Water-induced superconductivity in SrFe2As2

Abstract

It has been considered that FeAs-based high transition temperature (high-Tc) superconductors need electron or hole doping by aliovalent ion substitution or large off-stoichiometry in order to induce superconductivity. We report that exposure of undoped SrFe2As2 epitaxial thin films to water vapor induces a superconducting transition. These films exhibit a higher onset-Tc (25 K) and larger magnetic field anisotropy than those of cobalt-doped SrFe2As2 epitaxial films, suggesting that the mechanism for the observed superconducting transition differs from that of the aliovalent-ion doped SrFe2As2. The present finding provides a new approach to induce superconductivity with a higher Tc in FeAs-based superconductors.