Magnetic susceptibility of the normal-superconducting transition in high-purity single-crystal alpha-uranium

Abstract

We report complex ac magnetic susceptibility measurements of a superconducting transition in very high-quality single-crystal alpha-uranium using microfabricated coplanar magnetometers. We identify an onset of superconductivity at T~0.7 K in both the real and imaginary components of the susceptibility which is confirmed by resistivity data. A superconducting volume fraction argument, based on a comparison with a calibration YBCO sample, indicates that the superconductivity in these samples may be filamentary. Our data also demonstrate the sensitivity of the coplanar micro-magnetometers, which are ideally suited to measurements in pulsed magnetic fields exceeding 100 T.

5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev B