Synthesis of Superconducting InxSn1−xTe (0.04 < x < 0.1) Large Single Crystal by Liquid Transport Method

Abstract

In this work, a new crystal growth technique called the liquid transport method was introduced to synthesize single crystals of a topological superconductor candidate, InxSn1−xTe (IST). Crystals with the size of several millimeters were successfully synthesized, and were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy as well as electronic transport measurements. Lattice parameters decreased monotonously with the increase of indium content while hole density varied in reverse. Superconductivity with the critical temperature (Tc) around 1.6 K were observed, and the hole densities were estimated to be in the order of 1020 cm−3. The upper critical fields (Bc2) were estimated to be 0.68 T and 0.71 T for In0.04Sn0.96Te and In0.06Sn0.94Te, respectively. The results indicated that the quality of our crystals is comparable to that grown by the chemical vapor transport method, but with a relatively larger size. Our work provides a new method to grow large single crystals of IST and could help to solve the remaining open questions in a system that needs large crystals, such as a superconducting pairing mechanism, unconventional superconductivity, and so on.