Superconductivity in In-doped AgSnBiTe3 with possible band inversion

Tsubasa Mitobe,Yosuke Goto,Md Riad Kasem,Ryosuke Kiyama,Tatsuma D Matsuda,Yoshikazu Mizuguchi,Aichi Yamashita,Takayoshi Katase,Hidetomo Usui,Ryuji Higashinaka,Kazuhisa Hoshi,Yuji Aoki

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-02341-9

Tsubasa Mitobe, Yosuke Goto + Show 10 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02341-9

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Abstract

We investigated the chemical pressure effects on structural and electronic properties of SnTe-based material using partial substitution of Sn by Ag0.5Bi0.5, which results in lattice shrinkage. For Sn1−2x(AgBi)xTe, single-phase polycrystalline samples were obtained with a wide range of x. On the basis of band calculations, we confirmed that the Sn1−2x(AgBi)xTe system is basically possessing band inversion and topologically preserved electronic states. To explore new superconducting phases related to the topological electronic states, we investigated the In-doping effects on structural and superconducting properties for x = 0.33 (AgSnBiTe3). For (AgSnBi)(1−y)/3InyTe, single-phase polycrystalline samples were obtained for y = 0–0.5 by high-pressure synthesis. Superconductivity was observed for y = 0.2–0.5. For y = 0.4, the transition temperature estimated from zero-resistivity state was 2.4 K, and the specific heat investigation confirmed the emergence of bulk superconductivity. Because the presence of band inversion was theoretically predicted, and the parameters obtained from specific heat analyses were comparable to In-doped SnTe, we expect that the (AgSnBi)(1−y)/3InyTe and other (Ag, In, Sn, Bi)Te phases are candidate systems for studying topological superconductivity.

Highlights

Powders or grains of Ag (99.9% up), Sn (99.99%), Bi (99.999%), In (99.99%), and Te (99.999%) were mixed and melted in an evacuated quartz tube at 900 °C for 10 h, followed by furnace cooling to room temperature
The phase purity and the crystal structure of Sn1−2x(AgBi)xTe and (AgSnBi)(1−y)/3InyTe were examined by laboratory X-ray diffraction (XRD) by the θ–2θ method with a Cu–Kα radiation on a MiniFlex[600] (RIGAKU) diffractometer equipped with a high-resolution detector D/tex Ultra
The temperature dependence of electrical resistivity was measured by a four-probe method with an applied DC current of 1 mA on PPMS (Quantum Design) under magnetic fields

Summary

Introduction

Polycrystalline samples of S n1−2x(AgBi)xTe (x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.33, 0.35, 0.40, 0.45) and (AgSnBi)(1−y)/3InyTe (y = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5) were prepared by a melting method in an evacuated quartz tube. Powders or grains of Ag (99.9% up), Sn (99.99%), Bi (99.999%), In (99.99%), and Te (99.999%) were mixed and melted in an evacuated quartz tube at 900 °C for 10 h, followed by furnace cooling to room temperature. Under 2 GPa at 500 °C for 30 min.

Results

Conclusion