title: Nanoscale layering of antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases in Rb(2)Fe(4)Se(5) single crystals.
abstract: We studied phase separation in the single-crystalline antiferromagnetic superconductor Rb(2)Fe(4)Se(5) (RFS) using a combination of scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy and low-energy muon spin rotation (LE-μSR). We demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases segregate into nanometer-thick layers perpendicular to the iron-selenide planes, while the characteristic in-plane size of the metallic domains reaches 10  μm. By means of LE-μSR we further show that in a 40-nm thick surface layer the ordered antiferromagnetic moment is drastically reduced, while the volume fraction of the paramagnetic phase is significantly enhanced over its bulk value. Self-organization into a quasiregular heterostructure indicates an intimate connection between the modulated superconducting and antiferromagnetic phases.
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 1, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Charnukha
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authors.lastname: Cvitkovic
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Prokscha
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pröpper
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authors.lastname: Ocelic
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authors.lastname: Suter
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authors.lastname: Salman
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Morenzoni
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deisenhofer
authors.forename: V
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authors.lastname: Tsurkan
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authors.lastname: Loidl
authors.forename: B
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authors.lastname: Keimer
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Boris