New features of the phase transition to the superconducting state in thin films

The Halperin–Lubensky–Ma (HLM) effect of a fluctuation-induced change of the order of phase transition in thin films of type I superconductors with relatively small Ginzburg–Landau number κ is considered. Numerical data for the free energy, the order parameter jump, the latent heat and the specific heat of W, Al and In are presented to reveal the influence of film thickness and material parameters on the properties of the phase transition. We demonstrate for the first time that in contrast to the usual notion the HLM effect occurs in the most distinct way in superconducting films with high critical magnetic field Hc0 rather than in materials with small κ. The possibility of an experimental observation of the fluctuation change of the order of the superconducting phase transition in superconducting films is discussed.