Oxypnictide SmFeAs(O,F) superconductor: a candidate for high-field magnet applications

TL;DR

This paper investigates the electro-magnetic properties of the SmFeAs(O,F) superconductor, demonstrating high critical current density and potential for high-field magnet and electronic applications due to its unique pinning and junction properties.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the transport and pinning properties of SmFeAs(O,F) thin films, highlighting their suitability for high-field magnets and electronic devices.

Findings

Critical current density over 10^5 A/cm^2 at 45 T and 4.2 K

Observation of a dimensional crossover indicating intrinsic Josephson junctions

Potential applications in high-field magnets, terahertz sources, and superconducting qubits

Abstract

The recently discovered oxypnictide superconductor SmFeAs(O,F) is the most attractive material among the Fe-based superconductors due to its highest transition temperature of 56 K and potential for high-field performance. In order to exploit this new material for superconducting applications, the knowledge and understanding of its electro-magnetic properties are needed. Recent success in fabricating epitaxial SmFeAs(O,F) thin films opens a great opportunity to explore their transport properties. Here we report on a high critical current density of over 10^5 A/cm^2 at 45 T and 4.2 K for both main field orientations, feature favourable for high-field magnet applications. Additionally, by investigating the pinning properties, we observed a dimensional crossover between the superconducting coherence length and the FeAs interlayer distance at 30-40 K, indicative of a possible intrinsic Josephson junction in SmFeAs(O,F) at low temperatures that can be employed in electronics applications such as a terahertz radiation source and a superconducting Qubit.