Work

Type-II superconductivity in the Dirac semimetal PdTe 2

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: We report on the microscopic superconducting properties of the Dirac semimetal ${\mathrm{PdTe}}_{2}$. In this study, we have focused on mosaic crystals of ${\mathrm{PdTe}}_{2}$, and used detailed zero-field and transverse-field muon-spin relaxation/rotation $(\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{SR})$, ac-magnetic susceptibility, and resistivity measurements to investigate their superconducting properties. The magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal two superconducting transition temperatures at 1.8 and 1.6 K, respectively, in agreement with earlier reports. In contrary to these reports, we find that these mosaic ${\mathrm{PdTe}}_{2}$ crystals are not type-I, but rather type-II superconductors. In fact, we observe the clear manifestation of a flux-line lattice through a clear diamagnetic shift and Gaussian broadening of the Fourier spectra in the superconducting state. This behavior is likely caused by the disorder in the mosaic crystals of ${\mathrm{PdTe}}_{2}$ studied here. Our analysis of the superconducting order parameter by the means of temperature-dependent magnetic penetration depth $\ensuremath{\lambda}(T)$ reveals a fully gapped superconducting state that can be well-fitted using an $s$-wave symmetric gap. We find that ${\mathrm{PdTe}}_{2}$ is a promising model system for the investigation and interplay of nontrivial topology, surface superconductivity, and type-II bulk superconductivity in a van der Waals material. Moreover, our results indicate that the superconductivity in this material can be easily modified from type-I to type-II by disorder in the system.

Source: Physical review. B./Physical review. B

DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.109.134507

Authors: Ritu Gupta, Catherine Witteveen, Debarchan Das, Fabian O. von Rohr, Rustem Khasanov

Institutions: University of Geneva, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Paul Scherrer Institute, University of Zurich

Language: Latvian

Topic: Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism

Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Paul Scherrer Institut, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar

Awards: Discovery of Topological Superconductivity by Combining Physical and Chemical Design Principles, Novel Magnetic and Topological 2D Materials (MAGICAL 2D), G2341168950, Charge Density Wave and Superconductivity: Investigation on the Coexistence, Coupling and Competition of the Two Ground States, G993971353