8 research outputs found
Point-contact spectroscopy of Al- and C-doped MgB2. Superconducting energy gaps and scattering studies
The two-band/two-gap superconductivity in aluminium and carbon doped MgB
has been addressed by the point-contact spectroscopy. Two gaps are preserved in
all samples with down to 22 K. The evolution of two gaps as a function
of the critical temperature in the doped systems suggest the dominance of the
band-filling effects but for the increased Al-doping the enhanced interband
scattering approaching two gaps must be considered. The magnetic field
dependences of the Andreev reflection excess currents as well as zero-energy
density of states determined from the experimental data are used to analyze the
intraband scattering. It is shown, that while the C-doping increases the
intraband scattering in the -band more rapidly then in the band,
the Al-doping does not change their relative weight.Comment: 8 pages, incl. 6 figure
The BCS-like gap in superconductor SmFeAsO_0.85F_0.15
Since the discovery of superconductivity in the cuprates two decades ago, it
has been firmly established that the CuO_2 plane is consequential for high T_C
superconductivity and a host of other very unusual properties. A new family of
superconductors with the general composition of LaFeAsO_(1-x)F_x has recently
been discovered but with the conspicuous lacking of the CuO_2 planes, thus
raising the tantalizing questions of the different pairing mechanisms in these
oxypnictide superconductors. Intimately related to pairing in a superconductor
are the superconducting gap, its value, structure, and temperature dependence.
Here we report the observation of a single gap in the superconductor
SmFeAsO_0.85F_0.15 with T_C = 42 K as measured by Andreev spectroscopy. The gap
value of 2Delta = 13.34+/-0.3 meV gives 2Delta/k_BT_C = 3.68, close to the BCS
prediction of 3.53. The gap decreases with temperature and vanishes at T_C in a
manner consistent with the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) prediction but
dramatically different from that of the pseudogap behavior in the cuprate
superconductors. Our results clearly indicate a nodeless gap order parameter,
which is nearly isotropic in size across different sections of the Fermi
surface, and are not compatible with models involving antiferromagnetic
fluctuations, strong correlations, t-J model, and the like, originally designed
for cuprates.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
Magnetic field dependence of superconducting energy gaps in YNi2B2C: Evidence of multiband superconductivity
We present results of in field directional point contact spectroscopy (DPCS)
study in the quaternary borocarbide superconductor YNi2B2C, which is
characterized by a highly anisotropic superconducting gap function. For I||a,
the superconducting energy gap (D), decreases linearly with magnetic field and
vanishes around 3.25T which is well below the upper critical field (Hc2~6T)
measured at the same temperature (2.2K). For I||c, on the other hand, D
decreases weakly with magnetic field but the broadening parameter (G) increases
rapidly with magnetic field with the absence of any resolvable feature above
3.5T. From an analysis of the field variation of energy gaps and the zero bias
density of states we show that the unconventional gap function observed in this
material could originate from multiband superconductivity.Comment: 19 pages including figures (final version
Electron and hole transmission through superconductor - normal metal interfaces
We have investigated the transmission of electrons and holes through
interfaces between superconducting aluminum (Tc = 1.2 K) and various normal
non-magnetic metals (copper, gold, palladium, platinum, and silver) using
Andreev-reflection spectroscopy at T = 0.1 K. We analyzed the point contacts
with the modified BTK theory that includes Dynes' lifetime as a fitting
parameter G in addition to superconducting energy gap 2D and normal reflection
described by Z. For contact areas from 1 nm^2 to 10000 nm^2 the BTK Z parameter
was 0.5, corresponding to transmission coefficients of about 80 %, independent
of the normal metal. The very small variation of Z indicates that the
interfaces have a negligible dielectric tunneling barrier. Fermi surface
mismatch does not account for the observed transmission coefficient.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Proceedings of the 19th
International Conference on Magnetism ICM2012 (Busan 2012
Ordered thin films of magnetic nanoparticles
The investigation of physical properties of bulk materials is a traditional approach in materials science. During
last decades the interest has been focused on two-dimensional ordered systems of nanometer-size particles with unusual
mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical, chemical properties, which are perspective for applications in electronics, optics,
computer science and medicine. In this paper we report on the preparation of well ordered Langmuir-Blodgett films of g-
Fe2O3 nanoparticles with an average size of 10nm. Arrangement and homogeneity were confirmed by scanning electron
microscopy as well as atomic force microscopy. Magnetic properties were measured by the magneto-optical Kerr effect