Synthesis and transport properties of superconducting thin films of K0.33WO3: Tc reduction due to disorder

Abstract

Via a two-step deposition and post-annealing procedure, K-doped WO3 thin films with reproducible transport properties are obtained. We observe a larger critical field Hc2 along the c axis, consistent with the picture of the Fermi surface containing one-dimensional bands along this direction. Reducing the film thickness results in a superconductor to insulator transition. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that KWO3 crystallites become less connected as the deposition time is reduced, providing a microscopic explanation for the transport behavior. In the superconducting films, a resistive anomaly is observed similar to bulk crystals, with a characteristic temperature that shifts lower with decreasing film thickness. The competing electronic effects manifest as a suppression of the density of states at the Fermi level, observed using point contact tunneling spectroscopy, demonstrating that disorder-induced increased Coulomb interactions are present. Using the theory of Belitz for the reduction of Tc due to disorder, we can infer that the film with the highest observed Tc has a relatively large disorder dependent electron-phonon interaction parameter ∼1.2. Understanding microscopically why certain films display higher Tc will aid in the search for the trace high-Tc superconducting anomalies observed in lightly surface doped bronzes.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

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