Letter abstract
Nature Physics 5, 213 - 216 (2009)
Published online: 25 January 2009 | doi:10.1038/nphys1197
Subject Category: Condensed-matter physics
Imaging nanoscale Fermi-surface variations in an inhomogeneous superconductor
W. D. Wise1, Kamalesh Chatterjee1, M. C. Boyer1, Takeshi Kondo1,2,5, T. Takeuchi2,3, H. Ikuta2, Zhijun Xu4, Jinsheng Wen4, G. D. Gu4, Yayu Wang1,5 & E. W. Hudson1
Particle–wave duality suggests we think of electrons as waves stretched across a sample, with wavevector k proportional to their momentum. Their arrangement in 'k-space', and in particular the shape of the Fermi surface, where the highest-energy electrons of the system reside, determine many material properties. Here we use a novel extension of Fourier-transform scanning tunnelling microscopy to probe the Fermi surface of the strongly inhomogeneous Bi-based cuprate superconductors. Surprisingly, we find that, rather than being globally defined, the Fermi surface changes on nanometre length scales. Just as shifting tide lines expose variations of water height, changing Fermi surfaces indicate strong local doping variations. This discovery, unprecedented in any material, paves the way for an understanding of other inhomogeneous characteristics of the cuprates, such as the pseudogap magnitude, and highlights a new approach to the study of nanoscale inhomogeneity in general.
- 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
- Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Sciences Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA
- Present addresses: Ames Laboratory and Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA (T.K.); Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China (Y.W.)
Correspondence to: E. W. Hudson1 e-mail: ehudson@mit.edu
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