Pair weakening in mixed rare-earth nickel borocarbides (R,R')Ni2B2C

TL;DR

This paper investigates how structural disorder and magnetic effects influence superconductivity in mixed rare-earth nickel borocarbides, revealing the impact of rare-earth element selection on transition temperature and pair-breaking mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of rare-earth element mixing on superconductivity and magnetic pair-breaking in borocarbide compounds.

Findings

Structural disorder reduces Tc in these materials.

Magnetic pair breaking varies with rare-earth element choice.

Disorder and magnetic effects jointly influence superconducting properties.

Abstract

In this study pseudoquaternary rare-earth nickel borocarbide superconductors RxR'1-xNi2B2C have been investigated predominantly in the diluted limit x << 1 or (1 x) << 1. In all of these materials structural disorder results in a reduction of the superconducting transition temperature Tc . Depending on the selection of the rare earth elements R and R' this disorder induced deterioration of superconductivity is combined with magnetic pair breaking of Abrikosov-Gorkov type or pair breaking of non-magnetic impurities in antiferromagnetic superconductors (Morozov-type of pair breaking).