Physikalisches Institut

Order parameter symmetry in cuprate superconductors


While for the order parameter (i.e. the macroscopic wave function of a superconductor) of hole-doped high-transition-temperature superconductors the d-wave symmetry could be established, for electron-doped cuprates such as the „T’ cuprates“ R2-xCexCuO4 (R = La, Nd, Pr, Sm, Eu), the situation is still unclear. The same holds for for the superconductor/ferromagnet (S/F) hybrid RuSr2GdCu2O8, and for S/F heterostructures, e.g. based on YBa2Cu3O7 and La0.67Ca0.33MnO3. We investigate the order parameter symmetry with two complementary experimental methods, which are based on either tunneling of Cooper pairs or of quasiparticles. In the first case the super current ininterferometric arrangements of Josephson junctions with suitable geometrie is investigated. In the second case we analyze the quasiparticle conductance of tunnel junctions with respect to the presence of Andreev bound states. both experimental methods are sensitive on very different length scales and ranges of magnetic field and hence give sound evidence on the nature of the superconducting wave function.


Publications concerning this topic

M. Wagenknecht, D. Koelle, R. Kleiner, S. Graser, N. Schopohl, B. Chesca, A. Tsukada, S. T. B. Goennenwein, and R. Gross, Phase diagram of the electron-doped La2-xCexCuO4 cuprate superconductor from Andreev Bound States at grain boundary junctions", Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 227001 (2008).

B. Chesca, D. Doenitz, T. Dahm, R. Huebener, D. Koelle, R. Kleiner, Ariando, H. Hilgenkamp, Observation of Andreev bound states in YBa2Cu3O7-x /Au/Nb ramp-type Josephson junctions, Phys. Rev. B 73, 014529, (2006).

T. Nachtrab, Ch. Bernhard, C. T. Lin, D. Koelle, and R. Kleiner, The Ruthenocuprates - Natural Superconductor-Ferromagnet Multilayers, Special Issue on 'Superconductivity and Magnetism', Comptes Rendus Physique Physique 7, 68 (2006).

B. Chesca, M. Seifried, T. Dahm, N. Schopohl, D. Koelle, R. Kleiner, and A. Tsukada, Observation of Andreev Bound States in Bicrystal Grain-Boundary Josephson Junctions Made of the Electron-Doped Superconductor La2−xCexCuO4−y, Phys. Rev. B 71, 104504, (2005).

B. Chesca, K. Ehrhardt, M. Mößle, R. Straub, D. Koelle, R. Kleiner u. A. Tsukada, Phase-sensitive evidence for a predominant d-wave pairing symmetry in the electron doped superconductor La2-xCexCuO4-y, Physica C 408 321, (2004).

T. Nachtrab, D. Koelle, R. Kleiner, Ch. Bernhard, and C. T. Lin, Intrinsic Josephson Effects in the Magnetic Superconductor RuSr2GdCu2O8, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 117001 (2004).

B. Chesca, K. Ehrhardt, M. Mößle, R. Straub, D. Koelle, R. Kleiner, and A. Tsukada, Magnetic-Field Dependence of the Maximum Supercurrent of La2-xCexCuO4-y Interferometers: Evidence for a Predominant dx2-y2 Superconducting Order Parameter, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 057004 (2003)

B. Chesca, R. Kleiner, Order parameter phase sensitive experiments and SDJ dc SQUIDs, Physica C 357, 1561 (2001).

B. Chesca, R. Kleiner, Electronic Behavior of SDJ small inductance dc p-SQUIDs, Physica C 350, 180 (2001).

M. Mößle, R. Kleiner, P. Müller, Tunneling between Pb and c-axis oriented Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals, Physica C 317, 392 (1999).

M. Mößle, R. Kleiner, c-Axis Josephson Tunneling between Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x and Pb, Phys. Rev. B 59, 4486 (1999).

R.Kleiner, A.S. Katz, A. G. Sun, R. Summer, D. A. Gajewski, S. H. Han, S. I. Woods, E. Dantsker, B. Chen, K. Char, M. B. Maple, R. C. Dynes and John Clarke, Pair Tunneling from c-axis YBa2Cu3O7-x to Pb: Evidence for s-Wave Component from Microwave Induced Steps, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 2161 (1996).