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{mu}{sup +} SR studies of magnetic properties of boron carbide superconductors

Conference ·
OSTI ID:10163073
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  1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
  2. Rijksuniversiteit Leiden (Netherlands). Kamerlingh Onnes Lab.
  3. Ames Lab., IA (United States)
  4. Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)
  5. California Univ., Riverside, CA (United States)

Positive-muon spin rotation ({mu}{sup +}SR) has been carried out in the recently discovered rare-earth boron carbide superconductors RNi{sub 2}B{sub 2}C, R = Ho, Er and Tm. For R = Ho and Er zero-field {mu}{sup +}SR measurements showed a well-defined internal field below the Neel temperatures (TN {approx} 5.5 K) coexisting with the superconducting state down to 0.1 K. The observed temperature dependence of the order parameter in R = Ho is consistent with a 2-dimensional Ising model. For R = Tm a spontaneous internal field appears above 30 K, whose magnitude saturates below about 3 K at a value corresponding to a rare earth moment much smaller than for Ho and Er. Transverse-field {mu}{sup +}SR measurements in R = Tm showed a superconducting penetration depth A = 1,200 {Angstrom}. The temperature dependence of {lambda} is consistent with conventional s-wave pairing.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
10163073
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--94-1965; CONF-940863--2; ON: DE94014440
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English