Superconductivity in diamond

Diamond is an electrical insulator well known for its exceptional hardness. It also conducts heat even more effectively than copper, and can withstand very high electric fields. With these physical properties, diamond is attractive for electronic applications, particularly when charge carriers are introduced (by chemical doping) into the system. Boron has one less electron than carbon and, because of its small atomic radius, boron is relatively easily incorporated into diamond; as boron acts as a charge acceptor, the resulting diamond is effectively hole-doped. Here we report the discovery of superconductivity in boron-doped diamond synthesized at high pressure (nearly 100,000 atmospheres) and temperature (2,500-2,800 K). Electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and field-dependent resistance measurements show that boron-doped diamond is a bulk, type-II superconductor below the superconducting transition temperature T(c) approximately 4 K; superconductivity survives in a magnetic field up to Hc2(0) > or = 3.5 T. The discovery of superconductivity in diamond-structured carbon suggests that Si and Ge, which also form in the diamond structure, may similarly exhibit superconductivity under the appropriate conditions.     

Superconductivity in doped cubic silicon

Although the local resistivity of semiconducting silicon in its standard crystalline form can be changed by many orders of magnitude by doping with elements, superconductivity has so far never been achieved. Hybrid devices combining silicon's semiconducting properties and superconductivity have therefore remained largely underdeveloped. Here we report that superconductivity can be induced when boron is locally introduced into silicon at concentrations above its equilibrium solubility. For sufficiently high boron doping (typically 100 p.p.m.) silicon becomes metallic. We find that at a higher boron concentration of several per cent, achieved by gas immersion laser doping, silicon becomes superconducting. Electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements show that boron-doped silicon (Si:B) made in this way is a superconductor below a transition temperature T(c) approximately 0.35 K, with a critical field of about 0.4 T. Ab initio calculations, corroborated by Raman measurements, strongly suggest that doping is substitutional. The calculated electron-phonon coupling strength is found to be consistent with a conventional phonon-mediated coupling mechanism. Our findings will facilitate the fabrication of new silicon-based superconducting nanostructures and mesoscopic devices with high-quality interfaces.     

Fluctuating superconductivity in organic molecular metals close to the Mott transition

On cooling through the transition temperature T(c) of a conventional superconductor, an energy gap develops as the normal-state charge carriers form Cooper pairs; these pairs form a phase-coherent condensate that exhibits the well-known signatures of superconductivity: zero resistivity and the expulsion of magnetic flux (the Meissner effect). However, in many unconventional superconductors, the formation of the energy gap is not coincident with the formation of the phase-coherent superfluid. Instead, at temperatures above the critical temperature a range of unusual properties, collectively known as 'pseudogap phenomena', are observed. Here we argue that a key pseudogap phenomenon-fluctuating superconductivity occurring substantially above the transition temperature-could be induced by the proximity of a Mott-insulating state. The Mott-insulating state in the kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2X organic molecular metals can be tuned, without doping, through superconductivity into a normal metallic state as a function of the parameter t/U, where t is the tight-binding transfer integral characterizing the metallic bandwidth and U is the on-site Coulomb repulsion. By exploiting a particularly sensitive probe of superconducting fluctuations, the vortex-Nernst effect, we find that a fluctuating regime develops as t/U decreases and the role of Coulomb correlations increases.     

Gate-induced superconductivity in a solution-processed organic polymer film

The electrical and optical properties of conjugated polymers have received considerable attention in the context of potentially low-cost replacements for conventional metals and inorganic semiconductors. Charge transport in these organic materials has been characterized in both the doped-metallic and the semiconducting state, but superconductivity has not hitherto been observed in these polymers. Here we report a distinct metal-insulator transition and metallic levels of conductivity in a polymer field-effect transistor. The active material is solution-cast regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene), which forms relatively well ordered films owing to self-organization, and which yields a high charge carrier mobility (0.05-0.1 cm2 V(-1) s(-1)) at room temperature. At temperatures below approximately 2.35 K with sheet carrier densities exceeding 2.5 x 10(14) cm(-2), the polythiophene film becomes superconducting. The appearance of superconductivity seems to be closely related to the self-assembly properties of the polymer, as the introduction of additional disorder is found to suppress superconductivity. Our findings therefore demonstrate the feasibility of tuning the electrical properties of conjugated polymers over the largest range possible-from insulating to superconducting.     

The origin of multiple superconducting gaps in MgB2

Magnesium diboride, MgB2, has the highest transition temperature (T(c) = 39 K) of the known metallic superconductors. Whether the anomalously high T(c) can be described within the conventional BCS (Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer) framework has been debated. The key to understanding superconductivity lies with the 'superconducting energy gap' associated with the formation of the superconducting pairs. Recently, the existence of two kinds of superconducting gaps in MgB2 has been suggested by several experiments; this is in contrast to both conventional and high-T(c) superconductors. A clear demonstration of two gaps has not yet been made because the previous experiments lacked the ability to resolve the momentum of the superconducting electrons. Here we report direct experimental evidence for the two-band superconductivity in MgB2, by separately observing the superconducting gaps of the sigma and pi bands (as well as a surface band). The gaps have distinctly different sizes, which unambiguously establishes MgB2 as a two-gap superconductor.     

Cr元素掺杂碳化硅导致铁磁性的第一性原理研究

基于第一性原理研究了Cr元素掺杂3C-SiC的电子结构和磁性,揭示了Cr元素掺杂3C-SiC的磁矩形成以及铁磁耦合的微观物理机制,发现同时引入N元素后Cr元素掺杂3C-SiC的形成能大幅降低,并对其形成能降低的机理进行了系统的讨论,给出了合理的解释,在过渡金属掺杂时引入N元素能够显著地降低磁性杂质的形成能。     

V掺杂AlN的电子结构和铁磁性质研究

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理平面波赝势方法,对V掺杂AlN的电子结构和铁磁性质进行了研究.结果表明,V掺杂后,由于V 3d与N 2p轨道杂化在半导体能隙中产生自旋极化杂质带,材料表现出半金属铁磁性,其磁矩主要来自以V原子为中心的VN4四面体.另外,通过对V掺杂AlN的铁磁稳定性的研究发现,V原子之间为铁磁耦合时体系处于稳定的基态,并且有围绕N原子形成团簇的趋势,随着V原子间距离的增加,体系FM和AFM态的能量将趋于简并.     

同主族C-Si共掺杂TiO2可见光区光催化性能的第一性原理计算

本文利用密度泛函理论（DFT）第一性原理平面波超软赝方法对C-Si共掺杂TiO2电子结构、差分电荷密度和光学特性进行了研究,计算结果表明,共掺杂能明显降低体系的带隙(约为1.7eV)。能有效增加其光催化活性;从总态密度图可以得到,费米能级附近的杂质态降低了载波跃迁能。C-Si的共掺杂能有效提高其在可见光区域的吸收系数,特别是在三种不同的构型中,第三构型在可见光区域具有最大吸收系数。     

第一性原理计算Zr/S共掺杂锐钛矿相TiO_2的电子结构

利用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理平面波赝势方法对Zr/S共掺杂锐钛矿相TiO2的晶格参数、电荷布居、能带结构、电子分态密度和吸收光谱进行了计算.计算结果表明:Zr/S共掺杂导致锐钛矿相TiO2的晶格畸变使其体积变大,共掺杂时Zr和S的电荷布居数与单掺杂前的布居数略有不同;Zr/S共掺杂还导致锐钛矿相TiO2的禁带宽度变大0.1eV,达到2.30eV,但是由于Zr/S共掺杂在TiO2禁带之内引入了杂质能级,这些杂质能级可以作为电子跃迁的"台阶"而降低电子从价带跃迁到导带所需的激发光子能量,这有可能是实验上制备的Zr/S共掺杂TiO2具有较高光催化活性的内在原因.     

掺杂和应变对硅纳米线电子结构与光学性质的调制影响

为了研究掺杂和应变对[111]晶向硅纳米线的电子结构与光学性质的调制影响,基于密度泛函理论体系下的广义梯度近似(general gradient approximation,GGA),采用第一性原理方法开展了相关计算。能带计算表明：空位掺杂和元素掺杂均引入杂质能级,形成了N型和P型半导体材料。单轴应变则进一步减小了带隙,增强了掺杂硅纳米线的导电性,但由于应变也修饰了费米面附近能级的形貌,能带曲率突变影响了体系的导电性能。光学性质计算表明：相比于空位掺杂,元素掺杂更有效地改变了SiNWs的介电函数、吸收系数、折射率与反射率等光学参数,而单轴应变则削弱了元素掺杂的影响。拉应变提升了光吸收的范围和强度,尤其是可见光波段,使掺杂硅纳米线成为优质光伏材料,压应变则降低了对紫外光波段的吸收效率。在紫外区域,拉应变和压应变对掺杂硅纳米线的折射率与反射率的影响相反,在红外和可见光区域影响则一致。本文研究结果为基于应变和掺杂硅纳米线的光电器件设计与应用提供一定的理论参考。     

Crystallization of charge holes in the spin ladder of Sr14Cu24O41

Determining the nature of the electronic phases that compete with superconductivity in high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductors is one of the deepest problems in condensed matter physics. One candidate is the 'stripe' phase, in which the charge carriers (holes) condense into rivers of charge that separate regions of antiferromagnetism. A related but lesser known system is the 'spin ladder', which consists of two coupled chains of magnetic ions forming an array of rungs. A doped ladder can be thought of as a high-T(c) material with lower dimensionality, and has been predicted to exhibit both superconductivity and an insulating 'hole crystal' phase in which the carriers are localized through many-body interactions. The competition between the two resembles that believed to operate between stripes and superconductivity in high-T(c) materials. Here we report the existence of a hole crystal in the doped spin ladder of Sr14Cu24O41 using a resonant X-ray scattering technique. This phase exists without a detectable distortion in the structural lattice, indicating that it arises from many-body electronic effects. Our measurements confirm theoretical predictions, and support the picture that proximity to charge ordered states is a general property of superconductivity in copper oxides.     

Closing the spin gap in the Kondo insulator Ce3Bi4Pt3 at high magnetic fields

Kondo insulator materials--such as CeRhAs, CeRhSb, YbB12, Ce3Bi4Pt3 and SmB6--are 3d, 4f and 5f intermetallic compounds that have attracted considerable interest in recent years. At high temperatures, they behave like metals. But as temperature is reduced, an energy gap opens in the conduction band at the Fermi energy and the materials become insulating. This contrasts with other f-electron compounds, which are metallic at all temperatures. The formation of the gap in Kondo insulators has been proposed to be a consequence of hybridization between the conduction band and the f-electron levels, giving a 'spin' gap. If this is indeed the case, metallic behaviour should be recovered when the gap is closed by changing external parameters, such as magnetic field or pressure. Some experimental evidence suggests that the gap can be closed in SmB6 (refs 5, 8) and YbB12 (ref. 9). Here we present specific-heat measurements of Ce3Bi4Pt3 in d.c. and pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 tesla. Numerical results and the analysis of our data using the Coqblin-Schrieffer model demonstrate unambiguously a field-induced insulator-to-metal transition.     

过渡金属M(V,Cr,Mn)掺杂ZnS的电子结构和光学性质

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理赝势平面波方法,对ZnS和掺杂过渡金属V,Cr,Mn的ZnS超晶胞结构进行结构优化,计算了掺杂前后的电子结构和光学性质,对结果进行了比较分析.结果表明:掺杂系统在费米能级附近出现了不对称的现象,这部分的态密度主要由过渡金属的3d态贡献;ZnS和掺杂过渡金属V,Cr,Mn的ZnS系统的光学性质在低能区域有较大的差异,与ZnS相比,掺杂系统的吸收边发生红移.     

Imaging the granular structure of high-Tc superconductivity in underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta.

Granular superconductivity occurs when microscopic superconducting grains are separated by non-superconducting regions; Josephson tunnelling between the grains establishes the macroscopic superconducting state. Although crystals of the copper oxide high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors are not granular in a structural sense, theory suggests that at low levels of hole doping the holes can become concentrated at certain locations resulting in hole-rich superconducting domains. Granular superconductivity arising from tunnelling between such domains would represent a new view of the underdoped copper oxide superconductors. Here we report scanning tunnelling microscope studies of underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta that reveal an apparent segregation of the electronic structure into superconducting domains that are approximately 3 nm in size (and local energy gap <50 meV), located in an electronically distinct background. We used scattering resonances at Ni impurity atoms as 'markers' for local superconductivity; no Ni resonances were detected in any region where the local energy gap Delta > 50 +/- 2.5 meV. These observations suggest that underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta is a mixture of two different short-range electronic orders with the long-range characteristics of a granular superconductor.     

Plutonium-based superconductivity with a transition temperature above 18 K

Plutonium is a metal of both technological relevance and fundamental scientific interest. Nevertheless, the electronic structure of plutonium, which directly influences its metallurgical properties, is poorly understood. For example, plutonium's 5f electrons are poised on the border between localized and itinerant, and their theoretical treatment pushes the limits of current electronic structure calculations. Here we extend the range of complexity exhibited by plutonium with the discovery of superconductivity in PuCoGa5. We argue that the observed superconductivity results directly from plutonium's anomalous electronic properties and as such serves as a bridge between two classes of spin-fluctuation-mediated superconductors: the known heavy-fermion superconductors and the high-T(c) copper oxides. We suggest that the mechanism of superconductivity is unconventional; seen in that context, the fact that the transition temperature, T(c) approximately 18.5 K, is an order of magnitude greater than the maximum seen in the U- and Ce-based heavy-fermion systems may be natural. The large critical current displayed by PuCoGa5, which comes from radiation-induced self damage that creates pinning centres, would be of technological importance for applied superconductivity if the hazardous material plutonium were not a constituent.     

Interplay of magnetism and high-Tc superconductivity at individual Ni impurity atoms in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta.

Magnetic interactions and magnetic impurities are destructive to superconductivity in conventional superconductors. By contrast, in some unconventional macroscopic quantum systems (such as superfluid 3He and superconducting UGe2), the superconductivity (or superfluidity) is actually mediated by magnetic interactions. A magnetic mechanism has also been proposed for high-temperature superconductivity. Within this context, the fact that magnetic Ni impurity atoms have a weaker effect on superconductivity than non-magnetic Zn atoms in the high-Tc superconductors has been put forward as evidence supporting a magnetic mechanism. Here we use scanning tunnelling microscopy to determine directly the influence of individual Ni atoms on the local electronic structure of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta. At each Ni site we observe two d-wave impurity states of apparently opposite spin polarization, whose existence indicates that Ni retains a magnetic moment in the superconducting state. However, analysis of the impurity-state energies shows that quasiparticle scattering at Ni is predominantly non-magnetic. Furthermore, we show that the superconducting energy gap and correlations are unimpaired at Ni. This is in strong contrast to the effects of non-magnetic Zn impurities, which locally destroy superconductivity. These results are consistent with predictions for impurity atom phenomena derived from a magnetic mechanism.     

Electronic structure of edge dislocation of core-doped Ti in Fe

The electronic structure of an edge dislocation doped Ti lying in the (001) plane with Burgers Vector along [100] direction in body-centered cubic iron is investigated using the first principles discrete variational method (DVM) based on the density-functional theory. The binding energy, impurity formation energy, interatomic energy, Mulliken orbital populations and charge density difference are presented in this paper. By calculating the binding energy of the clean dislocation system and the Ti-doped system, it is found that the binding energy of Ti-doped dislocation system is lower than that of the clean dislocation system, which implies that the Ti-doped dislocation system is more stable than the clean dislocation system. The calculated result of the impurity formation energy predicts the trapping effect of dislocation core for Ti, which shows that Ti atom prefers to occupy the place at the dislocation core. The calculated results of the interatomic energy and the difference charge density of dislocation doped Ti system indicate that the stronger bonding formed between the Ti impurity and its neighbor Fe atoms will affect the mechanical property of edge dislocation. Considering the influence of Ti on the electronic structure and the energies, we can predict that the trace Ti in transition metal Fe with dislocation defect can give a significant contribution to the solid solution hardening effects and will influence the mechanical property of materials.     

稀土（Sc, Y, La）掺杂CdS光电性质的第一性原理研究

采用第一性原理赝势平面波方法对CdS掺杂稀土元素(Sc、Y、La)的光电性质进行了计算与分析.计算结果表明:Sc、Y、La掺杂后,CdS的晶格常数增大,晶胞体积也相应增大.Sc、Y、La置换Cd导致费米面进入导带中,禁带宽度有所增大,导电类型变为n型,说明稀土Sc、Y、La是n型掺杂剂.稀土原子Sc、Y、La在费米能级处提供了额外的载流电子,对CdS的电子结构起到了改善作用.稀土原子的引入,增强了稀土原子与相邻S原子的相互作用,且稀土原子与S成键都有很高的共价性.稀土掺杂后CdS的静态介电常数、吸收系数和反射率都明显降低,表明其导电性和光的透过率增强.以上结果说明稀土元素的掺入能有效调制CdS的光电性质.     

Cu掺杂ZnS纳米线结构和磁性质

本文采用第一性原理密度泛函理论系统地研究了Cu原子掺杂ZnS纳米线的结构、电子性质和磁性质.所有掺杂纳米线的形成能比纯纳米线的形成能低,说明掺杂过程是放热的.并且Cu原子趋于替代纳米线的表面的Zn原子.电子结构显示Cu掺杂纳米线是半金属铁磁半导体材料,在自旋电子学方面有重要应用.     

铜掺杂纳米氧化锌薄膜的制备及光学特性

氧化锌（ZnO）是一种新型稀磁半导体材料,有优良的磁学及光学性质,透明度高,常温发光性能优异.根据半导体掺杂原理,以氧化锌为原料,过渡金属元素铜为掺杂元素,采用化学气相沉积法（CVD）,制备了铜掺杂纳米氧化锌薄膜.利用晶向显微镜观察ZnO：Cu在衬底硅片上的表面形貌和生长情况,利用光致发光谱和分光光度计分析了样品的光发射和光吸收特性,研究了薄膜的伏安特性.发现铜掺杂对氧化锌薄膜的光吸收和光发射以及表面伏安特性都有很大的影响.随铜掺杂含量的增加,光吸收强度明显增大,光发射峰更加丰富.适当掺杂量的情况下,电流明显增大,但掺杂量太大,会引入缺陷和晶界,反而会使漏电流增大.10％-20％掺杂量为比较理想的掺杂量.