Imaging the granular structure of high-Tc superconductivity in underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8|[plus]||[delta]|

Granular superconductivity occurs when microscopic superconducting grains are separated by non-superconducting regions; Josephson tunnelling between the grains establishes the macroscopic superconducting state. Although crystals of the copper oxide high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors are not granular in a structural sense, theory suggests that at low|[nbsp]|levels|[nbsp]|of hole doping the holes can become concentrated at|[nbsp]|certain locations resulting in hole-rich superconducting domains.

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