Microstructure refinement and enhanced critical current density in binary doped SmFeAsO superconductor

The iron-pnictide Sm1−xCaxFeAsO1−2xF2x superconductor was prepared and the combined effect of electron and hole doping was studied in detail. It is observed that the binary doping using CaF2 improves the microstructure tremendously with a preferred orientation of the (00l) planes. Moreover, a maximum TC of 53.8 K and a transport JC of 880 A/cm2 (12 K), which is double to that of the F-doped sample, are achieved. The dopant CaF2 seems to be a potential candidate for solving the grain-connectivity concerns in iron-pnictides paving the way towards conductor development.