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From (π,0) magnetic order to superconductivity with (π,π) magnetic resonance in Fe1.02Te1−xSex

Nature Materials volume 9, pages 718–720 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

The iron chalcogenide Fe1+y(Te1−xSex) is structurally the simplest of the Fe-based superconductors1,2,3. Although the Fermi surface is similar to iron pnictides4,5, the parent compoundFe1+yTe exhibits antiferromagnetic order with an in-plane magnetic wave vector (π,0) (ref. 6). This contrasts the pnictide parent compounds where the magnetic order has an in-plane magnetic wave vector (π,π) that connects hole and electron parts of the Fermi surface7,8. Despite these differences, both the pnictide and chalcogenide Fe superconductors exhibit a superconducting spin resonance around (π,π) (refs 9, 10, 11). A central question in this burgeoning field is therefore how (π,π) superconductivity can emerge from a (π,0) magnetic instability12. Here, we report that the magnetic soft mode evolving from the (π,0)-type magnetic long-range order is associated with weak charge carrier localization. Bulk superconductivity occurs as magnetic correlations at (π,0) are suppressed and the mode at (π, π) becomes dominant for x>0.29. Our results suggest a common magnetic origin for superconductivity in iron chalcogenide and pnictide superconductors.

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Figure 1: Magnetic and superconducting properties of Fe1.02(Te1−xSex) (0≤x<0.5).
Figure 2: Evolution of the long-range AFM order and Fermi-surface variation across the AFM transition in Fe1.02(Te1−xSex).
Figure 3: Evolution of superconductivity as a function of Se content for Fe1.02(Te1−xSex).
Figure 4: Difference of microscopic magnetic properties between samples with and without bulk superconductivity.

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Acknowledgements

The work at Tulane is supported by the NSF under grant DMR-0645305 for materials and equipment, and the DOE under DE-FG02-07ER46358 for personnel. Work at AMRI was supported by DARPA through grant HR 0011-09-1-0047. Work at NIST is in part supported by the NSF under grant DMR-0454672. Work at the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Quantum Matter is supported by the DOE under grant DE-FG02-08ER46544. D.N.A. and K.P. acknowledge the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for support under the priority program SPP 1458 and contract AR 613/1-2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, USA

    T. J. Liu, J. Hu, B. Qian, D. Fobes & Z. Q. Mao

  2. Department of Physics, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China

    W. Bao

  3. Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialen und Energie, Hahn-Meitner Platz 1, D-14109 Berlin, Germany

    M. Reehuis, S. A. J. Kimber, K. Prokeš, S. Matas & D. N. Argyriou

  4. Institut Max von Laue-Paul Langevin, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, BP 156, F-38042, Grenoble Cedex 9, France

    A. Hiess

  5. Advanced Materials Research Institute and Department of Physics, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, USA

    A. Rotaru, H. Pham & L. Spinu

  6. NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA

    Y. Qiu, J. A. Rodriguez & C. Broholm

  7. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20899, USA

    Y. Qiu & J. A. Rodriguez

  8. Institute for Quantum Matter and Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA

    V. Thampy, A. T. Savici, J. A. Rodriguez & C. Broholm

  9. NSSD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA

    A. T. Savici

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  1. T. J. Liu
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Contributions

T.J.L, J.H., B.Q., D.F. and Z.Q.M. carried out sample growth, transport property and specific heat measurements (T.J.L and J.H. contributed equally). Neutron scattering measurements were carried out by W.B., M.R., S.A.J.K., K.P., S.M., D.N.A., A.H., Y.Q., V.T., A.T.S., J.A.R. and C.B. Magnetic susceptibility was measured by A.R., H.P. and L.S.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Z. Q. Mao or W. Bao.

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Liu, T., Hu, J., Qian, B. et al. From (π,0) magnetic order to superconductivity with (π,π) magnetic resonance in Fe1.02Te1−xSex. Nature Mater 9, 718–720 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2800

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