English

Disorder-broadened phase boundary with enhanced amorphous superconductivity in pressurized In2Te5

Superconductivity 2024-05-13 v1 Materials Science Strongly Correlated Electrons

Abstract

As an empirical tool in materials science and engineering, the iconic phase diagram owes its robustness and practicality to the topological characteristics rooted in the celebrated Gibbs phase law (F = C - P + 2). When crossing the phase diagram boundary, the structure transition occurs abruptly, bringing about an instantaneous change in physical properties and limited controllability on the boundaries (F = 1). Here, we expand the sharp phase boundary to an amorphous transition region (F = 2) by partially disrupting the long-range translational symmetry, leading to a sequential crystalline-amorphous-crystalline (CAC) transition in a pressurized In2Te5 single crystal. Through detailed in-situ synchrotron diffraction, we elucidate that the phase transition stems from the rotation of immobile blocks [In2Te2]2+, linked by hinge-like [Te3]2- trimers. Remarkably, within the amorphous region, the amorphous phase demonstrates a notable 25 % increase of the superconducting transition temperature (Tc), while the carrier concentration remains relatively constant. Furthermore, we propose a theoretical framework revealing that the unconventional boost in amorphous superconductivity might be attributed to an intensified electron correlation, triggered by a disorder-augmented multifractal behavior. These findings underscore the potential of disorder and prompt further exploration of unforeseen phenomena on the phase boundaries.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2405.06449,
  title  = {Disorder-broadened phase boundary with enhanced amorphous superconductivity in pressurized In2Te5},
  author = {Yi Zhao and Tianping Ying and Lingxiao Zhao and Juefei Wu and Cuiying Pei and Jing Chen and Jun Deng and Qinghua Zhang and Lin Gu and Qi Wang and Weizheng Cao and Changhua Li and Shihao Zhu and Mingxin Zhang and Na Yu and Lili Zhang and Yulin Chen and Chui-Zhen Chen and Tongxu Yu and Yanpeng Qi},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.06449},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

14 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in Advanced Materials