Lattice distortion and stripe-like antiferromagnetic order in Ca10(Pt3As8)(Fe2As2)5

TL;DR

This study investigates the structural and magnetic phase transitions in Ca10(Pt3As8)(Fe2As2)5, revealing that its behavior closely resembles other Fe-based high-temperature superconductors, emphasizing the robustness of Fe-As layers in determining its properties.

Contribution

The paper provides detailed experimental evidence of phase transitions in Ca10(Pt3As8)(Fe2As2)5, highlighting the similarity to other Fe-based superconductors and confirming the dominant role of Fe-As layers.

Findings

Orthorhombic distortion occurs below 110 K.

Stripe-like antiferromagnetic order appears below 96 K.

Fe-As layers primarily govern the material's physics.

Abstract

Ca10(Pt3As8)(Fe2As2)5 is the parent compound for a class of Fe-based high-temperature superconductors where superconductivity with transition temperatures up to 30 K can be introduced by partial element substitution. We present a combined high-resolution high-energy x-ray diffraction and elastic neutron scattering study on a Ca10(Pt3As8)(Fe2As2)5 single crystal. This study reveals the microscopic nature of two distinct and continuous phase transitions to be very similar to other Fe-based high-temperature superconductors: an orthorhombic distortion of the high-temperature tetragonal Fe-As lattice below T_S = 110(2) K followed by stripe-like antiferromagnetic ordering of the Fe moments below T_N = 96(2) K. These findings demonstrate that major features of the Fe-based high-temperature superconductors are very robust against variations in chemical constitution as well as structural imperfection of the layers separating the Fe-As layers from each other and confirms that the Fe-As layers primarily determine the physics in this class of material.