Superconducting (Ba,K)Fe2As2 epitaxial films on single and bicrystal SrTiO3 substrates

Qin, Dongyi; Guo, Zimeng; Tarantini, Chiara; Hata, Satoshi; Naito, Michio; Yamamoto, Akiyasu

doi:10.1063/5.0233645

Superconducting (Ba,K)Fe₂As₂ epitaxial films on single and bicrystal SrTiO₃ substrates

Journal Article · Thu Oct 31 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0233645· OSTI ID:2475459

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Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (Japan)
Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan)
Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL (United States)
Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan); JST CREST, Saitama (Japan)
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (Japan); JST CREST, Saitama (Japan)

The realization of single crystal and bicrystal films of superconducting materials is of great interest because they allow the investigation of the intragrain performance as well as the understanding of potential limitations in the grain boundary transparency. For many years, the realization of a high-quality (Ba,K)Fe₂As₂ film has been challenging. Here, the realization of (Ba,K)Fe₂As₂ epitaxial thin films on single crystal SrTiO₃(001) and [001]-tilt-type SrTiO₃ bicrystal substrates with high superconducting properties is demonstrated. The epitaxial growth of (Ba,K)Fe₂As₂ was enabled by implementing an undoped BaFe₂As₂ buffer layer between the SrTiO₃ substrate and (Ba,K)Fe₂As₂ film. The film exhibits a high T_c of 38.0 K and an extremely high J_c of 14.3 MA/cm² at 4.2 K. Artificial grain boundaries of (Ba,K)Fe₂As₂ were also successfully achieved on bicrystals with misorientation angles up to 36.8° by the same preparation methods. The artificial grain boundaries exhibited an identical T_c of 38.0 K and an excellent transfer of the grain orientation from the bicrystal substrates with high crystallinity comparable to that of the high-quality Ba(Fe,Co)₂As₂ films. Furthermore, this enables the investigation of the intrinsic (Ba,K)Fe₂As₂ grain boundary nature, which will clarify its potential for superconducting applications, like Josephson junctions, wires, and magnets.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0018750

OSTI ID:: 2475459

Journal Information:: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 18 Vol. 125; ISSN 0003-6951

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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