665 research outputs found
Point contact spectroscopy in Fe-based superconductors: recent advancements and future challenges
Iron-based superconductors (FeSC) present an unprecedented variety of
features both in the superconducting and in the normal state. Different
families differ in the value of the critical temperature, in the shape of the
Fermi surface, in the existence or absence of quasi-nesting conditions, in the
range of doping in which the antiferromagnetic (AFM) and the superconducting
phase coexist and in the structure of the order parameter in the reciprocal
space, and so on. In this paper the most important results of point-contact
spectroscopy (PCS) in Fe-based superconductors are reviewed, and the most
recent advances are described with the aim to discuss the future perspectives
and challenges of this spectroscopic technique in the characterization of the
superconducting properties of these complex compounds. One of the main
challenges, faced so far only by a few researchers in the PCS field, is to
fully explore the phase diagram of these materials, as a function of doping or
pressure, to understand the interplay between superconductivity and magnetism,
the effect of intrinsic or extrinsic inhomogeneities, the role of spin
fluctuations (SFs) in the pairing, the symmetry and the structure of the order
parameter(s).Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Intrinsic surface depression of the order parameter under mixed (s+id)-wave pair symmetry and its effect on the critical current of high-Tc SIS Josephson junctions
An intrinsic gap depression at the Superconductor-Insulator interface due to
the very short value of the coherence length in High-Tc Superconductors [HTSs]
is considered, in the framework of a mixed (s+id)-wave pair symmetry for the
order parameter ranging from pure s to pure d-wave. This gap depression acts as
the main physical agent causing the relevant reduction of IcRn(T) values with
respect to BCS expectations in HTS SIS Josephson junctions. Good agreement with
various experimental data is obtained with both pure s-wave and pure d-wave
symmetries of the order parameter, but with amounts of gap depression depending
on the pair symmetry adopted. Regardless of the pair symmetry considered, these
results prove the importance of the surface order-parameter depression in the
correct interpretation of the Ic(T)Rn(T) data in HTS SIS junctions. In a case
of planar YBCO-based junction the use of the de Gennes condition allowed us to
tentatively obtain an upper limit for the amount of d-wave present in the order
parameter of YBCO.Comment: 11 pages REVTeX file, 6 PostScript figures, to be published in J.
Superconductivit
Point-contact Andreev-reflection spectroscopy in ReFeAsO_{1-x}F_x (Re = La, Sm): Possible evidence for two nodeless gaps
A deep understanding of the character of superconductivity in the recently
discovered Fe-based oxypnictides ReFeAsO1-xFx (Re = rare-earth) necessarily
requires the determination of the number of the gaps and their symmetry in k
space, which are fundamental ingredients of any model for the pairing mechanism
in these new superconductors. In the present paper, we show that point-contact
Andreev-reflection experiments performed on LaFeAsO1-xFx (La-1111) polycrystals
with Tc ~ 27 K and SmFeAsO0.8F0.2 (Sm-1111) ones with Tc ~ 53 K gave
differential conductance curves exhibiting two peaks at low bias and two
additional structures (peaks or shoulders) at higher bias, an experimental
situation quite similar to that observed by the same technique in pure and
doped MgB2. The single-band Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk model is totally unable to
properly fit the conductance curves, while the two-gap one accounts remarkably
well for the shape of the whole experimental dI/dV vs. V curves. These results
give direct evidence of two nodeless gaps in the superconducting state of
ReFeAsO1-xFx (Re = La, Sm): a small gap, Delta1, smaller than the BCS value
(2Delta1/kBTc ~ 2.2 - 3.2) and a much larger gap Delta2 which gives a ratio
2Delta2/kBTc ~ 6.5 - 9. In Sm-1111 both gaps close at the same temperature,
very similar to the bulk Tc, and follow a BCS-like behaviour, while in La-1111
the situation is more complex, the temperature dependence of the gaps showing
remarkable deviations from the BCS behaviour at T close to Tc. The normal-state
conductance reproducibly shows an unusual, but different, shape in La-1111 and
Sm-1111 with a depression or a hump at zero bias, respectively. These
structures survive up to T* ~ 140 K, close to the temperatures at which
structural and magnetic transitions occur in the parent, undoped compound.Comment: 10 pages, 7 color figures, Special Issue of Physica C on
Superconducting Pnictide
3D-melting features of the irreversibility line in overdoped BiSrCuO at ultra-low temperature and high magnetic field
We have measured the irreversible magnetization of an overdoped
BiSrCuO single crystal up to B=28 T and down to T=60 mK, and
extracted the irreversibility line : the data can be
interpreted in the whole temperature range as a 3D-anisotropic vortex lattice
melting line with Lindemann number . We also briefly discuss
the applicability of alternative models such as 2D- and quantum melting, and
the connection with magnetoresistance experiments.Comment: M2S-HTSC-VI Conference paper (2 pages, 1 figure), using Elsevier
style espcrc2.st
Independent determination of the two gaps by directional point-contact spectroscopy in MgB_2 single crystals
Directional point-contact spectroscopy measurements were performed for the
first time in state-of-the-art MgB_2 single crystals. The selective suppression
of the superconductivity in the "pi" band by means of a suitable magnetic field
allowed separating the partial contribution of each band to the total
point-contact conductance. By fitting the partial conductance curves
sigma_sigma(V) and sigma_pi(V), we got an independent determination of the two
gaps, Delta_sigma and Delta_pi, with a strong reduction of the experimental
uncertainty. Their temperature dependence was found to agree well with the
predictions of the two-band models for MgB_2.Comment: 6 pages, 4 eps figures. References added, abstract rewritten, text
slightly changed. Proceedings of the BOROMAG Conference, June 17-19, Genoa,
Ital
Evidence for two-gap nodeless superconductivity in SmFeAsOF from point-contact Andreev-reflection spectroscopy
Point-contact Andreev-reflection measurements were performed in
SmFeAsO_{0.8}F_{0.2} polycrystals with T_c \simeq 53 K. The experimental
conductance curves reproducibly exhibit peaks around \pm 6 mV and shoulders at
V \sim 16-20 mV, indicating the presence of two nodeless superconducting gaps.
While the single-band Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk fit can only reproduce a small
central portion of the conductance curve, the two-gap one accounts remarkably
well for the shape of the whole experimental dI/dV. The fits of the normalized
curves give Delta_1(0) = 6.15 \pm 0.45 meV and Delta_2(0) = 18 \pm 3 meV. Both
gaps close at the same temperature and follow a BCS-like behavior.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps color figure
Andreev reflection in Au/La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} point-contact junctions: separation between pseudogap and phase-coherence gap
We made point-contact measurements with Au tips on La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4}
samples with 0.08 < x < 0.20 to investigate the relationship between
superconducting gap and pseudogap. We obtained junctions whose conductance
curves presented typical Andreev reflection features at all temperatures from
4.2 K up to T_c^A close to the bulk T_c. Their fit with the
BTK-Tanaka-Kashiwaya model gives good results if a (s+d)-wave gap symmetry is
used. The doping dependence of the low temperature dominant isotropic gap
component Delta_{s} follows very well the T_{c} vs. x curve. These results
support the separation between the superconducting (Andreev) gap and the
pseudogap measured by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and
tunneling.Comment: 4 pages, 5 eps figures, 1 table. SNS 2001 Conferenc
Evidence for pseudogap and phase-coherence gap separation by Andreev reflection experiments in Au/La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_4 point-contact junctions
We present new Au/La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} (LSCO) point-contact conductance
measures as a function of voltage and temperature in samples with 0.08 <= x <=
0.2. Andreev reflection features disappear at about the bulk Tc, giving no
evidence of gap for T > Tc. The fit of the normalized conductance at any T < Tc
supports a (s + d)-wave symmetry of the gap, whose dominant low-T s component
follows the Tc(x) curve in contrast with recent angle-resolved photoemission
spectroscopy and quasiparticle tunneling data. These results prove the
separation between pseudogap and phase-coherence superconducting gap in LSCO at
x <= 0.2.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figures, 1 table (RevTeX). Labels added to Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 resized; references added; short discussion about ballistic contact
regime adde
Carrier mobility and scattering lifetime in electric double-layer gated few-layer graphene
We fabricate electric double-layer field-effect transistor (EDL-FET) devices
on mechanically exfoliated few-layer graphene. We exploit the large capacitance
of a polymeric electrolyte to study the transport properties of three, four and
five-layer samples under a large induced surface charge density both above and
below the glass transition temperature of the polymer. We find that the carrier
mobility shows a strong asymmetry between the hole and electron doping regime.
We then employ ab-initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations to
determine the average scattering lifetime from the experimental data. We
explain its peculiar dependence on the carrier density in terms of the specific
properties of the electrolyte we used in our experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Direct evidence for two-band superconductivity in MgB_2 single crystals from directional point-contact spectroscopy in magnetic fields
We present the results of the first directional point-contact spectroscopy
experiments in high-quality MgB_2 single crystals. Due to the directionality of
the current injection into the samples, the application of a magnetic field
allowed us to separate the contributions of the sigma and pi bands to the total
conductance of our point contacts. By using this technique, we were able to
obtain the temperature dependency of each gap independent of the other. The
consequent, strong reduction of the error on the value of the gap amplitude as
function of temperature allows a stricter test of the predictions of the
two-band model for MgB_2.Comment: 4 pages, 5 eps figures. References added, Fig.1 changed, some text
adde
- …