Niobium's intrinsic coherence length and penetration depth revisited using low-energy muon spin spectroscopy and secondary-ion mass spectrometry
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arXiv
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| Auteurs principaux: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866908841941139456 |
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| author | McFadden, Ryan M. L. Angle, Jonathan W. Lechner, Eric M. Kelley, Michael J. Reece, Charles E. Coble, Matthew A. Prokscha, Thomas Salman, Zaher Suter, Andreas Junginger, Tobias |
| author_facet | McFadden, Ryan M. L. Angle, Jonathan W. Lechner, Eric M. Kelley, Michael J. Reece, Charles E. Coble, Matthew A. Prokscha, Thomas Salman, Zaher Suter, Andreas Junginger, Tobias |
| contents | We report direct, simultaneous measurements of the London penetration depth ($λ_L$) and Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) coherence length ($ξ_0$) in oxygen-doped niobium, with impurity concentrations spanning the "clean" to "dirty" limits. Two depth-resolved techniques - low-energy muon spin spectroscopy (LE-$μ$SR) and secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) - were used to quantify the element's Meissner screening profiles, analyzed within a framework that accounts for nonlocal electrodynamics. The analysis indicates intrinsic length scales of $λ_L = 29.1(10)$ nm and $ξ_0 = 39.9(25)$ nm, corresponding to a Ginzburg-Landau (GL) parameter of $κ= 0.70(5)$. The obtained $λ_L$ and $κ$ values, accurately quantified at the nanoscale, are smaller than values commonly used in applications and modeling, and indicate that clean niobium lies at the boundary between type-I and type-II superconductivity, supporting the contemporary view that its intrinsic state may be type-I. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_02913 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Niobium's intrinsic coherence length and penetration depth revisited using low-energy muon spin spectroscopy and secondary-ion mass spectrometry McFadden, Ryan M. L. Angle, Jonathan W. Lechner, Eric M. Kelley, Michael J. Reece, Charles E. Coble, Matthew A. Prokscha, Thomas Salman, Zaher Suter, Andreas Junginger, Tobias Superconductivity Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics Materials Science We report direct, simultaneous measurements of the London penetration depth ($λ_L$) and Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) coherence length ($ξ_0$) in oxygen-doped niobium, with impurity concentrations spanning the "clean" to "dirty" limits. Two depth-resolved techniques - low-energy muon spin spectroscopy (LE-$μ$SR) and secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) - were used to quantify the element's Meissner screening profiles, analyzed within a framework that accounts for nonlocal electrodynamics. The analysis indicates intrinsic length scales of $λ_L = 29.1(10)$ nm and $ξ_0 = 39.9(25)$ nm, corresponding to a Ginzburg-Landau (GL) parameter of $κ= 0.70(5)$. The obtained $λ_L$ and $κ$ values, accurately quantified at the nanoscale, are smaller than values commonly used in applications and modeling, and indicate that clean niobium lies at the boundary between type-I and type-II superconductivity, supporting the contemporary view that its intrinsic state may be type-I. |
| title | Niobium's intrinsic coherence length and penetration depth revisited using low-energy muon spin spectroscopy and secondary-ion mass spectrometry |
| topic | Superconductivity Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics Materials Science |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.02913 |