1111-type SmFeAsO epitaxial film with high critical-temperature (Tc = 45 K) were investigated under high magnetic fields. By using a single-turn magnet generating up to 130 T, we clarified that the upper critical field ({\mu}0Hc2) of SmFeAsO0.65H0.35 is 120 T at the nearly low-temperature limit of 2.2 K for {\mu}0H || ab. The angular dependence of {\mu}0Hc2 revealed that the anisotropic parameter ({\gamma}) around Tc is ~2, which is comparable with that of a practical candidate 122-type BaFe2As2 with lower Tc and much smaller than that of F-substituted SmFeAsO. The small {\gamma} mainly originates from the high hydrogen incorporation. The extremely high {\mu}0Hc2 and small {\gamma}, together with the high Tc and high critical current density, suggest that SmFeAsO1-xHx has high potential for the superconducting electromagnets and cables.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2020

Heavily Hydride-ion-doped 1111-type Iron-based Superconductors: Synthesis, Physical Properties and Electronic Structure

Iron-based superconductors have grown to be a new continent of high Tc superconductors comparable to cuprates. The optimal critical temperature (Tc) of 56 K in electron-doped 1111-type iron oxypnictides attracts considerable attention of physicists and chemists. Carrier doping is not only essential to induce superconductivity but also is a critical parameter that governs the electronic, magnetic, and crystallographic properties of ground states in high-Tc superconductors. Hydride ion (H-) which is an anionic state of hydrogen acts as an efficient electron donor in the 1111-type, leading to several important discoveries such as two-dome structure of superconducting phase and bipartite parent phase. This article summarizes the synthesis, physical properties, and electronic structure of the H- bearing 1111-type iron-based superconductors along with the relevant phenomena of other superconductors. We show several common characteristics of iron-based superconductors with high-Tc over 50 K and suggest a way to achieve higher Tc.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Quantum dynamics of hydrogen in iron-based superconductor LaFeAsO0.9D0.1 measured with inelastic neutron spectroscopy

Inelastic neutron scattering was performed for an iron-based superconductor LaFeAsO0.9D0.1, where most of D (deuterium) replaces oxygen, while a tiny amount goes into interstitial sites. By first-principle calculation, we characterize the interstitial sites for D (and for H slightly mixed) with four equivalent potential minima. Below the superconducting transition temperature Tc = 26 K,new excitations emerge in the range 5-15 meV, while they are absent in the reference system LaFeAsO0.9F0.1. The strong excitations at 14.5 meV and 11.1 meV broaden rapidly around 15 K and 20 K, respectively, where each energy becomes comparable to twice of the superconducting gap. The strong excitations are ascribed to a quantum rattling, or a band motion of hydrogen, which arises only if the number of potential minima is larger than two.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Pressure-induced quantum critical point in a heavily hydrogen-doped iron-based superconductor LaFeAsO

An iron-based superconductor LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$H$_x$ (0 $\leq x \leq$ 0.6) undergoes two antiferromagnetic (AF) phases upon H doping. We investigated the second AF phase ($x$=0.6) using NMR techniques under pressure. At pressures up to 2 GPa, the ground state is a spin-density-wave state with a large gap; however, the gap closes at 4.0 GPa, suggesting a pressure-induced quantum critical point. Interestingly, the gapped excitation coexists with gapless magnetic fluctuations at pressures between 2 and 4 GPa. This coexistence is attributable to the lift up of the $d_{xy}$ orbital to the Fermi level, a Lifshitz transition under pressure.

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arXiv2018

Phase transition in CaFeAsH: bridging 1111 and 122 iron-based superconductors

Iron-based superconductors can be categorized as two types of parent compounds by considering the nature of their temperature-induced phase transitions; namely, first order transitions for 122- and 11-type compounds and second-order transitions for 1111-type compounds. This work examines the structural and magnetic transitions (ST and MT) of CaFeAsH by specific heat, X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, and electrical resistivity measurements. Heat capacity measurements revealed a second-order phase transition accompanies an apparent single peak at 96 K. However, a clear ST from the tetragonal to orthorhombic phase and a MT from the paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase were detected. The structural (Ts) and N\'eel temperatures (TN) were respectively determined to be 95(2) and 96 K by X-ray and neutron diffraction and resistivity measurements. This small temperature difference, Ts - TN, was attributed to strong magnetic coupling in the inter-layer direction owing to CaFeAsH having the shortest lattice constant c among parent 1111-type iron arsenides. Considering that a first-order transition takes place in 11- and 122-type compounds with a short inter-layer distance, we conclude that the nature of the ST and MT in CaFeAsH is intermediate in character, between the second-order transition for 1111-type compounds and the first-order transition for other 11- and 122-type compounds.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Superconducting transition temperatures in the electronic and magnetic phase diagrams of Sr2VFeAsO3-delta, a superconductor

We elucidate the magnetic phases and superconducting transition temperatures (Tc) in Sr2VFeAsO3-delta (21113V), an iron-based superconductor with a thick-blocking layer fabricated from a perovskite-related transition metal oxide. At low temperatures (T < 37.1 K), 21113V exhibited a superconducting phase in the range 0.031 =< delta =< 0.145 and an antiferromagnetic (AFM) iron sublattice in the range 0.267 =< delta =< 0.664. Mixed-valent vanadium exhibited a dominant AFM phase in 0.031 =< delta =< 0.088, and a partial ferrimagnetic (Ferri.) phase in the range 0.124 =< delta =< 0.664. The Ferri. phase was the most dominant at a delta value of 0.267, showing an AFM phase of Fe at T < 20 K. Increasing the spontaneous magnetic moments reduced the magnetic shielding volume fraction due to the superconducting phase. This result was attributed to the magnetic phase of vanadium, which dominates the superconductivity of Fe in 21113V. The Tc-delta curve showed two maxima. The smaller and larger of Tc maxima occurred at delta = 0.073 and delta = 0.145, respectively; the latter resides on the phase boundary between AFM and the partial Ferri. phases of vanadium. 21113V is a useful platform for verifing new mechanisms of Tc enhancement in iron-based superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

High pressure growth and electron transport properties of superconducting SmFeAsO1-xHx single crystals

We report the single crystal growth and characterization of the highest Tc iron-based superconductor SmFeAsO1-xHx. Some sub-millimeter-sized crystals were grown using the mixture flux of Na3As + 3NaH + As at 3.0 GPa and 1473 K. The chemical composition analyses confirmed 10% substitution of hydrogen for the oxygen site (x = 0.10), however, the structural analyses suggested that the obtained crystal forms a multi-domain structure. By using the FIB technique we fabricated the single domain SmFeAsO0.9H0.10 crystal with the Tc of 42 K, and revealed the metallic conduction in in-plane (rhoab), while semiconducting in the out-of-plane (rhoc). From the in-plane Hall coefficient measurements, we confirmed that the dominant carrier of SmFeAsO0.9H0.10 crystal is an electron, and the hydride ion occupied at the site of the oxygen ion effectively supplies a carrier electron per iron following the equation: O2- = H- + e-.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

A large moment antiferromagnetic order in overdoped high-Tc superconductor 154SmFeAsO1-xDx

In iron-based superconductors, high critical temperature (Tc) superconductivity over 50 K has only been accomplished in electron-doped hREFeAsO (hRE = heavy rare earth (RE) element). While hREFeAsO has the highest bulk Tc (58 K), progress in understanding its physical properties has been relatively slow due to difficulties in achieving high concentration electron-doping and carrying out neutron-experiments. Here, we present a systematic neutron powder diffraction (NPD) study of 154SmFeAsO1-xDx, and the discovery of a new long-range antiferromagnetic ordering with x >= 0.56 (AFM2) accompanying a structural transition from tetragonal to orthorhombic. Surprisingly, the Fe magnetic moment in AFM2 reaches a magnitude of 2.73 muB/Fe, which is the largest in all non-doped iron pnictides and chalcogenides. Theoretical calculations suggest that the AFM2 phase originates in kinetic frustration of the Fe-3dxy orbital, in which the nearest neighbor hopping parameter becomes zero. The unique phase diagram, i. e., highest-Tc superconducting phase is adjacent to the strongly correlated phase in electron-overdoped regime, yields important clues to the unconventional origins of superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Heavy Electron doping-induced antiferromagnetic phase as the parent for iron-oxypnictide superconductor LaFeAsO1-xHx

We perform transport measurements and band structure calculations of electron-doped LaFeAsO1-xHx over a wide range of x from 0.01 to 0.66. The T^2 and sqrt(T) dependency of the resistivity are observed at x ~ 0.17 and 0.41, respectively. The sign change of RH without opening of the spin-density-wave gap for 0.45 < x < 0.58 and T < TN as well as the calculated non-nested Fermi surface at x = 0.5 indicate the more localized nature of the AF2 as compared to spin density wave phase at non-doped sample. Considering the results from band calculations and the finite size of Hund' s rule coupling, the change of the normal conducting state with x is reasonably explained by a strong depression of the coherent scale owing to the increased effective Coulomb repulsion in the narrow anti-bonding 3dxy band that approaches the half-filled regime. The following transition from the paramagnet to AF2 is understood as the quenching or ordering of the less-screened spins with a large entropy at low temperature. These results suggest that the normal conducting properties over a wide doping range for the LaFeAsO1-xHx are strongly influenced by the local spins in the incoherent region. Thus, we conclude that the parent phase in LaFeAsO1-xHx is not the spin-density wave but the AF2, which may be primarily responsible for the singular superconducting properties of the 1111 type compared with other iron pnictides.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Hydrogen-substituted superconductors SmFeAsO1-xHx misidentified as oxygen-deficient SmFeAsO1-x

We investigated the preferred electron dopants at the oxygen sites of 1111-type SmFeAsO by changing the atmospheres around the precursor with the composition of Sm:Fe:As:O = 1:1:1:1-x in high-pressure synthesis. Under H2O and H2 atmospheres, hydrogens derived from H2O or H2 molecules were introduced into the oxygen sites as a hydride ion, and SmFeAsO1-xHx was obtained. However, when the H2O and H2 sources were removed from the synthetic process, nearly stoichiometric SmFeAsO was obtained and the maximum amount of oxygen vacancies introduced remained x = 0.05(4). Density functional theory calculations indicated that substitution of hydrogen in the form of H- is more stable than the formation of an oxygen vacancy at the oxygen site of SmFeAsO. These results strongly imply that oxygen-deficient SmFeAsO1-x reported previously is SmFeAsO1-xHx with hydride ion incorporated unintentionally during high-pressure synthesis.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Superconductivity at 52 K in hydrogen-substituted LaFeAsO1-xHx under high pressure

The 1111-type iron-based superconductor LnFeAsO1-xFx (Ln stands for lanthanide) is the first material with a Tc above 50 K, other than cuprate superconductors. Electron doping into LaFeAsO by H, rather than F, revealed a double-dome-shaped Tc-x diagram, with a first dome (SC1, 0.05 50 K observed in RE-1111 compounds (RE: Pr, Sm, and Gd) at ambient pressure is the merging of SC1 and SC2.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Bipartite magnetic parent phases in the iron-oxypnictide superconductor

High-temperature (high-$T_{\rm c}$) superconductivity appears as a consequence of the carrier-doping of an undoped parent compound exhibiting antiferromagnetic order; thereby, ground-state properties of the parent compound are closely relevant to the superconducting state. On the basis of the concept, a spin-fluctuation has been addressed as an origin of pairing of the superconducting electrons in cuprates. Whereas, there is growing interest in the pairing mechanism such as an unconventional spin-fluctuation or an advanced orbital-fluctuation due to the characteristic multi-orbital system in iron-pnictides. Here, we report the discovery of an antiferromagnetic order as well as a unique structural transition in electron-overdoped LaFeAsO$_{1-x}$H$_x$ ($x$ ~ 0.5), whereby another parent phase was uncovered, albeit heavily doped. The unprecedented two-dome superconducting phases observed in this material can be interpreted as a consequence of the carrier-doping starting from the original at $x\sim0$ and advanced at $x\sim0.5$ parent phases toward the intermediate region. The bipartite parent phases with distinct physical properties in the second magnetic phase provide us with an interesting example to illustrate the intimate interplay among the magnetic interaction, structural change and orbital degree of freedom in iron-pnictides.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Controlling Factors of Tc-Dome Structure in 1111-Type Iron Arsenide Superconductors

We investigated the effects of phosphorus substitution on the shape of the Tc(x) dome in 1111-type SmFeAs1-yPyO1-xHx (0 < x < 0.5). Hydride ion substitution of oxide sites (O2- -> H-) exerts a chemical pressure effect, i.e., a structural reduction of the Pn-Fe-Pn angle {\alpha} (Pn = P, As) and also dopes electrons into the FePn layer to induce superconductivity. Isovalent phosphorus substitution (P3- -> As3-) can induce only a chemical pressure effect, i.e., an increase of {\alpha} for La-substitution of Sm-sites. As y increases from 0.0 to 0.5, the single Tc dome gradually splits into two domes, similar to those of LaFeAsO1-xHx with a Tc valley at x ~ 0.16. We found that the Tc valley is located around (x, {\alpha}) ~ (0.16, 113{\deg}) for both SmFeAs1-yPyO1-xHx and LaFeAsO1-xHx series, irrespective of changes in the Pn anion and Ln cation species. This result suggests that suppression of Tc leads to the emergence of a Tc valley when both the shape of FePn4 tetrahedra represented by {\alpha} and electron doping level of x meet the above criterion in 1111 type iron oxypnictide superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Model of the Electronic Structure of Electron-Doped Iron-Based Superconductors: Evidence for Enhanced Spin Fluctuations by Diagonal Electron Hopping

We present a theoretical understanding of the superconducting phase diagram of the electron-doped iron pnictides. We show that, besides the Fermi surface nesting, a peculiar motion of electrons, where the next nearest neighbor (diagonal) hoppings between iron sites dominate over the nearest neighbor ones, plays an important role in the enhancement of the spin fluctuation and thus superconductivity. In the highest $T_c$ materials, the crossover between the Fermi surface nesting and this "prioritized diagonal motion" regime occurs smoothly with doping, while in relatively low $T_c$ materials, the two regimes are separated and therefore results in a double dome $T_c$ phase diagram.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Switching of intra-orbital spin excitations in electron-doped iron pnictide superconductors

We investigate the doping dependence of the magnetic excitations in two-superconducting-dome-system LaFeAsO1-xDx. Using inelastic neutron scattering, spin fluctuations at different wavenumbers were observed under both superconducting domes around x = 0.1 and 0.4, but vanished at x = 0.2 corresponding to the Tc valley. Theoretical calculations indicate that the characteristic doping dependence of spin fluctuations is rationally explained as a consequence of the switching of the two intra-orbital nestings within Fe-3dYZ, ZX and 3dX2-Y2 by electron doping. The present results imply that the multi-orbital nature plays an important role in the doping and / or material dependence of the Tc of the iron pnictide superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2013

Robust spin fluctuations and $s\pm$ pairing in the heavily electron doped iron-based superconductors

We theoretically study the spin fluctuation and superconductivity in La1111 and Sm1111 iron-based superconductors for a wide range of electron doping. When we take into account the band structure variation by electron doping, the hole Fermi surface originating from the $d_{X^2-Y^2}$ orbital turns out to be robust against electron doping, and this gives rise to large spin fluctuations and consequently $s\pm$ pairing even in the heavily doped regime. The stable hole Fermi surface is larger for Sm1111 than for La1111, which can be considered as the origin of the apparent difference in the phase diagram.

cond-mat.supr-con↗