Superconductivity by alloying the topological insulator SnBi2Te4

Michael A. McGuire; Heda Zhang; Andrew F. May; Satoshi Okamoto; Robert G. Moore; Xiaoping Wang; Clément Girod; Sean M. Thomas; Filip Ronning; Jiaqiang Yan

doi:10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.7.034802

Superconductivity by alloying the topological insulator SnBi2Te4

Michael A. McGuire, Heda Zhang, Andrew F. May, Satoshi Okamoto, Robert G. Moore, Xiaoping Wang, Clément Girod, Sean M. Thomas, Filip Ronning, Jiaqiang Yan

DOI 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.7.034802 · Physical Review Materials

T1

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Abstract

Alloying indium into the topological insulator SnBi2Te4 induces bulk superconductivity with critical temperatures Tc up to 1.85 K and upper critical fields up to about 14 kOe. This is confirmed by electrical resistivity, heat capacity, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The heat capacity shows a discontinuity at Tc and temperature dependence below Tc consistent with weak coupling BCS theory, and suggests a superconducting gap near 0.25 meV. The superconductivity is type-II and the topological surface states have been verified by photoemission. A simple picture suggests analogies with the isostructural magnetic topological insulator MnBi2Te4, in which a natural heterostructure hosts complementary properties on different sublattices, and motivates new interest in this large family of compounds. The existence of both topological surface states and superconductivity in Sn1−xInxBi2Te4 identifies these materials as promising candidates for the study of topological superconductivity.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

Formula	Reported Tc (K)	Pressure (GPa)	Type
Sn1-xInxBi2Te4 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	1.85	Pressure not reported	unknown
Sn1-xInxBi2Te4 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	1.85	Pressure not reported	unknown
Sn1-xInxBi2Te4 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	1.85	Pressure not reported	unknown
Sn0.67In0.33Bi2Te4 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	1.22	Pressure not reported	unknown
Sn0.50In0.50Bi2Te4 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	1.65	Pressure not reported	unknown
Sn0.39In0.61Bi2Te4 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	1.85	Pressure not reported	unknown
Pb1-xTlxTe Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	1.5	Pressure not reported	unknown
Pb1-xInxTe Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	4.8	Pressure not reported	unknown
Sn1-xInxTe Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula.	4.7	Pressure not reported	unknown