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Stimulated by a recent report of a giant magnetocaloric effect in HoB$_2$ found via machine-learning predictions, we have explored the magnetocaloric properties of a related compound ErB$_2$, that has remained the last ferromagnetic material among the rare-earth diboride (REB$_2$) family with unreported magnetic entropy change |{\Delta}SM|. The evaluated $|\Delta S_M|$ at field change of 5 T in ErB$_2$ turned out to be as high as 26.1 (J kg$^{-1}$ K$^{-1}$) around the ferromagnetic transition (${T_C}$) of 14 K. In this series, HoB$_2$ is found to be the material with the largest $|\Delta S_M|$ as the model predicted, while the predicted values showed a deviation with a systematic error compared to the experimental values. Through a coalition analysis using SHAP, we explore how this rare-earth dependence and the deviation in the prediction are deduced in the model. We further discuss how SHAP analysis can be useful in clarifying favorable combinations of constituent atoms through the machine-learned model with compositional descriptors. This analysis helps us to perform materials design with aid of machine learning of materials data., Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures. Accepted manuscript. Published by Taylor & Francis in STAM:Methods, available at https://doi.org/10.1080/27660400.2023.2217474

Processing magnetocaloric materials into magnetic refrigerants with appropriate shapes is essential for the development of magnetic refrigeration systems. In this context, the impact of processing on the physical properties of magnetocaloric materials is one of the important issues. Here, we investigate the crystallographic, magnetic, and magnetocaloric properties of gas-atomized particles of the intermetallic compound ErCo$_{2}$, a giant magnetocaloric material for low-temperature applications. The results demonstrate that the physical properties of ErCo$_{2}$ are significantly changed by atomization and subsequent thermal annealing. In the as-atomized particles, the magnetic transition temperature increases from 34 to 56 K and the phase transition changes from first order to second order. The thermal annealing shifts the transition temperature back to the original one and restores the first-order phase transition characteristic. The changes in magnetic properties are closely related to those in crystallographic properties, suggesting the importance of the magneto-structural coupling. The magnetic entropy change $-\Delta S_{M}$ of the particles can be tuned in size, shape, and peak temperature depending on the annealing conditions. The peak value of $-\Delta S_{M}$ varies in the range of 9--33 J kg$^{-1}$ K$^{-1}$ for a magnetic field change of 0--5 T. All the ErCo$_{2}$ atomized particles have magnetocaloric properties comparable or superior to other promising candidates for low-temperature magnetic refrigerants., Comment: Journal of Alloys and Compounds (in press)

We investigate the magnetic, thermal, and magnetocaloric properties of the intermetallic HoAl$_{3}$ compounds with two different crystal structures. The room-temperature equilibrium trigonal phase HoAl$_{3}$ undergoes an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition at the Neel temperature $T^{\rm tri}_{\rm N} =$ 9.8 K. The AFM ordering of the compound is strong against the magnetic field, so that inverse magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is found even under a magnetic field change of 0-50 kOe. The high-pressure cubic phase HoAl3, prepared by a rapid-solidification process, is antiferromagnetically ordered below $T^{\rm cub}_{\rm N} =$ 15 K. Magnetic and specific heat measurements reveal that this long-range AFM state becomes unstable as the temperature drops and then it is replaced by a magnetic glassy state below a spin freezing temperature $T_{\rm f} =$ 11 K. The successive changes in magnetic state result in complicated temperature and field dependence of the MCE at low temperatures., Comment: Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials Accepted

For performing successful measurements within limited experimental time, efficient use of preliminary data plays a crucial role. This work shows that a simple feedforward type neural networks approach for learning preliminary experimental data can provide quick access to simulate the experiment within the learned range. The approach is especially beneficial for physical properties measurements with scanning on multiple axes, where derivative or integration of data are required to obtain the objective quantity. Due to its simplicity, the learning process is fast enough for the users to perform learning and simulation on-the-fly by using a combination of open-source optimization techniques and deep-learning libraries. Here such a tool for augmenting the experimental data is proposed, aiming to help researchers to decide the most suitable experimental conditions before performing costly experiments in real. Furthermore, this tool can also be used from the perspective of taking advantage of reutilizing and repurposing previously published data, accelerating data-driven exploration of functional materials., Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures + 7 pages of Supporting Information

Processing magnetocaloric materials into magnetic refrigerant particles is an essential issue in developing high-performance magnetic refrigerators. Here, we succeed in stably producing magnetocaloric particles of the promising material HoAl2 by a newly devised method based on electrode induction melting gas atomization process. The particle size range is on the order of submillimeter, which is suitable for practical refrigeration systems. The resulting particles with less contamination have good morphological, magnetic, and magnetocaloric properties: (i) almost spherical shapes with few internal pores, (ii) a sharp ferromagnetic transition around 30 K, and (iii) a large magnetocaloric effect comparable to the bulk counterpart. These features suggest the HoAl$_{2}$ gas-atomized particles have the potential of use as a magnetic refrigerant. The presented method can be applied not only to HoAl2 but also to other brittle magnetocaloric materials with high melting points, facilitating the production of various magnetic refrigerants needed to develop magnetic refrigerators for hydrogen liquefaction.

The processing of promising magnetocaloric materials into spheres is one of the important issues on developing high-performance magnetic refrigeration systems. In the present study, we achieved in producing spherical particles of a giant magnetocaloric compound HoB2 by a crucible-free gas atomization process, despite its high melting point of 2350 C. The particle size distribution ranges from 100 to 710 micrometers centered at 212-355 micrometers with the highest yield of 14-20wt% of total melted electrode, which is suitable for magnetic refrigeration systems. The majority of the resulting particles are mostly spherical with no contamination during the processing, while unique microstructures are observed on the surface and inside. These spherical particles exhibit sharp magnetic transitions and huge magnetic entropy change of 0.34 J cm^{-3} K^{-1} for a magnetic field change of 5 T at 15.5 K. The high sphericality and the high magnetocaloric performance suggest that the HoB2 gas-atomized particles have good potential as magnetic refrigerants for use in magnetic refrigerators for hydrogen liquefaction., Comment: 6pages(double column), 6 figures

We report the adiabatic temperature change in ErAl2 magnetocaloric wires fabricated by a powder-in-tube (PIT) process. The adiabatic temperature change of the PIT wires is found to be determined by not only the volume fraction of ErAl2 core but also the magnitude relationship between the specific heat of the ErAl2 core and the metal sheath. We propose a quantitative analysis method for calculating the temperature and core volume fraction dependence of adiabatic temperature change in the PIT wire, whose formula is applicable to also various magnetocaloric composites, useful to estimate the magnetocaloric response prior to fabrication., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures

Analysis of XRD diffraction patterns is one of the keystones of materials science and materials research. With the advancement of data-driven methods for materials design, candidate materials can be quickly screened for the study of a desired physical property. Efficient methods to automatically analyze and identify phases present in a given pattern, are paramount for the success of this new paradigm. To aid this process, the open source python package Xray Estimation and Refinement Using Similarity (XERUS) for semi-automatic/automatic phase identification is presented. XERUS takes advantages of open crystal structure databases, not relying on proprietary databases, to obtain crystal structures on the fly, being then chemical space agnostic. By wrapping around GSASII, it can automatically simulate patterns and calculate similarity measures used for phase identification. Our approach is simple and quick but also applicable to multiphase identification, by coupling the similarity calculations with quick refinements followed by an iterative peak removal process. XERUS is shown in action in four different experimental datasets and also it is benchmarked against a recently proposed deep learning method for a mixture dataset covering the Li-Mn-O-F chemical space. XERUS will be freely available on https://www.github.com/pedrobcst/Xerus/

Layered ternary transition-metal chalcogenides have been focused as a vein of exploration for superconductors. In this study, TiGeTe$_{6}$ single crystals were synthesized and characterized by structural and valence state analyses and electrical transport measurements. The transport properties were measured under various pressures up to 71 GPa. The activation energy gets smaller as the applied pressure increases, and a signature of a pressure-induced metallization was observed under around 8.4 GPa. Under 13 GPa, pressure-induced superconductivity was discovered in this compound for the first time, with successive drops at 3 K and 6 K in the resistance, indicating the presence of multiple superconducting transitions. The superconducting transition temperature kept increasing as we further applied the pressure to the TiGeTe$_{6}$ single crystal in the performed pressure range, reaching as high as 8.1 K under 71 GPa.

Cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+{\delta} (BSCCO) has been a promising candidate of a coherent, continuous, and compact THz light source owing to its intrinsic Josephson junction inside the crystal structure. In this paper, we utilized BSCCO cross-whisker junctions to produce THz emitter device using the whisker crystals which can be easily obtained compared with single crystals. As a result, we have successfully observed the emission from the cross-whisker intrinsic Josephson junction, with frequency of ~0.7 THz. Our findings might enlarge the applicability of BSCCO superconductors for the THz emission source.

Intending to optimize the giant magnetocaloric properties of HoB$_{2}$, we synthesized and magnetocalorically characterized Ho$_{1-x}$Gd$_{x}$B$_{2}$(0.1 $\leq$ x $\leq$ 0.4) alloys. We found out that Gd enters stoichiometrically and randomly into the Ho site, leading to a Vegard-type structural change. The addition of spherical S$^{7/2}$ Gd$^{3+}$ moments prompts an enhancement in Curie temperature, a reduction in peak value of the magnetic entropy change while still being relatively high, and a broadening of the magnetic entropy change curves. The overall influence is a relatively high refrigerant capacity and relative cooling power, and an extension of the thermal working range to higher temperatures; thus, electing Ho$_{1-x}$Gd$_{x}$B$_{2}$(as potential candidates for cryogenic refrigeration applications., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures and 1 table

Layered transition-metal chalcogenides (Zr,Hf)GeTe$_{4}$ were screened out from database of Atomwork as a candidate for pressure-induced superconductivity due to their narrow band gap and high density of state near the Fermi level. The (Zr,Hf)GeTe$_{4}$ samples were synthesized in single crystal and then the compositional ratio, crystal structures, and valence states were investigated via energy dispersive spectrometry, single crystal X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The pressure-induced superconductivity in both crystals were first time reported by using a diamond anvil cell with a boron-doped diamond electrode and an undoped diamond insulating layer. The maximum superconducting transition temperatures of ZrGeTe$_{4}$ and HfGeTe$_{4}$ were 6.5 K under 57 GPa and 6.6 K under 60 GPa, respectively.

A diamond anvil cell (DAC) which can generate extremely high pressure of multi-megabar is promising tool to develop a further physics such a high-transition temperature superconductivity. However, electrical transport measurements, which is one of the most important properties of such functional materials, using the DAC is quite difficult because the sample space is very small and a deformation of electrodes under extreme condition. In this study, we fabricated a boron-doped diamond micro-electrode and an undoped diamond insulation on a beveled culet surface of the diamond anvil. By using the developed DAC, we demonstrated the electrical transport measurements for sulfur hydride H$_2$S which known as a pressure-induced high-transition temperature superconducting H$_3$S at high pressure. The measurements were successfully conducted under high pressure up to 192 GPa, and then a multi-step superconducting transition composed from pure sulfur and some kinds of surfer hydrides, which is possible HS$_2$, was observed with zero resistance.

Recently, a massive magnetocaloric effect near the liquefaction temperature of hydrogen has been reported in the ferromagnetic material HoB$_{2}$. Here we investigate the effects of Dy substitution in the magnetocaloric properties of Ho$_{1-x}$Dy$_{x}$B$_{2}$ alloys ($\textit{x}$ = 0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0). We find that the Curie temperature ($\textit{T}$$_{C}$) gradually increases upon Dy substitution, while the magnitude of the magnetic entropy change |$\Delta \textit{S}_{M}$| at $\textit{T}$ = $\textit{T}_{C}$ decreases from 0.35 to 0.15 J cm$^{-3}$ K$^{-1}$ for a field change of 5 T. Due to the presence of two magnetic transitions in these alloys, despite the change in the peak magnitude of |$\Delta \textit{S}_{M}$|, the refrigerant capacity ($\textit{RC}$) and refrigerant cooling power ($\textit{RCP}$) remains almost constant in all doping range, which as large as 5.5 J cm$^{-3}$ and 7.0 J cm$^{-3}$ for a field change of 5 T. These results imply that this series of alloys could be an exciting candidate for magnetic refrigeration in the temperature range between 10-50 K., Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables

Magnetic refrigeration exploits the magnetocaloric effect which is the entropy change upon application and removal of magnetic fields in materials, providing an alternate path for refrigeration other than the conventional gas cycles. While intensive research has uncovered a vast number of magnetic materials which exhibits large magnetocaloric effect, these properties for a large number of compounds still remain unknown. To explore new functional materials in this unknown space, machine learning is used as a guide for selecting materials which could exhibit large magnetocaloric effect. By this approach, HoB$_{2}$ is singled out, synthesized and its magnetocaloric properties are evaluated, leading to the experimental discovery of gigantic magnetic entropy change 40.1 J kg$^{-1}$ K$^{-1}$ (0.35 J cm$^{-3}$ K$^{-1}$) for a field change of 5 T in the vicinity of a ferromagnetic second-order phase transition with a Curie temperature of 15 K. This is the highest value reported so far, to our knowledge, near the hydrogen liquefaction temperature thus it is a highly suitable material for hydrogen liquefaction and low temperature magnetic cooling applications., Comment: 12 pages including 3 figures and 1 table + 11 pages of supplementary information. Published version available at: https://rdcu.be/b36ep

We have developed an approach to control the carrier density in various material under high pressure by the combination of an electric double layer transistor (EDLT) with a diamond anvil cell (DAC). In this study, this EDLT-DAC was applied to a Bi thin film, and here we report the field-effect under high pressure in the material. Our EDLT-DAC is a promising device for exploring unknown physical phenomena such as high transition-temperature superconductivity (HTS)., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures

We report the fabrication of ErAl2 magnetocaloric wires by a powder-in-tube method (PIT) and the evaluation of magnetic entropy change through magnetization measurements. The magnetic entropy change of ErAl2 PIT wires exhibits similar behavior to the bulk counterpart, while its magnitude is reduced by the decrease in the volume fraction of ErAl2 due to the surrounding non-magnetic sheaths. We find that another effect reduces the magnetic entropy change of the ErAl2 PIT wires around the Curie temperature, and discuss its possible origin in terms of a correlation between magnetic properties of ErAl2 and mechanical properties of sheath material., Comment: This is the version of the article before peer review or editing, as submitted by an author to {insert name of Journal}. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at {https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ab5c71}

The deposition of boron-doped amorphous carbon thin films on SiO2 substrate was achieved via a focused ion beam-assisted chemical vapor deposition of triphenyl borane (C18H15B) and triphenyl borate (C18H15BO3). The existence of boron in the deposited film from triphenyl borane, with a precursor temperature of 90 {\deg}C, was confirmed by a core level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The film exhibited a semiconducting behavior with a band gap of 285 meV. Although the band gap was decreased to 197 meV after an annealing process, the film was still semiconductor. Additionally, a drastic reduction of the resistance on the deposited film by applying pressures was observed from an in-situ electrical transport measurements using a diamond anvil cell.

A direct patterning technique of gallium-irradiated superconducting silicon has been established by focused gallium-ion beam without any mask-based lithography process. The electrical transport measurements for line and square shaped patterns of gallium-irradiated silicon were carried out under self-field and magnetic field up to 7 T. Sharp superconducting transitions were observed in both patterns at temperature of 7 K. The line pattern exhibited a signature of higher onset temperature above 10 K. A critical dose amount to obtain the superconducting gallium-irradiated silicon was investigated by the fabrication of various samples with different doses. This technique can be used as a simple fabrication method for superconducting device.

We report the discovery of a new superconductor from phase change materials SnSb2Te4. Single crystals of SnSb2Te4 were grown using a conventional melting-growth method. The sample resistance under pressure was measured using an originally designed diamond anvil cell with boron-doped diamond electrodes. The pressure dependence of the resistance has been measured up to 32.6 GPa. The superconducting transition of SnSb2Te4 appeared at 2.1 K(Tconset) under 8.1 GPa, which was further increased with applied pressure to a maximum onset transition temperature 7.4K under 32.6 GPa.

We have successfully synthesized the c-axis oriented YBa2Cu4O8 (Y-124) film on a SrTiO3 (1 0 0) substrate via a coprecipitation and a dip-coating method. The precipitations including Y, Ba and Cu ions were obtained using their metal nitrates solution and the aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide and oxalic acid. Superconducting transition of the synthesized film was observed at 64-70 K corresponding to bulk Y-124 in the magnetization and resistance measurement. The developed method is suitable to synthesize superconducting Y-124 films for technological applications., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures

Polycrystalline samples of layered pnictogen diselenide NdO0.8F0.2Sb1-xBixSe2 (x = 0 to 0.8) were successfully synthesized by solid-state reactions. Electrical resistivity in the synthesized samples was systematically decreased with an increase in Bi content x. Crystal structure analysis using synchrotron X-ray diffraction suggests that insulator to metal transition upon Bi doping correlates with anomalous change in c-axis length and/or corrugation in conducting layer. The emergence of superconductivity under high pressure is demonstrated using diamond anvil cell (DAC) with boron-doped diamond electrodes, for x = 0.3 and 0.7 as the representative samples. For Sb-rich one (x = 0.3), we observed a superconducting transition with Tconset = 5.3 K at 50 GPa, which is the first-ever report of the superconductivity in layered SbCh2-based (Ch: chalcogen) compounds. The Tconset of x = 0.3 increased with increasing pressure and reached 7.9 K at 70.8 GPa, followed by the gradual decrease in Tc up to 90 GPa. For Bi-rich one (x = 0.7), a superconducting transition with Tconset = 5.9 K was observed at 43.5 GPa, which is the almost comparable to that of x = 0.3; besides, upper critical field (Hc2) is evaluated to be ~10 T for x = 0.7, which is higher than that of x = 0.3 (Hc2 = 6.7 T at 50 GPa).

Candidates compounds for new thermoelectric and superconducting materials, which have narrow band gap and flat bands near band edges, were exhaustively searched by a high-throughput first-principles calculation from an inorganic materials database named AtomWork. We focused on AgIn$_{5}$Se$_{8}$ which has high density of state near the Fermi level. AgIn$_{5}$Se$_{8}$ was successfully synthesized as single crystals using a melt and slow cooling method. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the obtained crystal is high quality without deficiencies. The valence states in AgIn$_{5}$Se$_{8}$ were determined to be Ag1+, In3+ and Se2- in accordance with a formal charge by the core level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The electrical resistance was evaluated under high pressure using a diamond anvil cell with boron-doped diamond electrodes. Although the sample was insulator with a resistance of above 40 M{\Omega} at ambient pressure, the resistance markedly decreased with increase of the pressure, and a pressure-induced superconducting transition was discovered at 3.4 K under 52.5 GPa. The transition temperature increased up to 3.7 K under further pressure of 74.0 GPa.

We have succeeded in the synthesis of Re-doped $HgBa_{2}Ca_{n-1}Cu_{n}O_{2(n+1)+\delta}$ quickly by a sealed tube technique with a bit of CsCl flux. Powder X-ray diffraction measurement revealed that the single phases of Re-doped $HgBa_{2}CuO_{4+\delta}$ (Hg1201), $HgBa_{2}CaCu_{2}O_{6+\delta}$ (Hg1212), and $HgBa_{2}Ca_{2}Cu_{3}O_{8+\delta}$ (Hg1223) formed in 4 h. The sample grains exhibited plate-like crystals with the sizes of 20$\times$20$\times$1 $\mu m^{3}$ and the chemical compositions of Hg1201, Hg1212, and Hg1223. The superconducting transitions were observed at 25 K for Hg1201, 122 for Hg1212, and 133 K for Hg1223 in the magnetic susceptibility. These results indicate that the developed method is useful for the fabrication of Hg-based superconducting wires., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures

Tin sulfide (SnS) was successfully synthesized in single crystals by a melt and slow-cooling method. The obtained sample was characterized by an X-ray diffraction, an energy dispersive spectrometry, and an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Electrical transport properties in SnS were investigated under high pressure using a diamond anvil cell with boron-doped metallic diamond electrodes and undoped diamond insulating layer. We successfully observed an insulator to metal transition from 12.5 GPa and pressure-induced superconductivity at 5.8 K under 47.8 GPa as predicted by a theoretical calculation.

Transport properties of Ce$_{0.85}$F0.15SbS$_{2}$ and undoped CeOSbS$_{2}$ under high pressure were investigated experimentally and theoretically. Electrical resistivity measurements of the Ce$_{0.85}$F0.15SbS$_{2}$ single crystals were performed under various high pressures using a diamond anvil cell with boron-doped diamond electrodes. The samples showed the insulator to metal transition by applying high pressure up to 30-40 GPa. On the other hand, the undoped CeOSbS$_{2}$ showed almost same transport property with the F-doped sample under high pressure. The valence state analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed a simple valence state of Ce3+ in Ce$_{0.85}$F0.15SbS$_{2}$ and mixed valence state between Ce3+ and Ce4+ in undoped CeOSbS$_{2}$. The valence fluctuation in Ce carried out the comparable transport nature in the both samples. A band calculation suggests that the undoped CeOSbS$_{2}$ could be metallic under high pressure of 30 GPa in accordance with the experimental results. A superior thermoelectric property of power factor in CeOSbS$_{2}$ was estimated under high pressure around 20 GPa in comparison with that of ambient pressure.

We report the pressure effect in Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+{\delta} (Bi-2223) single crystal with a small amount of intergrowth of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+{\delta} (Bi-2212). Their superconducting transition temperatures Tcs showed a domelike shape as a function of pressure, which showed a good agreement with the general relation between the carrier concentration and Tc. Our experimental results indicate that high pressure can induce effective carrier doping into the multilayered high-Tc cuprate superconductor, Comment: 8 pages including 5 figures

Single crystals of Nd-substituted LuBa$_2$Cu$_4$O$_8$ were successfully grown by the KOH flux method. The single phase of Lu$_{1-x}$Nd$_x$Ba$_2$Cu$_4$O$_8$ [(Lu,Nd)124] formed at $x = 0.2$. The compound crystallized as orthorhombic Ammm structure with lattice constants of a = 3.835(3) {\AA}, b = 3.879(2) {\AA} and c = 27.195(6) {\AA}. Single crystal structural analysis demonstrated that the Nd ion partially occupied the Lu site. The (Lu,Nd)124 exhibited the superconducting transition at ~75 K in the magnetic susceptibility and resistivity. The $T_c$ and the c-axis of the (Lu,Nd)124 corresponded to Tm124. These results indicate that RE124 equivalent to the one composed of single RE element is obtained by combination of two RE elements., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures

Candidates compounds for new thermoelectric and superconducting materials, which have narrow band gap and flat bands near band edges, were exhaustively searched by the high-throughput first-principles calculation from an inorganic materials database named AtomWork. We focused on PbBi$_2$Te$_4$ which has the similar electronic band structure and the same crystal structure with those of a pressure-induced superconductor SnBi2Se4 explored by the same data-driven approach. The PbBi$_2$Te$_4$ was successfully synthesized as single crystals using a melt and slow cooling method. The core level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed Pb2+, Bi3+ and Te2- valence states in PbBi$_2$Te$_4$. The thermoelectric properties of the PbBi$_2$Te$_4$ sample were measured at ambient pressure and the electrical resistivity was also evaluated under high pressure using a diamond anvil cell with boron-doped diamond electrodes. The resistivity decreased with increase of the pressure, and two pressure-induced superconducting transitions were discovered at 3.4 K under 13.3 GPa and at 8.4 K under 21.7 GPa. The data-driven approach shows promising power to accelerate the discovery of new thermoelectric and superconducting materials.

Sulfur-doped SnSe single crystal was successfully synthesized using a melt and slow-cooling method. The chemical composition and valence state of the obtained sample were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The pressure range of a diamond anvil cell with boron-doped diamond electrodes was upgraded to 104 GPa using nano-polycrystalline diamond anvil to investigate a pressure effect for the sample. Electrical resistivity measurements of sulfur-doped SnSe single crystal showed the insulator-metal-superconductor transition by applying high pressure up to 75.9 GPa.

The ionic-liquid-gating technique can be applied to the search for novel physical phenomena at low temperatures because of its wide controllability of the charge carrier density. Ionic-liquid gated field-effect transistors are often fragile upon cooling, however, because of the large difference between the thermal expansion coefficients of frozen ionic liquids and solid target materials. In this paper, we provide a practical technique for setting up ionic-liquid-gated field-effect transistors for low-temperature measurements. It allows stable measurements and reduces the electronic inhomogeneity by reducing the shear strain generated in frozen ionic liquid., Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures

Candidates for new thermoelectric and superconducting materials, which have narrow band gap and flat bands near band edges, were searched by the high-throughput first-principles calculation from an inorganic materials database. The synthesized SnBi$_2$Se$_4$ among the target compounds showed a narrow band gap of 354 meV, and a thermal conductivity of 1 W/Km at ambient pressure. The sample SnBi$_2$Se$_4$ showed a metal-insulator transition at 11.1 GPa, as predicted by a theoretical estimation. Furthermore, the two pressure-induced superconducting transitions were discovered at under 20.2 GPa and 47.3 GPa. The data-driven search is a promising approach to discover new functional materials.

We introduce a novel nanofabrication technique to directly deposit catalyst pads for the chemical vapor deposition synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) at any desired position on a substrate by Gallium focused ion beam (FIB) induced deposition of silicon oxide thin films from the metalorganic Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) precursor. A high resolution in the positioning of the SWCNTs is naturally achieved as the imaging and deposition by FIB are conducted concurrently in situ at the same selected point on the substrate. This technique has substantial advantages over the current state-of-the-art methods that are based on complex and multistep lithography processes.

Diamond anvil cell using boron-doped metallic diamond electrodes covered with undoped diamond insulating layer have been developed for electrical transport measurements under high pressure. These designed diamonds were grown on a bottom diamond anvil via a nanofabrication process combining microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition and electron beam lithography. The resistance measurements of high quality FeSe superconducting single crystal under high pressure were successfully demonstrated by just putting the sample and gasket on the bottom diamond anvil directly. The superconducting transition temperature of FeSe single crystal was enhanced up to 43 K by applying uniaxial-like pressure.

Superconducting FeSe films were electrochemically deposited on rolling-assisted biaxially textured substrate (RABiTS) tape. We observed zero resistivity in the as-electrodeposited FeSe film prepared on the RABiTS when the appropriate voltage was applied while it was dipped into the solution. When the RABiTS tape was dipped in the solution without applying voltage, a thin Se film was deposited on the substrate. The compositional ratio of the FeSe film got closer to the stoichiometric ratio with decreasing the dipping time before applying voltage.

We found that the electronic transport property of SnSe single crystals was sensitive to oxygen content. Semiconducting SnSe single crystals were obtained by using Sn of grain form as a starting material while powder Sn resulted in metallic SnSe. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that the surfaces of raw Sn were oxidized, where the volume fraction was relatively low in grain Sn. This demonstrates that contamination of oxygen causes metallic behavior in grown SnSe single crystals., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures

Superconducting single crystals of Rb-intercalated FeSe compounds Rb$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ were prepared by using a starting material of Rb$_2$Se as a Rb source. The superconducting properties and the surface microstructures were systematically controlled by varying the cooling rate in the quenching process. The higher cooling rate in the sample provided a higher superconducting transition temperature with highly connected superconducting mesh-like surface structure. Extremely slow-cooling process led to the complete isolation between the superconducting domains., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures

High-quality crystalline FeSe is successfully synthesized in 5 minutes by an electrochemical deposition technique via increasing the solution temperature. The synthesis of FeSe have been controlled by the applied voltage, synthesis time and pH value. The obtained samples were summarized as a phase diagram at each temperature and applied voltage. The best synthesis temperature to produce high-quality crystalline samples was found to be 70{\deg}C., Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure

K$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ exhibits an iron-vacancy ordering at $T_{\rm s} {\sim}270{\deg}$C and separates into two phases: a minor superconducting (iron-vacancy-disordered) phase and a major non-superconducting (iron-vacancy-ordered) phase. The microstructural and superconducting properties of this intermixture can be tuned by an appropriate control of the quenching process through $T_{\rm s}$. A faster quenching rate leads to a finer microstructure and a suppression of formation of the non-superconducting phase by up to 50%. Nevertheless, such a faster cooling rate does induce a monotonic reduction in the superconducting transition temperature (from 30.7 K down to 26.0 K) and, simultaneously, a decrease in the iron content within the superconducting phase such that the compositional ratio changed from K$_{0.35}$Fe$_{1.83}$Se$_2$ to K$_{0.58}$Fe$_{1.71}$Se$_2$.

Potassium intercalated FeSe has been reported as a superconductor with superconducting transition temperatures ($T_{\rm c}$'s) of 30-48 K. However, there is no clear answer to identify the relationship between the surface morphology, compositional ratio and its crystal structure. This report directly reveals the correspondence among these three characteristics in single crystals with a $T_{\rm c}$ onset of around 44 K using a micro-sampling technique. Island-like parts on the surface of the crystals clearly have the K$_x$Fe$_2$Se$_2$ structure with perfect FeSe layers, which is formed in conjunction with the K$_2$Fe$_4$Se$_5$ phase. This results in the appearance of the $T_{\rm c}$ onset of 44 K., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures

One of the ultimate goals of the study of iron-based superconductors is to identify the common feature that produces the high critical temperature (Tc). In the early days, based on a weak-coupling viewpoint, the nesting between hole- and electron-like Fermi surfaces (FSs) leading to the so-called $s\pm$ state was considered to be one such key feature. However, this theory has faced a serious challenge ever since the discovery of alkali-metal-doped FeSe (AFS) superconductors, in which only electron-like FSs with a nodeless superconducting gap are observed. Several theories have been proposed, but a consistent understanding is yet to be achieved. Here we show experimentally that a hole-like band exists in KxFe2-ySe2, which presumably forms a hole-like Fermi surface. The present study suggests that AFS can be categorized in the same group as iron arsenides with both hole- and electron-like FSs present. This result provides a foundation for a comprehensive understanding of the superconductivity in iron-based superconductors., Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, + supplemental material

We report magnetoresistance measurements of hydrogen-terminated (100)-oriented diamond surfaces where hole carriers are accumulated using an ionic-liquid-gated field-effect-transistor technique. Unexpectedly, the observed magnetoresistance is positive within the range of 2

We measured the electrical resistivity of a BiS2-based compound EuFBiS2 under high pressure. Polycrystalline EuFBiS2 shows insulator-metal transition and pressure-induced superconductivity above 0.7 GPa. The superconducting transition temperature increases with increasing applied pressure and shows the maximum value around 8.6 K at 1.8 GPa., Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures

Single crystals of K$_x$Fe$_{2-y}$Se$_2$ are prepared by quenching at various temperatures. The crystals obtained at higher quenching temperatures have a surface morphology with mesh-like texture. They show a sharp superconducting transition at $T_\rm{c}$ ~32 K with a large shielding volume fraction. On the other hand, the crystals prepared without quenching show an onset superconducting transition at ~44 K and a zero resistivity around ~33 K, and they possess island-like regions on the surface with a larger amount of Fe incorporation. In-situ high-temperature single crystal X-ray diffraction measurements tell us the Fe-vacancy ordered phase is generated at a temperature region around 270 {\deg}C via iron diffusion. The creation of this Fe-vacancy ordered phase may become a driving force of the growth of the higher $T_\rm{c}$ phase. The superconductivity at ~44 K is attributed to a metallic phase with no Fe-vacancy., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures