Insular superconductivity in a Co-doped iron pnictide CaFe1-xCoxAsF

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Jul 10;103(2):027002. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.027002. Epub 2009 Jul 8.

Abstract

The presence of a macroscopic phase separation between the superconducting and magnetic phases in CaFe1-xCoxAsF is demonstrated by muon spin rotation measurements conducted across their phase boundaries (x=0.05-0.15). The magnetic phase tends to retain the high transition temperature (Tm>Tc), while Co doping induces strong randomness. The volumetric fraction of the superconducting phase is nearly proportional to the Co content x with a constant superfluid density. These observations suggest the formation of superconducting "islands" (or domains) associated with Co ions in the Fe2As2 layers, indicating a very short coherence length.