Enhanced, homogeneously type-II superconductivity in Cu-intercalated PdTe2. (19th December 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vasdev, Aastha; Sirohi, Anshu; Hooda, M K; Yadav, C S; Sheet, Goutam
• Is Part Of: Journal of physics. Volume 32:Number 12(2020)
• Publication Date: 2019-12-19
• Subjects: superconductivity -- Dirac semimetal -- scanning tunneling microscopy (STS); Condensed matter -- Periodicals; Matière condensée -- Périodiques; Vaste stoffen; Vloeistoffen; Natuurkunde; Electronic journals; Computer network resources; 530.4105
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-648X/ab5ac4
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0953-8984

Abstract

Abstract: Though the superconducting phase of the type-II Dirac semimetal PdTe2 was shown to be conventional in nature, the phase continued to be interesting in terms of its magnetic properties. While certain experiments indicated an unexpected type-I superconducting phase, other experiments revealed formation of vortices under the application of magnetic fields. Recently, scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) experiments revealed the existence of a mixed phase where type-I and type-II behaviours coexist. Here, based on our temperature and magnetic field dependent STS experiments on Cu-intercalated PdTe2, we show that as the critical temperature of the superconducting phase goes up from 1.7 K to 2.4 K on Cu-intercalation, the mixed phase disappears and the system becomes homogeneously type-II. This may be attributed to an averaging effect caused by quasiparticle exchange between type-I and type-II domains mediated by the Cu atoms and to decreased coherence length due to increased disorder.