paper

Electronic structure of superconducting graphite intercalate compounds: The role of the interlayer state

arXiv:cond-mat/0503569 · doi:10.1038/nphys119

Abstract

Although not an intrinsic superconductor, it has been long--known that, when intercalated with certain dopants, graphite is capable of exhibiting superconductivity. Of the family of graphite--based materials which are known to superconduct, perhaps the most well--studied are the alkali metal--graphite intercalation compounds (GIC) and, of these, the most easily fabricated is the CK system which exhibits a transition temperature K. By increasing the alkali metal concentration (through high pressure fabrication techniques), the transition temperature has been shown to increase to as much as K in CNa. Lately, in an important recent development, Weller \emph{et al.} have shown that, at ambient conditions, the intercalated compounds \cyb and \cca exhibit superconductivity with transition temperatures K and K respectively, in excess of that presently reported for other graphite--based compounds. We explore the architecture of the states near the Fermi level and identify characteristics of the electronic band structure generic to GICs. As expected, we find that charge transfer from the intercalant atoms to the graphene sheets results in the occupation of the --bands. Yet, remarkably, in all those -- and only those -- compounds that superconduct, we find that an interlayer state, which is well separated from the carbon sheets, also becomes occupied. We show that the energy of the interlayer band is controlled by a combination of its occupancy and the separation between the carbon layers.

4 Figures. Please see accompanying experimental manuscript "Superconductivity in the Intercalated Graphite Compounds C6Yb and C6Ca" by Weller et al

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