Control of the superconducting properties of Sr2−xCaxVO3FeAs through isovalent substitution

•Substitution of Sr by Ca in the superconductor Sr2VO3FeAs is isovalent.•Relationship between superconducting Tc and structural parameters is demonstrated.•Linear dependence of Tc on structural parameters rather than composition.

The effect of the isovalent substitution of Sr2+ by Ca2+ on the structure and superconducting properties of Sr2−xCaxVO3FeAs is described in the compositional range 0≤x≤0.5. SQUID magnetometry measurements reveal that after an initial increase in Tc, which is maximised at 29.5 K in Sr1.95Ca0.05VO3FeAs, a rapid suppression of superconductivity is observed with increasing x. XANES spectra of Sr2−xCaxVO3FeAs collected on the Fe and V absorption K-edges show that the position of both edges are invariant with composition within the experimental uncertainty. A combination of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and neutron powder diffraction techniques is used to rationalise the observed changes in Tc with x, in terms of changes to the structure of the FeAs layer upon partial Ca substitution. These findings demonstrate that superconductivity in the Fe-based superconductors is extremely sensitive to the crystal structure with Tc maximised in samples with regular FeAs4-tetrahedra.

Graphical abstractSuperconducting transition temperature is controlled by structural parameters in Sr2−xCaxVO3FeAs.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide