Evolution of band structure from optimally doped to heavily overdoped Co-substituted NaFeAs

TL;DR

This study uses ARPES to track how the electronic band structure of NaFe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$As evolves from optimal doping to heavy overdoping, revealing charge doping effects and persistent correlations.

Contribution

It provides detailed ARPES measurements across doping levels, showing how Co doping shifts bands and maintains correlations, offering insights into superconductivity mechanisms.

Findings

Co doping supplies extra charge carriers and shifts the Fermi level.

Band renormalization remains consistent across doping levels.

In heavily overdoped samples, hole bands sink, and electron pockets emerge.

Abstract

Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we studied the electronic structure of NaFe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$As from an optimally doped superconducting compound ($x=0.028$) to a heavily overdoped non-superconducting one ($x=0.109$). Similar to the case of "122" type iron pnictides, our data suggest that Co dopant in NaFe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$As supplies extra charge carriers and shifts the Fermi level accordingly. In the $x=0.109$ compound, the hole-like bands around the zone center $\Gamma$ move to deeper binding energies and an electron pocket appears instead. The overall band renormalization remains basically the same throughout the doping range we studied, suggesting that the local magnetic/electronic correlations are not affected by carrier doping. We speculate that a balance between itinerant properties of mobile carriers and local interactions may play an important role for the superconductivity.