Giant enhancement in critical current density, up to a hundredfold, in superconducting NaFe0.97Co0.03As single crystals under hydrostatic pressure

TL;DR

Applying hydrostatic pressure to NaFe0.97Co0.03As single crystals dramatically increases their critical current density and pinning force, promising advancements for practical superconductor applications.

Contribution

This study demonstrates a simple hydrostatic pressure method to significantly enhance Jc and Fp in NaFe0.97Co0.03As superconductors, a novel approach for improving superconductor performance.

Findings

Jc increased by over a hundredfold at high fields under pressure

Pinning force density (Fp) improved by over 20 times at 12K and 14K

Hydrostatic pressure effectively enhances superconducting properties

Abstract

Tremendous efforts towards improvement in the critical current density (Jc) of iron based superconductors (FeSCs), especially at relatively low temperatures and magnetic fields, have been made so far through different methods, resulting in real progress. Jc at high temperatures in high fields still needs to be further improved, however, in order to meet the requirements of practical applications. Here, we demonstrate a simple approach to achieve this. Hydrostatic pressure can significantly enhance Jc in NaFe0.97Co0.03As single crystals by at least tenfold at low field and more than a hundredfold at high fields. Significant enhancement in the in-field performance of NaFe0.97Co0.03As single crystal in terms of pinning force density (Fp) is found at high pressures. At high fields, the Fp is over 20 and 80 times higher than under ambient pressure at12K and 14K, respectively, at P=1GPa. We believe that the Co-doped NaFeAs compounds are very exciting and deserve to be more intensively investigated. Finally, it is worthwhile to say that by using hydrostatic pressure, we can achieve more milestones in terms of high Jc values in different superconductors.