Dual-phase superconductivity in high-pressure high-temperature synthesized TaNbZrHfTi

Abstract

We report on a novel TaNbZrHfTi-based high entropy alloy (HEA) which demonstrates distinctive dual-phase superconductivity. The HEA was synthesized under high pressures and high temperatures starting from a ball milled mixture of elemental metals in a large-volume Paris–Edinburgh cell with P ≈ 6 GPa and T = 2300 K. The synthesized HEA is a phase mixture of BCC (NbTa)0.45(ZrHfTi)0.55 with Tc1 = 6 K and FCC (NbTa)0.04(ZrHfTi)0.96 with Tc2 = 3.75 K. The measured magnetic field parameters for the HEA are lower critical field, Hc1(0) = 31 mT, and a relatively high upper critical field, Hc2(0) = 4.92 T. This dual-phase system is further characterized by the presence of a second magnetization peak, or the fishtail effect, observed in the virgin magnetization curves. This phenomenon, which does not distort the field-dependent magnetization hysteresis loops, suggests intricate pinning mechanisms that could be potentially tuned for optimized performance. The manifestation of these unique features in HEA superconductivity reinforces phase-dependent superconductivity and opens new avenues in the exploration of novel superconducting materials.