Article abstract
Nature Physics 3, 802 - 806 (2007)
Published online: 16 September 2007 | doi:10.1038/nphys725
Subject Categories: Condensed-matter physics | Materials physics
Imaging the two gaps of the high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CuO6+x
M. C. Boyer1, W. D. Wise1, Kamalesh Chatterjee1, Ming Yi1, Takeshi Kondo1,2,4, T. Takeuchi2,3, H. Ikuta2 & E. W. Hudson1
Abstract
The nature and behaviour of electronic states in high-temperature superconductors are the centre of much debate. The pseudogap state, observed above the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, is seen by some as a precursor to the superconducting state. Others view it as a competing phase. Recently, this discussion has focused on the number of energy gaps in the system. Some experiments indicate a single energy gap, implying that the pseudogap is a precursor state. Others indicate two, suggesting that it is a competing or coexisting phase. Here, we use temperature-dependent scanning tunnelling spectroscopy of (Bi1-yPby)2Sr2CuO6+x to clarify the situation. We find a previously unobserved narrow and homogeneous gap that vanishes near Tc, superimposed on the typically observed inhomogeneous and broad gap, which is only weakly temperature dependent. These results not only support the two-gap picture, but also explain previously troubling differences between scanning tunnelling microscopy and other experimental measurements.
- Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Crystalline Materials Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
- EcoTopia Science Institute, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
- Present address: Ames Laboratory and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
Correspondence to: E. W. Hudson1 e-mail: ehudson@mit.edu
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