Structural and Superconducting Properties of BaF2 Doped SmFeAsO

We have studied the impact of simultaneous Ba2+ doping at Sm3+ site (hole doping) and F- doping at O2- site (electron doping) on the structural and superconducting properties of Sm1111 system using a single source, BaF2. With BaF2 doping the extent of layering of the grains and the grain size have been improved considerably. High transport current of 875 A/cm2 at 12 K has been achieved for the doped sample. The binary doped sample shows higher TC of 51 K than the corresponding F-alone doped sample. In addition, substantially high values of HC2 and better JC-H behavior are observed for the BaF2 doped samples. These results strongly indicate the scope for SmFeAsO based conductors with higher current carrying capacity.