Resistivity scaling in 1111 iron-pnictide superconductors

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that the normal-state resistivity of various 1111 iron-pnictide superconductors can be scaled across a broad temperature range, indicating a common underlying charge carrier scattering mechanism.

Contribution

It introduces a universal scaling approach for resistivity data in 1111 iron-pnictide superconductors, revealing a shared scattering mechanism across different doping levels and compounds.

Findings

Resistivity data collapse onto single curves across temperature ranges

Scaling parameters correlate with doping levels and composition

Indicates a common charge carrier scattering mechanism

Abstract

We show that the zero field normal-state resistivity above Tc for various levels of electron doping - both for LaO1-xFxFeAs (La-1111) and SmO1-xFxFeAs (Sm-1111) members of the 1111-iron-pnictide superconductor family - can be scaled in a broad temperature range from 20 to 300 K onto single curves for underdoped La-1111 (x=0.05-0.075), for optimally and overdoped La-1111 (x=0.1-0.2) and for underdoped Sm-1111 (x=0.06-0.1) compounds. The scaling was performed using the energy scale {\Delta}, the resistivity {\rho}_{\Delta} and the residual resistivity {\rho}_0 as scaling parameters as well as by applying a recently proposed model-independent scaling method (H. G. Luo, Y. H. Su, and T. Xiang, Phys. Rev. B 77, 014529 (2008)). The scaling parameters have been calculated and the compositional variation of {\Delta} has been determined. The observed scaling behaviour for {\rho}(T) is interpreted as an indication of a common mechanism which dominates the scattering of the charge carriers in underdoped La-1111, in optimally and overdoped La-1111 and in underdoped Sm-1111 compounds..