Proximity effect in gold-coated YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) films studied by scanning tunneling spectroscopy

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy on gold layers overcoating c-axis YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) (YBCO) films reveals proximity-induced gap structures. The gap size reduces exponentially with the distance from a-axis facets, indicating that the proximity effect is primarily due to the (100) YBCO facets. The penetration depth of superconductivity into the gold is approximately 30 nm, in good agreement with estimations for the dirty limit. The extrapolated gap at the interface is approximately 15 meV, similar to the value of an s-wave component of the order parameter measured at the YBCO surface in recent point-contact experiments.     

Observation of out-of-phase bilayer plasmons in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta)

The temperature dependence of the c-axis optical conductivity sigma(omega) of optimally and overdoped YBa2Cu3Ox ( x = 6.93 and 7) is reported in the far- (FIR) and midinfrared (MIR) range. Below T(c) we observe a transfer of spectral weight from the FIR not only to the condensate at omega = 0, but also to a new peak in the MIR. This peak is naturally explained as a transverse out-of-phase bilayer plasmon by a model for sigma(omega) which takes the layered crystal structure into account. With decreasing doping the plasmon shifts to lower frequencies and can be identified with the surprising and so far not understood FIR feature reported in underdoped bilayer cuprates.     

Crystal-lattice coupling to the vortex-melting transition in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta)

Distinct discontinuities in the thermal expansion of the crystal lattice are observed at the melting transition of the vortex lattice in a naturally untwinned reversible YBa(2)Cu3O(7-delta) single crystal using high-resolution dilatometry. This coupling between the vortex transition and the crystal lattice demonstrates that the crystal lattice is more than a mere host for the vortices, and it is attributed to a strong pressure dependence of the superconducting transition temperature and thus to the condensation energy at the vortex-melting temperature.     

Critical current of YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) low-angle grain boundaries

Transport critical current measurements have been performed on 5 degrees [001]-tilt thin film YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) single grain boundaries with the magnetic field rotated in the plane of the film, phi. The variation of the critical current has been determined as a function of the angle between the magnetic field and the grain boundary plane. In applied fields above 1 T the critical current j(c) is found to be strongly suppressed only when the magnetic field is within an angle phi(k) of the grain boundary. Outside this angular range the behavior of the artificial grain boundary is dominated by the critical current of the grains. We show that the phi dependence of j(c) in the suppressed region is well described by a flux cutting model.     

Superconducting gap and strong in-plane anisotropy in untwinned YBa2Cu3O(7-delta)

With significantly improved sample quality and instrumental resolution, we clearly identify in the ( pi,0) photoemission spectra from YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6.993), in the superconducting state, the long-sought "peak-dip-hump" structure. This advance allows us to investigate the large a-b anisotropy of the in-plane electronic structure including, in particular, a 50% difference in the magnitude of the superconducting gap that scales with the energy position of the hump feature. This anisotropy, likely induced by the presence of the CuO chains, raises serious questions about attempts to quantitatively explain the YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) data from various experiments using models based on a perfectly square lattice.     

Critical points in heavy ion irradiated untwinned YBa(2)Cu3O(7-delta) crystals

The critical points in untwinned YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) crystals with dilute columnar defects are investigated. We find a convergence of a first order vortex melting line with an irreversibility line associated with the onset of the Bose glass critical regime at the lower critical point. In addition, we find that columnar defects raise the upper critical point, implying that vortex line meandering is a basic feature controlling its position.     

Possible oxygen hopping in the YBa2Cu3O7 system observed by Mössbauer spectroscopy

In situ high temperature⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer measurements have been performed on samples of YBa₂ (Cu_1?xFe_x)₃O_7?δ withx=0.005 andx=0.010, in pure oxygen or in air, in the range 295 K≤T≤640 K. TheT-dependence of Fe species, of the Debye-Waller factorf(T) as well as of the hyperfine parameters is analysed.     

Oxygen isotope effect in the ab-plane reflectance of underdoped YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta)

We have measured the effect of oxygen isotope substitution on the ab-plane reflectance of underdoped YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta). The frequency shift of the transverse optic phonons due to the substitution of 16O by 18O yields an isotope effect of the expected magnitude for copper-oxygen stretching modes with alpha=0.5+/-0.1. The reflectance shoulder at 400-500 cm(-1) shows a much smaller exponent of alpha=0.1+/-0.1 in the normal state and alpha=0.23+/-0.1 in the superconducting state. These observations suggest that the shoulder is of electronic origin and not due to a phonon mode as has been suggested recently.     

Intrinsic d-wave effects in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) grain boundary Josephson junctions

We have measured the angular dependence of the Josephson critical current density (J(C)) in c-axis tilt biepitaxial grain boundary YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) junctions. We observe for the first time intrinsic d-wave pairing symmetry effects manifested as an oscillatory dependence of J(C) on angle. This intrinsic effect is evident even though spontaneous currents, possibly induced by faceting or barrier impurities, are observed in the grain boundaries.     

Macroscopic quantum tunneling in d-wave YBa2Cu3O7-delta Josephson junctions

The escape rate from the zero voltage state in a superconducting Josephson junction (JJ) is determined by the temperature, but it saturates at low temperature due to macroscopic quantum tunneling (MQT). Complications due to d-wave symmetry in a high temperature superconductor, like low energy quasiparticles and an unconventional current-phase relation, may influence the escape rate. We report, for the first time to our knowledge, the observation of MQT in a YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) grain boundary biepitaxial JJ. This proves that dissipation can be significantly reduced by a proper junction configuration, which is of significance for quantum coherence.     

Observation of splintered Josephson vortices at grain boundaries in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta)

We have directly observed well-separated Josephson vortex splinters with unquantized magnetic flux at asymmetric 45 degrees grain boundaries in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) films by imaging magnetic flux with scanning SQUID microscopy. The existence of these splinter vortices has been predicted and is well described by a model based on dx(2)(-y(2)) pairing symmetry and facetting of the grain boundary on a length scale shorter than the Josephson penetration depth.     

X-ray absorption spectroscopy in YBa2Cu3O7−x superconductors with variable oxygen content

We report the results of XANES and EXAFS measurements performed on YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x compounds withx ranging from 0 to 1. Data for Cu and YK-edges are presented and definite trends in the behaviour of the main near edge structures are singled out, which allow to address the question of the Cu and Y oxidation states and to elucidate the role of the chemical environment in determining the shape of the absorption lines. The inter-atomic distances as obtained by EXAFS generally agree with the results of X-ray diffraction data with the exception of the Y–O distances. Possible sources of this discrepancy are indicated.Sadly, Prof. G.M. Antonini died before the appearance of this paper     

Flux-flow resistivity anisotropy in the instability regime of the a-b plane of epitaxial superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-delta thin films

Measurements of the nonlinear flux-flow resistivity rho and the critical vortex velocity vphi* at high voltage bias close to the instability regime predicted by Larkin and Ovchinnikov (Z. Eksp. Teor. Fiz 68, 1915 (1975) [Sov. Phys. JETP 41, 960 (1976)]) are reported along the node and antinode directions of the d-wave order parameter in the a-b plane of epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7-delta films. In this pinning-free regime, rho and vphi* are found to be anisotropic with values in the node direction larger on average by 10% than in the antinode direction. The anisotropy of rho is almost independent of temperature and field. We attribute the observed results to the anisotropic quasiparticle distribution on the Fermi surface of YBa2Cu3O7-delta.     

Initial structure and growth dynamics of YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) during pulsed laser deposition

The initial heteroepitaxial growth of YBa{2}Cu{3}O{7-delta} films on SrTiO3(001) substrates during pulsed laser deposition shows a growth-mode transition and a change of growth unit. The growth starts with two blocks, each two-thirds the size of the complete unit cell. The first of these blocks grows in a step-flow fashion, whereas the second grows in the layer-by-layer mode. Subsequent deposition occurs layer-by-layer of complete unit cells. These results suggest that the surface diffusion in the heteroepitaxial case is strongly influenced by the competition with formation energies, which is important for the fabrication of heteroepitaxial devices on the unit cell scale.