Observation of double resistance anomalies and excessive resistance in mesoscopic superconducting Au$_{0.7}$In$_{0.3}$ rings with phase separation

TL;DR

This study reports the discovery of double resistance anomalies and an unusual metallic state in mesoscopic AuIn rings, revealing phase separation effects and complex superconducting behavior not previously observed.

Contribution

It introduces the first observation of double resistance anomalies in mesoscopic superconductors and links these to phase separation and inhomogeneous superconducting properties.

Findings

Observation of double resistance peaks near superconducting transition.

Identification of two critical currents from dynamical resistance measurements.

Detection of a magnetic-field-induced metallic state with resistance exceeding normal-state levels.

Abstract

We have measured mesoscopic superconducting Au$_{0.7}$In$_{0.3}$ rings prepared by e-beam lithography and sequential deposition of Au and In at room temperature followed by a standard lift-off procedure. In samples showing no Little-Parks resistance oscillations, highly unusual double resistance anomalies, two resistance peaks found near the onset of superconductivity, were observed. Although resistance anomaly featuring a single resistance peak has been seen in various mesoscopic superconducting samples, double resistance anomalies have never been observed previously. The dynamical resistance measurements suggest that there are two critical currents in these samples. In addition, the two resistance peaks were found to be suppressed at different magnetic fields. We attribute the observed double resistance anomalies to an underlying phase separation in which In-rich grains of intermetallic compound of AuIn precipitate in a uniform In-dilute matrix of Au$_{0.9}$In$_{0.1}$. The intrinsic superconducting transition temperature of the In-rich grains is substantially higher than that of the In-dilute matrix. The suppression of the conventional Little-Parks resistance oscillation is explained in the same picture by taking into consideration a strong variation in the $T_c$ of the In-rich grains. We also report the observation of an unusual magnetic-field-induced metallic state with its resistance higher than the normal-state resistance, referred to here as excessive resistance, and an h/2e resistance oscillation with the amplitude of oscillation depends extremely weakly on temperature.