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Chin. Phys. B, 2026, Vol. 35(5): 057406    DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/ae4d28
SPECIAL TOPIC — John Tse: Pioneer in high-pressure materials science Prev   Next  

Cu1234 single crystals growth with contamination-free quality

Haoyu Zheng(郑皓宇)1,2, Luchuan Shi(史鲁川)1, Xiaoming Chen(陈晓铭)1,2, Yuling Dai(戴玉玲)1, Kai Huang(黄凯)1, Yi Peng(彭毅)1, Jianfa Zhao(赵建发)1,†, Xiancheng Wang(望贤成)1,3,‡, and Changqing Jin(靳常青)1,3,§
1 Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;
2 School of Material Science and Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China;
3 School of Physics Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Abstract  The CuBa$_{2}$Ca$_{3}$Cu$_{4}$O$_{10+\delta}$ (Cu1234) superconductor exhibits a unique combination of high critical temperature (118 K ambient $T_{\rm c}$), high critical current density ($J_{\rm c}$), and high irreversibility field ($H_{\rm irr}$), i.e., the so-called triple-high attributes, making it a promising candidate for high-temperature and high-field applications. However, the growth of high-quality single crystals has been hindered by contamination from traditional sample capsules used in conventional high-pressure synthesis, leading to suppressed $T_{\rm c}$. In this work, we develop a modified high-pressure sample assembly utilizing a capsule with MgO as the inner layer and Pt as the outer layer, which effectively prevents undesirable doping of Pt into Cu1234 that suppresses $T_{\rm c}$. This approach enables the successful growth of Cu1234 single crystals with a sharp superconducting transition at $T_{\rm c} \sim 115$ K, comparable to that of polycrystalline samples. Structural and compositional analyses confirm the phase purity, strong $c$-axis orientation, and near-ideal stoichiometry close to the Cu1234 formula. These high-quality Cu1234 single crystals provide a reliable platform for elucidating the intrinsic mechanisms of the exceptional triple-high superconducting properties of the Cu1234 system.
Keywords:  Cu1234 superconductor      crystal growth      high-pressure synthesis  
Received:  06 January 2026      Revised:  02 March 2026      Accepted manuscript online:  04 March 2026
PACS:  74.72.-h (Cuprate superconductors)  
  74.25.-q (Properties of superconductors)  
  74.62.Bf (Effects of material synthesis, crystal structure, and chemical composition)  
  81.10.-h (Methods of crystal growth; physics and chemistry of crystal growth, crystal morphology, and orientation)  
Fund: This work was supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Superconducting Research Project (Grant No. SCZX- 0101), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 12204515), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant Nos. 2022YFA1403800, 2023YFA1406000, and 2024YFA1408000), the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 1262041), and the Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program of China Association for Science and Technology (Grant No. 2022QNRC001).
Corresponding Authors:  Jianfa Zhao, Xiancheng Wang, Changqing Jin     E-mail:  zhaojf@iphy.ac.cn;wangxiancheng@iphy.ac.cn;jin@iphy.ac.cn

Cite this article: 

Haoyu Zheng(郑皓宇), Luchuan Shi(史鲁川), Xiaoming Chen(陈晓铭), Yuling Dai(戴玉玲), Kai Huang(黄凯), Yi Peng(彭毅), Jianfa Zhao(赵建发), Xiancheng Wang(望贤成), and Changqing Jin(靳常青) Cu1234 single crystals growth with contamination-free quality 2026 Chin. Phys. B 35 057406

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