Optimization of the Crystal Growth of the Superconductor CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$ from Solution in the FeAs-CaFe${}_2$As${}_2$-KFe${}_2$As${}_2$ System

Abstract

Measurements of the anisotropic properties of single crystals play a crucial role in probing the physics of new materials. Determining a growth protocol that yields suitable high-quality single crystals can be particularly challenging for multi-component compounds. Here we present a case study of how we refined a procedure to grow single crystals of CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$ from a high temperature, quaternary liquid solution rich in iron and arsenic ("FeAs self-flux"). Temperature dependent resistance and magnetization measurements are emphasized, in addition to the x-ray diffraction, to detect inter-grown CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$, CaFe${}_2$As${}_2$ and KFe${}_2$As${}_2$ within, what appear to be, single crystals. Guided by the rules of phase equilibria and these data, we adjusted growth parameters to suppress formation of the impurity phases. The resulting optimized procedure yielded phase-pure single crystals of CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$. This optimization process offers insight into the growth of quaternary compounds and a glimpse of the four-component phase diagram in the pseudo-ternary FeAs-CaFe${}_2$As${}_2$-KFe${}_2$As${}_2$ system.

9 Pages 6 Figures

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Cited by in corpus (40)

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• Pressure induced half-collapsed-tetragonal phase in CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$
• Neutron spin resonance in a quasi-two-dimensional iron-based superconductor
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• Competing pairing interactions responsible for the large upper critical field in a stoichiometric iron-based superconductor, CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$
• Hydrostatic and uniaxial pressure tuning of iron-based superconductors: Insights into superconductivity, magnetism, nematicity and collapsed tetragonal transitions
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• Synthesis of CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$ bulk samples with high critical current density using a spark plasma sintering technique
• Hedgehog Spin-vortex Crystal Antiferromagnetic Quantum Criticality in CaK(Fe1-xNix)4As4 Revealed by NMR
• Coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism in CaK(Fe${}_{1-x}$Ni${}_x$)${}_4$As${}_4$ as probed by ${}^{57}$Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy
• High Tc superconductivity in CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$ in absence of nematic fluctuations
• The breakdown of both strange metal and superconducting states at a pressure-induced quantum critical point in iron-pnictide superconductors
• NMR Study of the New Magnetic Superconductor CaK(Fe$0.951Ni0.049)4As4: Microscopic Coexistence of Hedgehog Spin-vortex Crystal and Superconductivity
• Near room temperature antiferromagnetic ordering with a potential low dimensional magnetism in AlMn${}_2$B${}_2$
• Robust s+/- pairing in CaK[Fe(1-x)Ni(x)]4As4$ (x = 0 and 0.05) from the response to electron irradiation
• Subdominant $d$-wave interaction in superconducting CaKFe${}_4$As${}_2$?
• Pressure-temperature phase diagrams of CaK(Fe${}_{1-x}$Ni${}_x$)${}_4$As${}_4$ superconductors
• Observation of Two Collapsed Phases in CaRbFe4As4
• Anisotropy induced vortex lattice rearrangement in CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$
• Topological magnetic order and superconductivity in EuRbFe${}_4$As${}_4$
• Preferred Spin Excitations in the Bilayer Iron-Based Superconductor CaK(Fe${}_{0.96}$Ni${}_{0.04}$)${}_4$As${}_4$ with Spin-Vortex Crystal Order
• Chemical stability and superconductivity in Ag-sheathed CaKFe4As4 superconducting tapes
• Superconductivity and phase diagrams of CaK(Fe${}_{1-x}$Mn${}_x$)${}_4$As${}_4$ single crystals
• Whether it is possible to stabilize the 1144-phase pnictides with tri-valence cations?
• Superconductivity and magnetic and transport properties of single-crystalline CaK(Fe${}_{1-x}$Cr${}_x$)${}_4$As${}_4$
• Trapped flux in a small crystal of CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$ at ambient pressure and in a diamond anvil pressure cell
• Second magnetization peak, anomalous field penetration, and Josephson vortices in KCa${}_2$Fe${}_4$As${}_4$F${}_2$ bilayer pnictide superconductor
• Enhancement of Superconducting Properties of Polycrystalline CaKFe4As4 by High-Pressure Growth
• Magnetism and its coexistence with superconductivity in CaK(Fe${}_{0.949}$Ni${}_{0.051}$)${}_4$As${}_4$: muon spin rotation/relaxation studies
• High-pressure growth effect on the properties of high-Tc iron-based superconductors: A short review
• Evolution of Critical Current Density in CaKFe${}_4$As${}_4$ with La-doping
• Pressure-temperature phase diagram of CaK(Fe${}_{1-x}$Mn${}_x$)${}_4$As${}_4$ for $x$=0.024
• Anisotropic superconductivity and Fermi surface reconstruction in the spin-vortex antiferromagnetic superconductor CaK(Fe${}_{0.95}$Ni${}_{0.05}$)${}_4$As${}_4$
• First-principles study of the electronic structure of CaKRu${}_4$P${}_4$
• Enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature in Mn-doped CaKFe4As4 processed by the high gas-pressure and high-temperature synthesis method