Superconducting properties of the In substituted Topological Crystalline Insulator, SnTe

TL;DR

This study investigates the superconducting properties of In-doped SnTe, a topological crystalline insulator, revealing bulk superconductivity with specific critical fields and strong type II behavior.

Contribution

It provides detailed experimental characterization of In-substituted SnTe's superconducting properties, highlighting its strong type II nature and critical field values.

Findings

Superconductivity observed at Tc ~4.7 K

Critical fields estimated: Hc2(0) = 1.42 T, Hc1(0) = 0.90 mT

Material identified as a strongly type II superconductor

Abstract

We report detailed investigations of the properties of a superconductor obtained by substituting In at the Sn site in the topological crystalline insulator (TCI), SnTe. Transport, magnetization and heat capacity measurements have been performed on crystals of Sn0.6In0.4Te, which is shown to be a bulk superconductor with Tc(onset) at ~4.70(5) K and Tc(zero) at ~3.50(5) K. The upper and lower critical fields are estimated to be {\mu}0Hc2(0) = 1.42(3) T and {\mu}0Hc1(0) = 0.90(3) mT respectively, while {\kappa} = 56.4(8) indicates this material is a strongly type II superconductor.