Generic Fe buffer layers for Fe-based superconductors: Epitaxial FeSe1-xTex thin films

Biaxially textured FeSe1-xTex films have been realized on Fe-buffered MgO substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Similar to the Fe/BaFe2As2 bilayers, the crystalline quality of FeSe1-xTex films exhibit a sharp out-of-plane and in-plane texture less than 0.9 degrees. The Fe/FeSe1-xTex bilayers showed high superconducting transition temperatures of over 17 K. The angular-dependent critical current densities exhibit peaks positioned at H perpendicular to c similar to other pnictide thin films. The volume pinning force of FeSe1-xTex in this direction is very strong compared with that of Co-doped BaFe2As2, due to a good matching between the interlayer distance in the c direction and the out-of-plane coherence length. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3660257]