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Structural and magnetic phase diagram of CeFeAsO1− xFx and its relation to high-temperature superconductivity

Nature Materials volume 7, pages 953–959 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Recently, high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductivity was discovered in the iron pnictide RFeAsO1−xFx (R, rare-earth metal) family of materials. We use neutron scattering to study the structural and magnetic phase transitions in CeFeAsO1−xFx as the system is tuned from a semimetal to a high-Tc superconductor through fluorine (F) doping, x. In the undoped state, CeFeAsO develops a structural lattice distortion followed by a collinear antiferromagnetic order with decreasing temperature. With increasing fluorine doping, the structural phase transition decreases gradually and vanishes within the superconductivity dome near x=0.10, whereas the antiferromagnetic order is suppressed before the appearance of superconductivity for x>0.06, resulting in an electronic phase diagram remarkably similar to that of the high-Tc copper oxides. Comparison of the structural evolution of CeFeAsO1−xFx with other Fe-based superconductors suggests that the structural perfection of the Fe–As tetrahedron is important for the high-Tc superconductivity in these Fe pnictides.

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Figure 1: Low-temperature magnetic structures for Ce and Fe in CeFeAsO and the structural and magnetic phase diagram of CeFeAsO1−xFx.
Figure 2: Structural and magnetic phase transition temperatures as a function of increasing F doping in CeFeAsO1−xFx.
Figure 3: Low-temperature lattice structure and tetragonal to orthorhombic structural phase transition temperature for superconducting CeFeAsO1− xFx with x=0.08 and 0.10.
Figure 4: Low-temperature structural evolution of CeFeAsO1−xFx as a function of F doping obtained from analysis of the BT-1 data.
Figure 5: Fe–As(P)–Fe bond angles, Fe–Fe and Fe–As(P) distances for different Fe-based superconductors.

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Acknowledgements

We thank E. Dagotto, A. Moreo, R. Fishman and T. Maier for helpful discussions. We also thank J. L. Zarestky for his help on the HB-3 measurements. This work is supported by the US National Science Foundation through DMR-0756568 and by the US Department of Energy, Division of Materials Science, Basic Energy Sciences, through DOE DE-FG02-05ER46202. This work is also supported in part by the US Department of Energy, Division of Scientific User Facilities, Basic Energy Sciences. The work at the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, is supported by the National Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences ITSNEM and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-1200, USA

    Jun Zhao, Clarina de la Cruz, Shiliang Li & Pengcheng Dai

  2. NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-6012, USA

    Q. Huang, J. W. Lynn, Y. Chen & M. A. Green

  3. Neutron Scattering Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA

    Clarina de la Cruz & Pengcheng Dai

  4. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742-6393, USA

    Y. Chen & M. A. Green

  5. Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China

    G. F. Chen, G. Li, Z. Li, J. L. Luo & N. L. Wang

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Correspondence to Pengcheng Dai.

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Zhao, J., Huang, Q., de la Cruz, C. et al. Structural and magnetic phase diagram of CeFeAsO1− xFx and its relation to high-temperature superconductivity. Nature Mater 7, 953–959 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2315

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