Tunneling into the normal state of Pr(2-x)CexCuO4

The temperature dependence of the tunneling conductance was measured for various doping levels of Pr(2-x)CexCuO4 using planar junctions. A normal state gap is seen at all doping levels studied, x=0.11 to x=0.19. We find it to vanish above a certain temperature T*. T* is greater than Tc for the underdoped region and it follows Tc on the overdoped side. This behavior suggests finite pairing amplitude above Tc on the underdoped side

Tuning spin-orbit coupling and superconductivity at the SrTiO3/LaAlO3 interface: a magneto-transport study

The superconducting transition temperature, Tc, of the SrTiO3/LaAlO3 interface was varied by the electric field effect. The anisotropy of the upper critical field and the normal state magneto-transport were studied as a function of gate voltage. The spin-orbit coupling energy is extracted. This tunable energy scale is used to explain the strong gate dependence of the mobility and of the anomalous Hall signal observed. The spin-orbit coupling energy follows Tc for the electric field range under study

Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in SrTiO3\LaAlO3 interface

Quantum magnetic oscillations in SrTiO3/\LaAlO3 interface are observed. The evolution of their frequency and amplitude at various gate voltages and temperatures is studied. The data are consistent with the Shubnikov de-Haas theory. The Hall resistivity rho exhibits nonlinearity at low magnetic field. It is fitted assuming multiple carrier contributions. The comparison between the mobile carrier density inferred from the Hall data and the oscillation frequency suggests multiple valley and spin degeneracy. The small amplitude of the oscillations is discussed in the framework of the multiple band scenario

Phase coherent transport in SrTiO3/LaAlO3 interfaces

The two dimensional electron gas formed between the two band insulators SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 exhibits a variety of interesting physical properties which make it an appealing material for use in future spintronics and/or quantum computing devices. For this kind of applications electrons have to retain their phase memory for sufficiently long times or length. Using a mesoscopic size device we were able to extract the phase coherence length, and its temperature variation. We find the dephasing rate to have a power law dependence on temperature. The power depends on the temperature range studied and sheet resistance as expected from dephasing due to strong electron-electron interactions.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev

Role of oxygen in the electron-doped superconducting cuprates

We report on resistivity and Hall measurements in thin films of the electron-doped superconducting cuprate Pr$_{2-x}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_{4\pm\delta}$. Comparisons between x = 0.17 samples subjected to either ion-irradiation or oxygenation demonstrate that changing the oxygen content has two separable effects: 1) a doping effect similar to that of cerium, and 2) a disorder effect. These results are consistent with prior speculations that apical oxygen removal is necessary to achieve superconductivity in this compound.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Infrared Signature of the Superconducting State in Pr(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4)

We measured the far infrared reflectivity of two superconducting Pr(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4) films above and below Tc. The reflectivity in the superconducting state increases and the optical conductivity drops at low energies, in agreement with the opening of a (possibly) anisotropic superconducting gap. The maximum energy of the gap scales roughly with Tc as 2 Delta_{max} / kB Tc ~ 4.7. We determined absolute values of the penetration depth at 5 K as lambda_{ab} = (3300 +/- 700) A for x = 0.15 and lambda_{ab} = (2000 +/- 300) A for x = 0.17. A spectral weight analysis shows that the Ferrell-Glover-Tinkham sum rule is satisfied at conventional low energy scales \~ 4 Delta_{max}.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure