Magnetic, transport and optical properties of FeCuB compounds near metal-insulator transition

Recently, a potential superconducting phase was observed in thin film compositional spreads of FeB. In our study, a thin-film FeCuB compositional spread was grown using co-sputtering to identify the conditions that might lead to superconductivity in these compounds. Our previous work demonstrated that metamaterial engineering can enhance superconductivity by producing materials with a low dielectric constant (epsilon near zero, or ENZ). This study found that the FeCuB spread exhibits ENZ behavior near the Metal-Insulator Transition (MIT) region. We analyzed the compositional, transport, magnetic, and optical properties of the FeCuB compounds to explore the relationship between MIT, ENZ, and their potential role in the emergence of superconductivity. The results of our investigation into the transport, magnetic, and optical properties of these FeCuB compositional spreads will be presented, and we will discuss the correlation between MIT and ENZ behavior and their possible influence on the appearance of superconductivity.