${}^{77}\mathrm{Se}$ NMR investigation of the ${\mathrm{K}}_x$ Fe ${}_{2-y}$ Se ${}_2$ high- $T_c$ superconductor ( $T_c=33$ K)

Journal Article · Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 2011 · Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.83.104508· OSTI ID:1385538

Torchetti, D. A.; Fu, M.; Christensen, D. C.; Nelson, K. J.; Imai, T.; Lei, H. C.; Petrovic, C.

We report comprehensive 77 Se NMR measurements on a single crystalline sample of the recently discovered FeSe-based high-temperature superconductor K x Fe 2 - y Se 2 ( T c = 33 K) in a broad temperature range up to 290 K. Despite deviations from the stoichiometric KFe 2 Se 2 composition, we observed 77 Se NMR line shapes as narrow as 4.5 kHz under a magnetic field applied along the crystal c axis, and found no evidence for co-existence of magnetic order with superconductivity. On the other hand, the 77 Se NMR line shape splits into two peaks with equal intensities at all temperatures when we apply the magnetic field along the ab plane. This suggests that K vacancies may have a superstructure and that the local symmetry of the Se sites is lower than the tetragonal fourfold symmetry of the average structure. This effect might be a prerequisite for stabilizing the s ± symmetry of superconductivity in the absence of the hole bands at the Brillouin zone center. From the increase of NMR linewidth below T c induced by the Abrikosov lattice of superconducting vortices, we estimate the in-plane penetration depth λ ab ~ 290 nm and the carrier concentration n e ~ 1 × 10 + 21 cm - 3 . Our Knight shift 77 K data indicate that the uniform spin susceptibility decreases progressively with temperature, in analogy with the case of FeSe ( T c ~ 9 K) as well as other FeAs high- T c systems. The strong suppression of 77 K observed immediately below T c for all crystal orientations is consistent with a singlet pairing of Cooper pairs. We do not however observe the Hebel-Slichter coherence peak of the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1 / T 1 immediately below T c , expected for conventional BCS s-wave superconductors. In contrast with the case of FeSe, we do not observe evidence for an enhancement of low-frequency antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations near T c in 1 / T 1 T . Instead, 1 / T 1 T exhibits qualitatively the same behavior as overdoped non-superconducting Ba(Fe 1 - x Co x ) 2 As 2 with x ~ 0 . 14 or greater, where hole bands are missing in the Brillouin zone center. We will discuss the implications of our results on the unknown mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity in FeSe and FeAs systems.

• Research Organization: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Emergent Superconductivity (CES)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-98CH10886
• OSTI ID: 1385538
• Journal Information: Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Vol. 83, Issue 10; Related Information: CES partners with Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Argonne National Laboratory; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Los Alamos National Laboratory; ISSN 1098-0121
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
phonons
thermal conductivity
energy storage (including batteries and capacitors)
superconductivity
defects
spin dynamics