We present a detailed analysis on the hopping between monolayer CuO$_2$ and bulk CuO$_2$ plane in the Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ substrate. With a two-band model, we demonstrate that the nodeless gap can only exist when the hole concentration in monolayer CuO$_2$ plane is very large or very small. We argued that the possible phase separation may play important role in the recent experimental observation of nodeless gap.
We have measured the superconducting gap Ds in optimally doped samples of BSCCO, TBCCO, HBCCO and HSCCO by Andreev and tunnelling spectroscopy and by ARPES. We have found that the low-temperature value of the gap within experimental errors is linearly increasing with the number n of CuO2 layers in the unit cell of the investigated HTSC-families (n < 4)
In this work zero-temperature phase diagrams of cuprates with Ba$_2$CuO$_3$-type CuO chain structure is investigated. The projective symmetry group analysis is employed in the strong coupling limit, and renormalization group with bosonization analysis is employed in the weak coupling limit. We find that in both of these two limits, large areas of the phase diagrams are filled with nodeless $s$-wave superconducting phases (with weak $d$-wave components), instead of pure $d$-wave phase mostly found in cuprates. This implies that nodeless $s$-wave phase is the dominant superconducting phase in cu…
We study the electronic structure and superconductivity in CuO$_2$ monolayer grown recently on $d$-wave cuprate superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$. Density functional theory calculations indicate significant charge transfer across the interface such that the CuO$_2$ monolayer is heavily overdoped into the hole-rich regime yet inaccessible in bulk cuprates. We show that both the Cu $d_{x^2-y^2}$ and $d_{3z^2-r^2}$ orbitals become important and the Fermi surface contains one electron and one hole pocket associated with the two orbitals respectively. Constructing a minimal correlated tw…
We have investigated the doping dependence of the penetration depth vs. temperature in electron doped Pr$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_{4-δ}$ using a model which assumes the uniform coexistence of (mean-field) antiferromagnetism and superconductivity. Despite the presence of a $d_{x^2-y^2}$ pairing gap in the underlying spectrum, we find nodeless behavior of the low-$T$ penetration depth in underdoped case, in accord with experimental results. As doping increases, a linear-in-$T$ behavior of the penetration depth, characteristic of d-wave pairing, emerges as the lower magnetic band crosses the Fermi level…
The microscopic understanding of high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates has been hindered by the apparent complexity of crystal structures in these materials. We used scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to study an electron-doped copper oxide compound Sr$_{1-x}$Nd$_x$CuO$_2$ that has only bare cations separating the CuO$_2$ planes and thus the simplest infinite-layer structure among all cuprate superconductors. Tunneling conductance spectra of the major CuO$_2$ planes in the superconducting state revealed direct evidence for a nodeless pairing gap, regardless of variation of…
We present measurements of the ab-plane magnetic penetration depth, λ(T), in five optimally doped Pr_{1.855}Ce_{0.145}CuO_{4-y} films for 1.6 K \leq T \leq T_c \sim 24 K. Low resistivities, high superfluid densities n_s(T)\propto λ^{-2}(T), high T_c's, and small transition widths are reproducible and indicative of excellent film quality. For all five films, λ^{-2}(T)/λ^{-2}(0) at low T is well fitted by an exponential temperature dependence with a gap, Δ_{min}, of 0.85 k_B T_c. This behavior is consistent with a nodeless gap and is incompatible with d-wave superconductivity.
Photoemission spectra of underdoped and lightly-doped Bi$_{2-z}$Pb$_z$Sr$_2$Ca$_{1-x}${\it R}$_{x}$Cu$_2$O$_{8+y}$ ($R=$ Pr, Er) (BSCCO) have been measured and compared with those of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ (LSCO). The lower-Hubbard band of the insulating BSCCO, like Ca$_2$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$, shows a stronger dispersion than La$_2$CuO$_4$ from ${\bf k}\sim$($π/2,π/2$) to $\sim$($π,0$). The flat band at ${\bf k}\sim$($π,0$) is found generally deeper in BSCCO. These observations together with the Fermi-surface shapes and the chemical potential shifts indicate that the next-nearest-neighbor hopping $|…
We report measurements of the inverse squared magnetic penetration depth, $λ^{-2}(T)$, in Pr$_{2-x}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_{4-δ}$ ($0.115 \leq x \leq 0.152$) superconducting films grown on SrTiO$_3$ (001) substrates coated with a buffer layer of insulating Pr$_{2}$CuO$_{4}$. $λ^{-2}(0)$, $T_c$ and normal-state resistivities of these films indicate that they are clean and homogeneous. Over a wide range of Ce doping, $0.124\leq x \leq 0.144$, $λ^{-2}(T)$ at low $T$ is flat: it changes by less than 0.15% over a factor of 3 change in $T$, indicating a gap in the superconducting density of states. Fits to th…
We present results of density functional theory (DFT) calculation of the structural supermodulation in BSCCO-2212 structure, and show that the supermodulation is indeed a spontaneous symmetry breaking of the nominal crystal symmetry, rather than a phenomenon driven by interstitial O dopants. The structure obtained is in excellent quantitative agreement with recent x-ray studies, and reproduces several qualitative aspects of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) experiments as well. The primary structural modulation affecting the CuO_2 plane is found to be a buckling wave of tilted CuO_5 half-oc…
X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) on the O 1s threshold was applied to Bi-based, single crystalline high temperature superconductors (HTc's), whose hole densities in the CuO2 planes was varied by different methods. XAS gives the intensity of the so-called pre-peak of the O 1s line due to the unoccupied part of the Zhang-Rice (ZR) singlet state. The effects of variation of the number n of CuO2 - planes per unit cell (n = 1,2,3) and the effect of La-substitution for Sr for the n = 1 and n = 2 phase were studied systematically. Furthermore the symmetry of the states could be probed by the polar…
The pairing mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates remains the biggest unresolved mystery in condensed matter physics. To solve the problem, one of the most effective approaches is to investigate directly the superconducting CuO2 layers. Here, by growing CuO2 monolayer films on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ substrates, we identify two distinct and spatially separated energy gaps centered at the Fermi energy, a smaller U-like gap and a larger V-like gap on the films, and study their interactions with alien atoms by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. The newly discovered U-lik…
A nodeless superconducting (SC) gap was reported in a recent scanning tunneling spectroscopy experiment of a copper-oxide monolayer grown on the Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ (Bi2212) substrate [Y. Zhong {\it et al.}, Sci. Bull. {\bf 61}, 1239 (2016)], which is in stark contrast to the nodal d-wave pairing gap in the bulk cuprates. Motivated by this experiment, we first show with first-principles calculations that the tetragonal CuO (T-CuO) monolayer on the Bi2212 substrate is more stable than the commonly postulated CuO$_{2}$ structure. The T-CuO monolayer is composed of two CuO$_2$ layers sh…
We have revisited the magnetic penetration depth data on the electron-doped cuprates Pr(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4-y) and La(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4-y). It is proposed that the transition between the nodal-gap-like and nodeless-gap-like behaviors upon electron-doping [see, e.g., M. Kim et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 87001 (2003)] can be due to a scattering of the quasiparticles in the d-wave superconducting state by an incipient or weak antiferromagnetic spin-density-wave. This conjecture is supported by the inelastic neutron scattering and angle-resolved photoemission experiments on some closely related electron-do…
We address an important issue as to whether bulk-sensitive data of Raman scattering, optical conductivity, magnetic penetration depth, directional point-contact tunneling spectra, and nonmagnetic pair-breaking effect in optimally electron-doped Nd_{1.85}Ce_{0.15}CuO_{4-y} support a nodeless s-wave or d-wave superconducting gap. We numerically calculate Raman intensities, directional point-contact tunneling spectra, and nonmagnetic pair-breaking effect in terms of both s-wave and d-wave gap symmetries. We find that all these bulk-sensitive data are in quantitative agreement with a nearly isotro…
Superlattices of the repeated structure La(1.56)Sr(0.44)CuO(4)/La(2)CuO(4) (LSCO-LCO), where none of the constituents is superconducting, show a superconducting transition of T_c \simeq 25 K. In order to elucidate the nature of the superconducting state we have performed a low-energy muSR study. By applying a magnetic field parallel (Meissner state) and perpendicular (vortex state) to the film planes, we could show that superconductivity is sheet like, resulting in a very anisotropic superconducting state. This result is consistent with a simple charge-transfer model, which takes into account …
Angle resolved photoemission (ARPES) data from the electron doped cuprate superconductor Sm$_{1.86}$Ce$_{0.14}$CuO$_4$ shows a much stronger pseudo-gap or "hot-spot" effect than that observed in other optimally doped $n$-type cuprates. Importantly, these effects are strong enough to drive the zone-diagonal states below the chemical potential, implying that d-wave superconductivity in this compound would be of a novel "nodeless" gap variety. The gross features of the Fermi surface topology and low energy electronic structure are found to be well described by reconstruction of bands by a $\sqrt{…
To understand the recently observed high temperature superconductivity in the monolayer CuO$_2$ grown on the Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ substrates, we propose a two band model of the hybridized oxygen $p_x$ and $p_y$ orbitals with the proximity effect of the substrate. We demonstrate that both the nodal and nodeless d-wave superconducting states can be induced by the proximity effect, depending on the strengths of the pairing parameters.
Motivated by the recent observations of nodeless superconductivity in the monolayer CuO$_{2}$ grown on the Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8+δ}$ substrates, we study the two-dimensional superconducting (SC) phases described by the two-dimensional $t$-$J$ model in proximity to an antiferromagnetic (AF) insulator. We found that (i) the nodal d-wave SC state can be driven via a continuous transition into a nodeless d-wave pairing state by the proximity induced AF field. (ii) The energetically favorable pairing states in the strong field regime have extended s-wave symmetry and can be nodal or nodel…
We analyze the results of point-contact measurements in La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} (LSCO) previously reported as a clear evidence of the separation between gap and pseudogap in this copper oxide. Here we show that, in addition to this, the conductance curves of our point-contact junctions -- showing clear Andreev reflection features -- can be interpreted as supporting a nodeless d_{x^2-y^2}+id_{xy}-wave symmetry of the gap in LSCO. The results of our analysis, in particular the doping dependence of the subdominant d_{xy} gap component, are discussed and compared to the predictions of different theo…
Electron-doped infinite-layer Sr$_{1-x}$Eu$_{x}$CuO$_{2+y}$ films over a wide doping range have been prepared epitaxially on SrTiO$_3$(001) using reactive molecular beam epitaxy. In-plane transport measurements of the single crystalline samples reveal a dome-shaped nodeless superconducting phase centered at $x$ $\sim$ 0.15, a Fermi-liquid behavior and pronounced upturn in low temperature resistivity. We show that the resistivity upturn follows square-root temperature dependence, suggesting the emergence of superconductivity via a three-dimensional percolation process. The percolative supercond…
We report high-resolution spectra of the second derivative -d^{2}(ReΣ)/dω^{2} of the real part of electron self-energy Σalong the diagonal direction (where ω= E_{F}-E - Δ_{D} and Δ_{D} is the diagonal superconducting gap) for a nonsuperconducting La_{1.97}Sr_{0.03}CuO_{4} (LSCO) crystal and a superconducting Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CaCu_{2}O_{8+y} (BSCCO) crystal with T_{c} = 91 K. The -d^{2}(ReΣ)/dω^{2} spectrum of the nonsuperconducting LSCO shows clear peak features, which match precisely with those in the phonon density of states obtained from neutron scattering. Similarly, if we assign Δ_{D} = 7\pm1 …
High-temperature superconductors (HTS) are important for potential applications and for understanding the origin of strong correlations. Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ (BSCCO), a van der Waals material, offers a platform to probe the physics down to a unit-cell. Guiding the flow of electrons by patterning 2DEGS and oxide heterostructures has brought new functionality and access to new science. Similarly, modifying superconductivity in HTS locally, on a small length scale, will be of immense interest for superconducting electronics. Here we report transport studies on few unit-cell thick BSCCO a…
High-Tc superconductivity in layered cuprates is described in a BCS-BEC formalism with linearly-dispersive s- and d-wave Cooper pairs moving in quasi-2D finite-width layers about the CuO_2 planes. This yields a closed formula for Tc determined by the layer width, the Debye frequency, the pairing energy, and the in-plane penetration depth. The new formula reasonably reproduces empirical values of superconducting Tc's for seven different compounds among the LSCO, YBCO, BSCCO and TBCCO layered cuprates.
Recent scanning tunneling microscopy on BSCCO 2212 has revealed a substantial spatial supermodulation of the energy gap in the superconducting state. We propose that this gap modulation is due to the superlattice modulations of the atoms in the structure, and hence the parameters in a microscopic model of the CuO2 plane. The gap modulation is estimated using renormalized mean field theory for a t-t'-J model on a superlattice. The results compare well with experiment.
We analyze the two-orbital (with $d_{x^2-y^2}$ and $d_{3z^2-r^2}$ orbitals) analogue of the $t$-$J$-$U$ model as applied to the description of the copper-oxide monolayer deposited on the Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ substrate (CuO$_2$/BSCCO). We show, that an $extended$ $s$-$wave$ superconducting dome appears in the heavily hole overdoped regime of the model, with dominant contribution to the pairing coming from the $d_{3z^2-r^2}$ orbitals. Also, the lower critical doping for the appearance of the SC state concurs with the Lifshitz Transition after which the hole-like Fermi pockets are create…
In high temperature cuprate superconductors, the interlayer coupling between the CuO$_2$ planes plays an important role in dictating superconductivity, as indicated by the sensitive dependence of the critical temperature (T$_C$) on the number of CuO$_2$ planes in one structural unit. In Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ superconductor with two CuO$_2$ planes in one structural unit, the interaction between the two CuO$_2$ planes gives rise to band splitting into two Fermi surface sheets (bilayer splitting) that have distinct superconducting gap. The iron based superconductors are composed of stacki…
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…
