Disorder-induced transition from type-I to type-II superconductivity in the Dirac semimetal PdTe2

We report a doping study directed to intentionally induce disorder in PdTe2 by the isoelectronic substitution of Pt. Two single-crystalline batches Pd1-xPtxTe2 have been prepared with nominal doping concentrations x = 0.05 and x = 0.10. Sample characterization by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy revealed Pt did not dissolve homogeneously in the crystals. For the nominal value x = 0.10 small single crystals cut from the batch appeared to have x = 0.09, as well as the nonstoichiometric composition Pd0.97Pt<0.004Te2.03. Magnetic and heat capacity measurements demonstrate a transition from type-I to type-II superconducting behavior upon increasing disorder. From transport measurements we calculate a residual resistivity rho 0 = 1.4 mu S2 cm suffices to turn PdTe2 into a superconductor of the second kind.

Automated summary

We report a doping study aimed at intentionally inducing disorder in PdTe2. Two single-crystalline batches of Pd1-xPtxTe2 with nominal doping concentrations of x = 0.05 and x = 0.10 were prepared. Characterization of the samples using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed that Pt did not dissolve homogeneously in the crystals. Magnetic and heat capacity measurements revealed a transition from type-I to type-II superconducting behavior with increasing disorder. Transport measurements indicated that a residual resistivity of ρ0 = 1.4 μS2 cm is sufficient to turn PdTe2 into a superconductor of the second kind.