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Single crystal growth of superconducting UTe$$_2$$ by molten salt flux method

Sakai, Hironori   ; Opletal, P.  ; Tokiwa, Yoshifumi  ; Yamamoto, Etsuji  ; Tokunaga, Yo  ; Kambe, Shinsaku  ; Haga, Yoshinori   

The molten salt flux method is applied as a new synthetic route for the single crystals of the spin-triplet superconductor UTe$$_2$$. The single crystals under an optimized growth condition with excess uranium exhibit a superconducting transition at $$T_{rm c}=2.1$$ K, which is the highest $$T_{rm c}$$ reported for this compound. The obtained crystals show a remarkably large residual resistivity ratio with respect to the room temperature value and a small residual electronic contribution in specific heat well below $$T_{rm c}$$. These results indicate that the increase of $$T_{rm c}$$ in UTe$$_2$$ can be achieved by reducing the disorder associated with uranium vacancies. The excess uranium in the molten salt acts as a reducing agent, preventing tetravalent uranium from becoming pentavalent and suppressing creation of uranium vacancies. At the same time, the relatively low growth temperature can suppress Te volatilization.

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Percentile:85.43

Category:Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

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