Coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagentic order in Er$_{2}$O$_{2}$Bi with anti-ThCr$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ structure

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetic order in Er$_{2}$O$_{2}$Bi, revealing their potential competition and the influence of oxygen content on these phenomena through experimental and theoretical analyses.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed investigation of superconductivity coexisting with antiferromagnetic order in Er$_{2}$O$_{2}$Bi with anti-ThCr$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ structure, including experimental and first-principle calculations.

Findings

Superconducting transition temperature $T_c$ is 1.23 K.

Antiferromagnetic transition temperature $T_N$ is 3 K.

Oxygen content affects $T_c$ and $T_N$, indicating competition.

Abstract

We investigated the coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetic order in the compound Er$_{2}$O$_{2}$Bi with anti-ThCr$_{2}$Si$_{2}$-type structure through resistivity, magnetization, specific heat measurements and first-principle calculations. The superconducting transition temperature $T_{\rm c}$ of 1.23 K and antiferromagnetic transition temperature $T_{\rm N}$ of 3 K are observed in the sample with the best nominal composition. The superconducting upper critical field $H_{\rm c2}$(0) and electron-phonon coupling constant $\lambda$$_{e-ph}$ in Er$_{2}$O$_{2}$Bi are similar to those in the previously reported non-magnetic superconductor Y$_{2}$O$_{2}$Bi with the same structure, indicating that the superconductivity in Er$_{2}$O$_{2}$Bi may have the same origin as in Y$_{2}$O$_{2}$Bi. The first-principle calculations of Er$_{2}$O$_{2}$Bi show that the Fermi surface is mainly composed of the Bi 6$p$ orbitals both in the paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic state, implying minor effect of the 4$f$ electrons on the Fermi surface. Besides, upon increasing the oxygen incorporation in Er$_{2}$O$_{x}$Bi, $T_{\rm c}$ increases from 1 to 1.23 K and $T_{\rm N}$ decreases slightly from 3 to 2.96 K, revealing that superconductivity and antiferromagnetic order may compete with each other. The Hall effect measurements indicate that hole-type carrier density indeed increases with increasing oxygen content, which may account for the variations of $T_{\rm c}$ and $T_{\rm N}$ with different oxygen content.