Defect Density and Superconductivity in CVT and Salt Flux Grown Uranium Ditelluride

Oral-In-person

Abstract

Unconventional superconductors are notoriously sensitive to defects in their crystal structures, and spin-triplet candidate uranium ditelluride (UTe2) is no exception. What differentiates UTe2 from other unconventional superconductors such as UCoGe and URhGe, however, is how remarkably weak the correlation is between relative resistance ratio (a typically reliable metric of crystalline quality in metallic systems) and the field and temperature stability of its superconducting phases. In this presentation, I will describe how seemingly small variations in synthesis conditions can lead to pronounced effects on superconducting order of UTe2. I will also discuss recent efforts to optimize crystal growth techniques to maximize crystal size and percent yield without compromising crystal quality.

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Presenters

  • Corey Frank

    • New Mexico State University

Authors

  • Corey Frank

    • New Mexico State University

  • Gicela Saucedo Salas

    • University of Texas at El Paso

  • Sylvia Lewin

    • National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

  • Thomas Halloran

    • University of Maryland College Park

  • Peter Czajka

    • National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

  • John Singleton

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

  • Johnpierre Paglione

    • University of Maryland College Park

  • Nicholas Butch

    • National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)