Isotope effect in Lix ZrNCl superconductors

Y. Taguchi, T. Kawabata, T. Takano, A. Kitora, K. Kato, M. Takata, Y. Iwasa

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30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The N-isotope effect has been investigated for a series of layered superconductors Lix ZrNCl with small carrier density. The N-vibration phonon mode around 615 cm-1 interacting most strongly with electronic system has shown softening by about 20 cm-1 (=3.3%) upon N15 substitution. On the other hand, the decrease in the superconducting critical temperature (Tc) upon N15 substitution has been found to be only 0.06±0.03 K (=0.5±0.3%). This small change in Tc corresponds to an isotope shift coefficient α=0.07±0. 04, which is much smaller than the conventional value of 0.5, implying the relevance of other fluctuations than the phonon to the pairing interaction.

Original languageEnglish
Article number064508
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume76
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2007 Aug 8

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