327 research outputs found
Local tunneling spectroscopy of the electron-doped cuprate Sm1.85Ce0.15CuO4
We present local tunneling spectroscopy in the optimally electron-doped
cuprate Sm2-xCexCuO4 x=0.15. A clear signature of the superconducting gap is
observed with an amplitude ranging from place to place and from sample to
sample (Delta~3.5-6meV). Another spectroscopic feature is simultaneously
observed at high energy above \pm 50meV. Its energy scale and temperature
evolution is found to be compatible with previous photoemission and optical
experiments. If interpreted as the signature of antiferromagnetic order in the
samples, these results could suggest the coexistence on the local scale of
antiferromagnetism and superconductivity on the electron-doped side of cuprate
superconductors
Fluctuation Dominated Josephson Tunneling with a Scanning Tunneling Microscope
We demonstrate Josephson tunneling in vacuum tunnel junctions formed between
a superconducting scanning tunneling microscope tip and a Pb film, for junction
resistances in the range 50-300 k. We show that the superconducting
phase dynamics is dominated by thermal fluctuations, and that the Josephson
current appears as a peak centered at small finite voltages. In the presence of
microwave fields (f=15.0 GHz) the peak decreases in magnitude and shifts to
higher voltages with increasing rf power, in agreement with theory.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX, submitted to PR
Continuous loading of a non-dissipative atom trap
We study theoretically a scheme in which particles from an incident beam are
trapped in a potential well when colliding with particles already present in
the well. The balance between the arrival of new particles and the evaporation
of particles from the trapped cloud leads to a steady-state that we
characterize in terms of particle number and temperature. For a cigar shaped
potential, different longitudinal and transverse evaporation thresholds can be
chosen. We show that a resonance occur when the transverse evaporation
threshold coincides with the energy of the incident particles. It leads to a
dramatic increase in phase space density with respect to the incident beam.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
Confinement of superconducting fluctuations due to emergent electronic inhomogeneities
The microscopic nature of an insulating state in the vicinity of a
superconducting state, in the presence of disorder, is a hotly debated
question. While the simplest scenario proposes that Coulomb interactions
destroy the Cooper pairs at the transition, leading to localization of single
electrons, an alternate possibility supported by experimental observations
suggests that Cooper pairs instead directly localize. The question of the
homogeneity, granularity, or possibly glassiness of the material on the verge
of this transition is intimately related to this fundamental issue. Here, by
combining macroscopic and nano-scale studies of superconducting ultrathin NbN
films, we reveal nanoscopic electronic inhomogeneities that emerge when the
film thickness is reduced. In addition, while thicker films display a purely
two-dimensional behaviour in the superconducting fluctuations, we demonstrate a
zero-dimensional regime for the thinner samples precisely on the scale of the
inhomogeneities. Such behavior is somehow intermediate between the Fermi and
Bose insulator paradigms and calls for further investigation to understand the
way Cooper pairs continuously evolve from a bound state of fermionic objects
into localized bosonic entities.Comment: 29 pages 9 figure
Spectroscopic evidence for strong correlations between local superconducting gap and local Altshuler-Aronov density-of-states suppression in ultrathin NbN films
Disorder has different profound effects on superconducting thin films. For a
large variety of materials, increasing disorder reduces electronic screening
which enhances electron-electron repulsion. These fermionic effects lead to a
mechanism described by Finkelstein: when disorder combined to electron-electron
interactions increases, there is a global decrease of the superconducting
energy gap and of the critical temperature , the ratio
/ remaining roughly constant. In addition, in most films an
emergent granularity develops with increasing disorder and results in the
formation of inhomogeneous superconducting puddles. These gap inhomogeneities
are usually accompanied by the development of bosonic features: a pseudogap
develops above the critical temperature and the energy gap
starts decoupling from . Thus the mechanism(s) driving the appearance of
these gap inhomogeneities could result from a complicated interplay between
fermionic and bosonic effects. By studying the local electronic properties of a
NbN film with scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) we show that the
inhomogeneous spatial distribution of is locally strongly correlated
to a large depletion in the local density of states (LDOS) around the Fermi
level, associated to the Altshuler-Aronov effect induced by strong electronic
interactions. By modelling quantitatively the measured LDOS suppression, we
show that the latter can be interpreted as local variations of the film
resistivity. This local change in resistivity leads to a local variation of
through a local Finkelstein mechanism. Our analysis furnishes a purely
fermionic scenario explaining quantitatively the emergent superconducting
inhomogeneities, while the precise origin of the latter remained unclear up to
now.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Double Fe-impurity charge state in the topological insulator BiSe
The influence of individual impurities of Fe on the electronic properties of
topological insulator BiSe is studied by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy.
The microscope tip is used in order to remotely charge/discharge Fe impurities.
The charging process is shown to depend on the impurity location in the
crystallographic unit cell, on the presence of other Fe impurities in the close
vicinity, as well as on the overall doping level of the crystal. We present a
qualitative explanation of the observed phenomena in terms of tip-induced local
band bending. Our observations evidence that the specific impurity neighborhood
and the position of the Fermi energy with respect to the Dirac point and bulk
bands have both to be taken into account when considering the electron
scattering on the disorder in topological insulators.Comment: 10 pages, accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letters, minor
bugs were correcte
Quasiparticle spectrum of the cuprate BiSrCaCuO: Possible connection to the phase diagram
We previously introduced [T. Cren et al., Europhys. Lett. 52, 203 (2000)] an
energy-dependant gap function, , that fits the unusual shape of the
quasiparticle (QP) spectrum for both BiSrCaCuO and YBaCuO. A simple
anti-resonance in accounts for the pronounced QP peaks in the
density of states, at an energy , and the dip feature at a higher
energy, . Here we go a step further : our gap function is consistent
with the () phase diagram, where is the carrier density. For large QP
energies (), the total spectral gap is , where is tied to the condensation
energy. From the available data, a simple -dependance of and
is found, in particular .
These two distinct energy scales of the superconducting state are interpreted
by comparing with the normal and pseudogap states. The various forms of the QP
density of states, as well as the spectral function , are discussed
Electric Pulse Induced Resistive Switching, Electronic Phase Separation, and Possible Superconductivity in a Mott insulator
Metal-insulator transitions (MIT) belong to a class of fascinating physical
phenomena, which includes superconductivity, and colossal magnetoresistance
(CMR), that are associated with drastic modifications of electrical resistance.
In transition metal compounds, MIT are often related to the presence of strong
electronic correlations that drive the system into a Mott insulator state. In
these systems the MIT is usually tuned by electron doping or by applying an
external pressure. However, it was noted recently that a Mott insulator should
also be sensitive to other external perturbations such as an electric field. We
report here the first experimental evidence of a non-volatile
electric-pulse-induced insulator-to-metal transition and possible
superconductivity in the Mott insulator GaTa4Se8. Our Scanning Tunneling
Microscopy experiments show that this unconventional response of the system to
short electric pulses arises from a nanometer scale Electronic Phase Separation
(EPS) generated in the bulk material.Comment: Highlight in Advanced Functional Materials 18, 1-4 (2008) doi :
10.1002/adfm.20080055
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