Temperature dependence of the spectral weight in p- and n-type cuprates: A study of normal state partial gaps and electronic kinetic energy

The optical conductivity of CuO₂ (copper-oxygen) planes in p- and n-type cuprates thin films at various doping levels is deduced from highly accurate reflectivity data. The temperature dependence of the real part σ₁ (ω) of this optical conductivity and the corresponding spectral weight allow to track the opening of a partial gap in the normal state of n-type Pr_2−xCe_xCuO₄ (PCCO) but not of p-type Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ (BSCCO) cuprates. This is a clear difference between these two families of cuprates, which we briefly discuss. In BSCCO, the change of the electronic kinetic energy E_kin—deduced from the spectral weight—at the superconducting transition is found to cross over from a conventional BCS behavior (increase of E_kin below T_c) to an unconventional behavior (decrease of E_kin below T_c) as the free carrier density decreases. This behavior appears to be linked to the energy scale over which spectral weight is lost and goes into the superfluid condensate, hence may be related to Mott physics.