Growth of superconducting Sm(O,F)BiS2 single crystals

Abstract

Superconducting Sm(O,F)BiS2 single crystals were successfully grown using KI-KCl flux. The obtained single crystals were flat-shaped and their size was 500um. The structure and composition of the obtained single crystals were obtained using X-ray diffraction and X-ray spectroscopy. The lattice constants of the obtained Sm(O,F)BiS2 single crystals were evaluated to be a = 3.9672(4) A and c = 13.417(6) A, while their F/(O + F) molar ratio was approximately 0.17. The superconducting transition temperature of the obtained Sm(O,F)BiS2 single crystals was 4.8 K. This was different from the reported Sm(O,F)BiS2 with no superconducting transition above 2 K. The superconducting anisotropies of the upper critical field and effective mass model of the obtained Sm(O,F)BiS2 single crystals were estimated to be approximately 26 and 10, respectively.