No Arabic abstract
We use point contact spectroscopy (PCS) to probe the superconducting properties of electron doped $rm{Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_x)_2As_2}$ ($rm{x = 0.05, 0.055, 0.07, 0.08}$) and hole doped $rm{Ba_{0.8}K_{0.2}Fe_2As_2}$. PCS directly probes the low energy density of states via Andreev reflection, revealing two distinct superconducting gaps in both compound families. Apart from the electron underdoped $rm{Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_{x})_2As_2}$, the excess current due to Andreev reflection for the compounds follows the typical BCS temperature dependence. For underdoped $rm{Ba(Fe_{1-x}Co_{x})_2As_2}$, the temperature dependence of the excess current deviates from that of BCS, developing a tail at higher temperatures and surviving above bulk $T_c$. Possible explanations for this anomalous behavior are explored.
Evidence from NMR of a two-component spin system in cuprate high-$T_c$ superconductors is shown to be paralleled by similar evidence from the electronic entropy so that a two-component quasiparticle fluid is implicated. We propose that this two-component scenario is restricted to the optimal and underdoped regimes and arises from the upper and lower branches of the reconstructed energy-momentum dispersion proposed by Yang, Rice and Zhang (YRZ) to describe the pseudogap. We calculate the spin susceptibility within the YRZ formalism and show that the doping and temperature dependence reproduces the experimental data for the cuprates.
Using a local real-space microscopy probe, we discover evidence of nanoscale interlayer defects along the c-crystallographic direction in BaFe2As2 (122) based iron-arsenide superconductors. We find ordered 122 atomic arrangements within the ab-plane, and within regions of ~10 to 20 nm size perpendicular to this plane. While the FeAs substructure is very rigid, Ba ions are relatively weakly bound and can be displaced from the 122, forming stacking faults resulting in the physical separation of the 122 between adjacent ordered domains. The evidence for interlayer defects between the FeAs superconducting planes gives perspective on the minimal connection between interlayer chemical disorder and high-temperature superconductivity. In particular, the Cooper pairs may be finding a way around such localized interlayer defects through a percolative path of the ordered layered 122 lattice that may not affect Tc.
We present a detailed theoretical description of quantum coherent electron transport in voltage-biased cross-like Andreev interferometers. Making use of the charge conjugation symmetry encoded in the quasiclassical formalism, we elucidate a crucial role played by geometric and electron-hole asymmetries in these structures. We argue that a non-vanishing Aharonov-Bohm-like contribution to the current $I_S$ flowing in the superconducting contour may develop only in geometrically asymmetric interferometers making their behavior qualitatively different from that of symmetric devices. The current $I_N$ in the normal contour -- along with $I_S$ -- is found to be sensitive to phase-coherent effects thereby also acquiring a $2pi$-periodic dependence on the Josephson phase. In asymmetric structures this current develops an odd-in-phase contribution originating from electron-hole asymmetry. We demonstrate that both phase dependent currents $I_S$ and $I_N$ can be controlled and manipulated by tuning the applied voltage, temperature and system topology, thus rendering Andreev interferometers particularly important for future applications in modern electronics.
As charge carriers traverse a single superconductor ferromagnet interface they experience an additional spin-dependent phase angle which results in spin mixing and the formation of a bound state called the Andreev Bound State. This state is an essential component in the generation of long range spin triplet proximity induced superconductivity and yet the factors controlling the degree of spin mixing and the formation of the bound state remain elusive. Here we demonstrate that point contact Andreev reflection can be used to detect the bound state and extract the resulting spin mixing angle. By examining spectra taken from La1.15Sr1.85Mn2O7 single crystal - Pb junctions, together with a compilation of literature data on highly spin polarised systems, we show that the existence of the Andreev Bound State both resolves a number of long standing controversies in the Andreev literature as well as defining a route to quantify the strength of spin mixing at superconductor-ferromagnet interfaces. Intriguingly we find that for these high transparency junctions, the spin mixing angle appears to take a relatively narrow range of values across all the samples studied. The ferromagnets we have chosen to study share a common property in terms of their spin arrangement, and our observations may point to the importance of this property in determining the spin mixing angle under these circumstances.
Andreev reflection (AR) in ferromagnet/superconductor junctions is an indispensable spectroscopic tool for measuring spin polarization. We study theoretically how the presence of a thin semiconducting interface in such junctions, inducing Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling, modifies AR processes. The interface gives rise to an effective momentum- and spin-dependent scattering potential, making the probability of AR strongly asymmetric with respect to the sign of the incident electrons transverse momenta. This skew AR creates spatial charge carrier imbalances and transverse Hall currents flow in the ferromagnet. We show that the effect is giant, as compared to the normal regime. We provide a quantitative analysis and a qualitative picture of this phenomenon, and finally show that skew AR also leads to a widely tunable transverse supercurrent response in the superconductor.