Superconducting Meissner effect under hydrostatic pressure in the ambient-pressure semiconductor kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(N(CN)2)Cl, where BEDT-TTF is bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene

Inhomogeneous superconductivity in organic conductors: the role of disorder and magnetic field

Several experimental studies have shown the presence of spatially inhomogeneous phase coexistence of superconducting and non-superconducting domains in low dimensional organic superconductors. The superconducting properties of these systems are found to be strongly dependent on the amount of disorder introduced in the sample regardless of its origin. The suppression of the superconducting transition temperature T(c) shows a clear discrepancy with the result expected from the Abrikosov-Gor'kov law giving the behavior of T(c) with impurities. On the basis of the time dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory, we derive a model to account for this striking feature of T(c) in organic superconductors for different types of disorder by considering the segregated texture of the system. We show that the calculated T(c) quantitatively agrees with experiments. We also focus on the effect of superconducting fluctuations on the upper critical fields H(c2) of layered superconductors showing slab structure where superconducting domains are sandwiched by non-superconducting regions. We found that H(c2) may be strongly enhanced by such fluctuations.

Mott transition, compressibility divergence, and the P-T phase diagram of layered organic superconductors: an ultrasonic investigation

The phase diagram of the organic superconductor kappa-(BEDT-TTF)(2)Cu[N(CN)(2)]Cl has been investigated by ultrasonic velocity measurements under helium gas pressure. Different phase transitions were identified through several elastic anomalies characterized from isobaric and isothermal sweeps. Our data reveal two crossover lines that end on the critical point terminating the first-order Mott transition line. When the critical point is approached along these lines, we observe a dramatic anomaly of the sound velocity which is consistent with a diverging compressibility of the electronic degrees of freedom.

Proximity of pseudogapped superconductor and commensurate antiferromagnet in a quasi-two-dimensional organic system

We performed the single-crystal 13C NMR studies on a quasi-two-dimensional system, deuterated kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)(2)]Br, which is just on the border of the Mott transition. The NMR spectra are separated into two parts coming from the metallic (superconducting) and insulating phases due to the phase separation at low temperature. The examination of the separated spectra revealed that the Mott transition in this system is characterized by the first-order transition between the pseudogapped superconductor and the simplest commensurate antiferromagnet with a moment of 0.26 mu(B)/dimer.

Mott transition, antiferromagnetism, and unconventional superconductivity in layered organic superconductors

The phase diagram of the organic superconductor kappa-(ET)2Cu[N(CN)2]Cl has been accurately measured from 1H NMR and ac susceptibility techniques under helium gas pressure. The domains of stability of antiferromagnetic and superconducting orders in the pressure vs temperature plane have been determined. Both phases overlap through a first-order boundary that separates two regions of inhomogeneous phase coexistence. The boundary curve merges with the first-order line of the metal-insulator transition which ends with a critical point at higher temperature. The whole phase diagram features a point-like region where metallic, insulating, antiferromagnetic, and non-s-wave superconducting phases all meet.