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Stoichiometric FeTe is a superconductor
Zi-Jie Yan1, Zihao Wang1, Bing Xia1
1Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
Nature
|April 1, 2026
Summary
Stoichiometric iron telluride (FeTe) films exhibit superconductivity up to 13.5 K after removing interstitial iron atoms. This finding overturns the view of FeTe as an antiferromagnetic metal, revealing its inherent superconducting nature.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Iron-based superconductors (FeSCs) feature competing electronic bands and antiferromagnetic (AFM) correlations, leading to diverse ground states like superconductivity and nematicity.
- Iron telluride (FeTe) was previously considered an antiferromagnetic metal, contrasting with its superconducting analog FeSe.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of stoichiometry in the electronic properties of FeTe.
- To determine if FeTe can exhibit superconductivity.
Main Methods:
- Epitaxial growth of FeTe films using molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE).
- Post-growth annealing under tellurium (Te) flux.
- Spin-polarized scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy (SP-STM/S) to analyze magnetic order and electronic states.
Main Results:
- As-grown FeTe films exhibit AFM order due to interstitial Fe atoms disrupting stoichiometry.
- Te annealing removes interstitial Fe, yielding stoichiometric FeTe films.
- Stoichiometric FeTe films display robust superconductivity with a critical temperature (Tc) of approximately 13.5 K, confirmed by zero resistance, Meissner effect, and Cooper-pair tunneling.
Conclusions:
- Stoichiometric FeTe is inherently a superconductor, not an antiferromagnetic metal.
- Interstitial Fe atoms are responsible for the observed AFM order in non-stoichiometric FeTe.
- Controlling stoichiometry is crucial for understanding and harnessing superconductivity in FeTe-based materials and heterostructures.
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