Transport properties of Pb-doped Bi4Sr3Ca3Cu4Ox semiconducting glasses and glass-ceramic superconductors

Abstract

Electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power (TEP) of the as-quenched and annealed (at 500 °C for 10 h and 840 °C for 24 h) Bi4−nPbnSr3Ca3Cu4Ox (x=0−1.0) glasses have been measured. The dc conductivity data of the as-quenched and the partially annealed (at 500 °C) glasses can be explained by considering the small-polaron hopping conduction mechanism which is found to change from the nonadiabatic to the adiabatic regime with annealing the glasses at 500 °C. This change over is due to the presence of microcrystals in the partially annealed glasses as observed from x-ray-diffraction and scanning electron microscopic studies. This adiabatic behavior is also visualized even for some as-quenched glasses having a very small amount of the more conducting microcrystalline phase. All the 840 °C annealed glasses are superconductors with Tc between 110 and 115 K. The Seebeck coefficient (S) of the partially annealed glass system is found to be positive and increases linearly with temperature. The S values of the corresponding glass-ceramic superconductors showing broad peaks around Tc. A change over in the values of S from positive (below ∼290 K) to negative (above ∼290 K) indicates the coexistence of both electrons and holes in these superconductors. The TEP data can be fitted with both the two-band model of Forro et al. [Solid State Commun. 73, 501 (1990)] and the Nagaosa-Lee model [Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 2450 (1990)]. Therefore, the bosonic contribution in the transport properties of these superconductors, as suggested by the Nagaosa-Lee model, is supported.

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