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We are grateful to the CMAM technical staff for their support and the beam time access with the proposal codes IMP021/23, IMP024/23, IMP005/24, and IMP013/24. We acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) through the grant No. PID2021-127498NB-I00 and within the "Maria de Maeztu" Program for Units of Excellence in R&D (No. CEX2023-001316-M). The authors also acknowledge the service from the MiNa Laboratory at IMN and the funding from Comunidad de Madrid (project SpaceTec, No. S2013/ICE2822). A.A.-G. thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for the fellowship under contract No. PRE2022-103066.

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Quest for amorphous superconductors of Bi-Sb alloys by irradiation with swift heavy ions

Publicated to:JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS. 137 (11): 115102- - 2025-03-21 137(11), DOI: 10.1063/5.0255782

Authors: Andrino-Gomez, Alberto; Tabares, Gema; Moratalla, Manuel; Redondo-Cubero, Andres; Madurga, Vicente; Favieres, Cristina; Vergara, Jose; Garcia-Lopez, Gaston; Gordillo, Nuria; Ramos, Miguel angel

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Abstract

Crystalline Bi100- x Sb x alloys are known as the first discovered topological insulators, as well as for their promising thermoelectric properties, while their amorphous counterparts exhibit superconductivity (T- c > 6 K). However, their strong tendency to crystallize has hindered both the study and practical applications of amorphous Bi and Bi-Sb alloys. To explore the possibility of obtaining amorphous superconducting phases and enhancing thermoelectric properties, we investigated ion-beam irradiation as a method to induce amorphization in Bi100- x Sb x alloys. We report irradiation experiments on pure Bi and Bi100- x Sb x using bismuth and iodine ions (tens of MeV), generating an estimated vacancy damage of 40%-80%. Structural characterization and electrical resistivity measurements (2-300 K) revealed that, while amorphization and superconductivity were not achieved, melt-spun samples exhibited an order of magnitude higher conductivity than thermally evaporated ones. Moreover, ion-induced disorder further improved electrical conductivity, particularly in Bi90Sb10, highlighting its potential for thermoelectric applications.

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