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    Defect-induced vortex pattern variations in a CaKFe4As4 single crystal

    Tian He1, Ting Chen1, Xing-Jian Liu1, Kang-Hong Yin1, Xin-Sheng Gao1, Ya-Xun He1, Jia-Ying Zhang1, Chun-Lei Wang2,*, and Jun-Yi Ge1,3,4,†

    • 1Materials Genome Institute, Shanghai University, 200444 Shanghai, China
    • 2Key Laboratory of Microelectronics and Energy of Henan Province, Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of New Energy Storage Technology, School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Xinyang Normal University, 464000 Xinyang, China
    • 3Department of Physics, Shanghai Key Laboratory for High Temperature Superconductors, Shanghai University, 200444 Shanghai, China
    • 4Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, Shanghai University, 200444 Shanghai, China

    • *Contact author: wanglei_201@163.com
    • †Contact author: junyi_ge@t.shu.edu.cn

    Phys. Rev. B 112, 174516 – Published 18 November, 2025

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/3zm1-m2n6

    Abstract

    The current-carrying capability of superconductors, crucial for technological applications, is fundamentally limited by vortex motion, making effective vortex pinning paramount. While intrinsic defects can serve as potent pinning centers, their specific influence on vortex behavior remains poorly understood, particularly at the microscopic level. The stoichiometric superconductor CaKFe4As4, free from extrinsic disorder, offers an ideal platform to address this knowledge gap. Here, we employ low-temperature magnetic force microscopy to directly correlate distinct intrinsic planar defects—CaFe2As2 and KFe2As2 intergrowths—with vortex states in CaKFe4As4. We reveal that CaFe2As2 intergrowths induce significantly stronger pinning and more disordered vortex configurations than KFe2As2 intergrowths, with the vortex lattice exhibiting a squarelike symmetry at higher fields. Continuous field-cooling experiments uncover an inhomogeneous pinning landscape associated with CaFe2As2 intergrowths, corroborated by microscale variations in deduced pinning energy and force per unit length, indicative of nanoscale superfluid density fluctuations. Crucially, correlating these microscopic observations with macroscopic critical current density yields a characteristic disorder length scale (∼177nm) consistent with the lateral dimensions of CaFe2As2 intergrowths. This study establishes a direct microscopic link between specific defect structures and vortex pinning mechanisms in CaKFe4As4, providing fundamental insights essential for optimizing critical currents through targeted defect engineering in superconductors.

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