Pressure Tuning of Superconductivity of LaPt<sub>4</sub>Ge<sub>12</sub> and PrPt<sub>4</sub>Ge<sub>12</sub> Single Crystals

oleh: Gustavo A. Lombardi, Kamal Mydeen, Roman Gumeniuk, Andreas Leithe-Jasper, Walter Schnelle, Ricardo D. dos Reis, Michael Nicklas

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-04-01

Deskripsi

We carried out electrical resistivity and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies on the filled skutterudite superconductors LaPt<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>4</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Ge<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>12</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> and PrPt<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>4</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Ge<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>12</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> under hydrostatic pressure. The superconducting transition temperature <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mi>T</mi><mi>c</mi></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> is linearly suppressed upon increasing pressure, though the effect of pressure on <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mi>T</mi><mi>c</mi></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> is rather weak. From the analysis of the XRD data, we obtain bulk moduli of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>B</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>106</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> GPa and <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>B</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>83</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> GPa for LaPt<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>4</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Ge<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>12</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> and PrPt<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>4</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Ge<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>12</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>, respectively. The knowledge of the bulk modulus allows us to compare the dependence of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mi>T</mi><mi>c</mi></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> on the unit-cell volume from our pressure study directly with that found in the substitution series La<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo>−</mo><mi>x</mi></mrow></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Pr<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mi>x</mi></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Pt<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>4</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Ge<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>12</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>. We find that application of hydrostatic pressure can be characterized mainly as a volume effect in LaPt<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>4</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Ge<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>12</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> and PrPt<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>4</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Ge<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>12</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>, while substitution of Pr for La in La<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mrow><mn>1</mn><mo>−</mo><mi>x</mi></mrow></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Pr<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mi>x</mi></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Pt<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>4</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula>Ge<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msub><mrow></mrow><mn>12</mn></msub></semantics></math></inline-formula> yields features going beyond a simple picture.