Comparison between the amorphous and crystalline (A-15) phases on Nb3Ge

Abstract

A comparative study on the superconducting and the normal-state properties of the amorphous, low-Tc (3.9 K) and the crystalline, high-Tc (2.18 K) phases of Nb3Ge suggests that changes in the strength of electron-phonon interaction account, in large part, for the drastic reduction in Tc. This result is consistent with a dehybridization between Nb 4d and Ge 4p orbitals at EF in amorphous Nb3Ge as shown by recent x-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements and a microscopic theory of dielectric screening and lattice dynamics. © 1978 The American Physical Society.