0000000000388049

AUTHOR

A. Zakharov

Transport anisotropy and of thin films

Abstract The resistivity R ( T ) of superconducting UNi 2 Al 3 thin films shows a pronounced dependence on the current direction. Specifically, the superconducting transition temperature T c is directional dependent as well as the influence of the magnetic ordering on the transport properties. Also the upper critical field B c 2 ( Θ , T ) is moderately influenced by the probe current direction. These anisotropies are discussed in the framework of multiband superconductivity. The initial slope of the upper critical field B c 2 ′ ( T ) provides evidence for a spin singlet state.

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Electronic properties of *-oriented thin films

Abstract To perform high precision measurements of the transport anisotropy, epitaxial, a *-oriented thin films of UPd 2 Al 3 have been prepared on LaAlO 3 (1 1 0) substrates. The critical temperature T c ≈ 1.75 K and the upper critical field B c 2 ≈ 3 T are comparable to typical bulk values. In contrast to UNi 2 Al 3 , we observed only a weak anisotropy in directional resistivity measurements, especially no dependence of the superconducting transition temperature on the direction of the applied current. Hall effect measurements show two characteristic minima at T = 16 K ≈ T N and T ≈ 6 K , which corresponds to features seen in earlier measurements on c *-oriented films.

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Preparation of thin films of the heavy fermion superconductor UNi2Al3

Abstract Thin films of the heavy fermion superconductor UNi 2 Al 3 were prepared by coevaporation of the elementary components in an MBE-system. We obtained textured (1 0 0)-oriented films of this hexagonal compound depositing on Al 2 O 3 substrates. Epitaxial growth was observed on (1 1 2)-oriented orthorhombical YAlO 3 substrates. However, due to pronounced strain the UNi 2 Al 3 (1 0 0)-axis is shortened by ≈2%. No superconductivity of the films was observed which can be associated with the high impurity concentration deduced from R ( T ) and XRD investigations.

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Anisotropic transport properties ofUNi2Al3thin films

Experimental results on the transport anisotropy in thin films of the heavy fermion superconductor $\mathrm{U}{\mathrm{Ni}}_{2}{\mathrm{Al}}_{3}$ are presented. They show that the eletronic transport in $\mathrm{U}{\mathrm{Ni}}_{2}{\mathrm{Al}}_{3}$ for different directions is strongly dominated by different sheets of the Fermi surface, and that the magnetic moments must be assigned to a cylindrical part around the $c$ axis. Founded on the findings about the Fermi surface, the dependence of the resistive superconducting transition temperature ${T}_{c}$ on the current direction in $\mathrm{U}{\mathrm{Ni}}_{2}{\mathrm{Al}}_{3}$ can be explained as the result of weakly coupled superconducting …

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Preparation of superconducting thin films of UNiAl

Abstract Epitaxial thin films of the unconventional heavy fermion superconductor UNi 2 Al 3 we prepared by coevaporation of the elementary components in a molecular beam epitaxy system (MBE). The phase purity and structural quality of the films deposited on (0 1 0)- or (1 1 2)-oriented YAlO 3 substrates were studied by X-ray diffraction and RHEED. The observed R ( T ) behavior is consistent with data obtained from bulk samples and proves the purity of the films. Superconductivity was found with transition temperature T c =0.97 K.

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Evidence for Multiband Superconductivity in the Heavy Fermion CompoundUNi2Al3

Epitaxial thin films of the heavy fermion superconductor UNi2Al3 with Tc(max)=0.98 K were investigated. The transition temperature Tc depends on the current direction which can be related to superconducting gaps opening at different temperatures. Also the influence of the magnetic ordering at TN approximately 5 K on R(T) is strongly anisotropic, indicating different coupling between the magnetic moments and itinerant charge carriers on the multisheeted Fermi surface. The upper critical field Hc2(T) suggests an unconventional spin-singlet superconducting state.

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