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Related Concept Videos

Semiconductors01:22

Semiconductors

There is variation in the electrical conductivity of materials - metals, semiconductors, and insulators that are showcased with the help of the energy band diagrams.
Metals such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), or lead (Pb) have low resistivity and feature conduction bands that are either not fully occupied or overlap with the valence band, making a bandgap non-existent. This allows electrons in the highest energy levels of the valence band to easily transition to the conduction band upon gaining...
Superconductor01:24

Superconductor

A substance that reaches superconductivity, a state in which magnetic fields cannot penetrate, and there is no electrical resistance, is referred to as a superconductor. In 1911, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes of Leiden University, a Dutch physicist, observed a relation between the temperature and the resistance of the element mercury. The mercury sample was then cooled in liquid helium to study the linear dependence of resistance on temperature. It was observed that, as the temperature decreased, the...
Types Of Superconductors01:28

Types Of Superconductors

A superconductor is a substance that offers zero resistance to the electric current when it drops below a critical temperature. Zero resistance is not the only interesting phenomenon as materials reach their transition temperatures. A second effect is the exclusion of magnetic fields. This is known as the Meissner effect. A light, permanent magnet placed over a superconducting sample will levitate in a stable position above the superconductor. High-speed trains that levitate on strong...
Types of Semiconductors01:20

Types of Semiconductors

Intrinsic semiconductors are highly pure materials with no impurities. At absolute zero, these semiconductors behave as perfect insulators because all the valence electrons are bound, and the conduction band is empty, disallowing electrical conduction. The Fermi level is a concept used to describe the probability of occupancy of energy levels by electrons at thermal equilibrium. In intrinsic semiconductors, the Fermi level is positioned at the midpoint of the energy gap at absolute zero. When...
Metal-Semiconductor Junctions01:24

Metal-Semiconductor Junctions

The contact of metal and semiconductor can lead to the formation of a junction with either Schottky or Ohmic behavior.
Schottky Barriers
Schottky barriers arise when a metal with a work function (Φm) contacts a semiconductor with a different work function (Φs). Initially, electrons transfer until the Fermi levels of the metal and semiconductor align at equilibrium. For instance, if Φm > Φs, the semiconductor Fermi level is higher than the metal's before contact. The semiconductor's...
Band Theory02:35

Band Theory

When two or more atoms come together to form a molecule, their atomic orbitals combine and molecular orbitals of distinct energies result. In a solid, there are a large number of atoms, and therefore a large number of atomic orbitals that may be combined into molecular orbitals. These groups of molecular orbitals are so closely placed together to form continuous regions of energies, known as the bands.
The energy difference between these bands is known as the band gap.
Conductor, Semiconductor,...

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Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
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Superconductivity in the narrow-gap semiconductor CsBi4Te6.

Christos D Malliakas1, Duck Young Chung, Helmut Claus

  • 1Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory , Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States.

Journal of the American Chemical Society
|September 14, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Superconductivity was discovered in the narrow-gap semiconductor cesium bismuth telluride (CsBi4Te6). This finding suggests doping this material class could yield novel semiconductor-based superconductors.

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Area of Science:

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Materials Science
  • Solid-State Chemistry

Background:

  • Superconductivity, a phenomenon of zero electrical resistance, is typically observed in metals and alloys.
  • Narrow-gap semiconductors present a unique, largely unexplored avenue for superconductivity research.
  • The homologous series Cs4[Bi(2n+4)Te(3n+6)] is a recently identified class of materials with potential for novel electronic properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential for superconductivity in the narrow-gap semiconductor CsBi4Te6.
  • To characterize the superconducting properties, including critical temperature and critical field, of CsBi4Te6.
  • To explore the relationship between the crystal structure and superconductivity in the CsBi4Te6 system and its homologous series.

Main Methods:

  • Temperature-dependent electrical resistivity measurements.
  • Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements.
  • Magnetic field-dependent electrical resistivity measurements to determine critical fields.

Main Results:

  • Superconductivity was observed in p-type CsBi4Te6 samples with a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) around 4.4 K.
  • Stoichiometric CsBi4Te6 was found not to be superconducting, indicating the importance of sample type or doping.
  • A high critical magnetic field (Hc) of approximately 10 Tesla was estimated from field-dependent resistivity data.
  • The CsBi4Te6 system crystallizes in a monoclinic structure and is the first member of the Cs4[Bi(2n+4)Te(3n+6)] homologous series.

Conclusions:

  • Unconventional superconductivity was discovered in the narrow-gap semiconductor CsBi4Te6.
  • The high critical field suggests potential for applications in strong magnetic field environments.
  • Doping within the Cs4[Bi(2n+4)Te(3n+6)] homologous series may lead to the development of a new class of semiconductor-based superconductors.