Evidence for multiband superconductivity and charge density waves in Ni-doped ZrTe${}_2$

Abstract

We carried out a comprehensive study of the electronic, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties of Ni-doped ZrTe${}_2$. High quality Ni${}_{0.04}$ZrTe${}_{1.89}$ single crystals show a possible coexistence of charge density waves (CDW, T${}_{CDW}\approx 287$\,K) with superconductivity (T${}_c\approx 4.1$\,K), which we report here for the first time. The temperature dependence of the lower (H${}_{c_1}$) and upper (H${}_{c_2}$) critical magnetic fields both deviate significantly from the behaviors expected in conventional single-gap s-wave superconductors. However, the behaviors of the normalized superfluid density ${\rho }_s(T)$ and H${}_{c_2}(T)$ can be described well using a two-gap model for the Fermi surface, in a manner consistent with conventional multiband superconductivity. Electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements show clear anomalies centered near 287\,K consistent with a CDW phase transition. Additionally, electronic-structure calculations support the coexistence of electron-phonon multiband superconductivity and CDW order due to the compensated disconnected nature of the electron- and hole-pockets at the Fermi surface. Our electronic structure calculations also suggest that ZrTe${}_2$ could reach a non-trivial topological type-II Dirac semimetallic state. These findings highlight that Ni-doped ZrTe2 can be uniquely important for probing the coexistence of superconducting and CDW ground states in an electronic system with non-trivial topology.

References in corpus (18)

• Quantum ESPRESSO: a modular and open-source software project for quantum simulations of materials
• Advanced capabilities for materials modelling with Quantum ESPRESSO
• Two-Dimensional Material Nanophotonics
• van der Waals forces in density functional theory: The vdW-DF method
• Very High Field Two-Band Superconductivity in LaFeAsO_0.89F_0.11
• Evidence for an excitonic insulator phase in 1T-TiSe${}_2$
• Controlling many-body states by the electric-field effect in a two-dimensional material
• Magnetic Penetration Depth in Unconventional Superconductors
• Classification of Charge Density Waves Based on Their Nature
• Quasi-Particle Spectra, Charge-Density-Wave, Superconductivity and Electron-Phonon Coupling in 2H-NbSe2
• Multiband effects on beta-FeSe single crystals
• Coexistence of superconductivity and charge-density wave in the quasi-one-dimensional material HfTe3
• Competition between the structural phase transition and superconductivity in Ir${}_{1-x}$Pt${}_x$Te${}_2$ as revealed by pressure effects
• Charge-density wave induced by combined electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions in 1$T$-TiSe${}_2$: A variational Monte Carlo study
• Electronic structure of copper intercalated transition metal dichalcogenides: First-principles calculations
• Magnetism and charge density waves in RNiC${}_2$ (R = Ce, Pr, Nd)
• Semiconductor-metal phase transition and emergent charge density waves in 1T-ZrX${}_2$ (X = Se, Te) at the two-dimensional limit
• Possible multiband superconductivity in the quaternary carbide YRe2SiC

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Search for ambient superconductivity in the Lu-N-H system
• Pressure-induced Superconductivity and Topological Quantum Phase Transitions in the Topological Semimetal ZrTe2
• Superconductivity in Te-deficient ZrTe${}_2$
• Ab initio modeling of superconducting alloys
• Probing the superconducting gap structure of ScRuSi via $\mu$SR and first-principles calculations
• Exploring Superconductivity in Ba${}_3$Ir${}_4$Ge${}_{16}$: Experimental and Theoretical Insights
• Delicate Superconductivity in NaAlGe Single Crystal
• First-principles evidence for conventional superconductivity in a quasicrystal approximant