Abstract
The superconducting state of the 17 K Si-doped Nb-oxynitride superconductor, namely, , has been investigated using muon spin rotation and relaxation. Our results show that there is no evidence of time-reversal symmetry breaking and that the temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth is consistent with an isotropic singlet “-wave” ground state. The magnetic penetration depth has been determined to be 218(5) nm and the superconducting gap was found to be 3.4(1) meV, giving a BCS ratio of 4.6. The superelectron density and effective mass were found to be and , respectively. Also, using the Uemura plot, it is suggested that the mechanisms for superconductivity in this material may not be entirely conventional and could be similar to the cuprates, organics, and heavy fermion systems.
- Received 11 March 2014
- Revised 16 June 2014
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.014508
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Published by the American Physical Society