We measured the far infrared reflectivity of two superconducting Pr(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4) films above and below Tc. The reflectivity in the superconducting state increases and the optical conductivity drops at low energies, in agreement with the opening of a (possibly) anisotropic superconducting gap. The maximum energy of the gap scales roughly with Tc as 2 Delta_{max} / kB Tc ~ 4.7. We determined absolute values of the penetration depth at 5 K as lambda_{ab} = (3300 +/- 700) A for x = 0.15 and lambda_{ab} = (2000 +/- 300) A for x = 0.17. A spectral weight analysis shows that the Ferrell-Glover-Tinkham sum rule is satisfied at conventional low energy scales ~ 4 Delta_{max}.
We report the temperature dependence of the infrared-visible conductivity of Pr(2-x)Ce(x)CuO(4) thin films. When varying the doping from a non-superconducting film (x = 0.11) to a superconducting overdoped film (x = 0.17), we observe, up to optimal doping (x = 0.15), a partial gap opening. A model combining a spin density wave gap and a frequency and temperature dependent self energy reproduces our data reasonably well. The magnitude of this gap extrapolates to zero for x ~ 0.17 indicating the coexistence of magnetism and superconductivity in this material and the existence of a quantum critical point at this Ce concentration.
The London penetration depth, lambda{ab}(T), is reported for thin films of the electron-doped superconductor Pr{2-x}Ce{x}CuO{4-y} at three doping levels (x = 0.13, 0.15 and 0.17). Measurements down to 0.35 K were carried out using a tunnel diode oscillator with excitation fields applied both perpendicular and parallel to the conducting planes. For all samples and both field orientations lambda{ab}(T) showed power law behavior implying a superconducting gap with nodes.
We have investigated the doping dependence of the penetration depth vs. temperature in electron doped Pr$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_{4-delta}$ using a model which assumes the uniform coexistence of (mean-field) antiferromagnetism and superconductivity. Despite the presence of a $d_{x^2-y^2}$ pairing gap in the underlying spectrum, we find nodeless behavior of the low-$T$ penetration depth in underdoped case, in accord with experimental results. As doping increases, a linear-in-$T$ behavior of the penetration depth, characteristic of d-wave pairing, emerges as the lower magnetic band crosses the Fermi level and creates a nodal Fermi surface pocket.
For electron-doped cuprates, the strong suppression of antiferromagnetic spin correlation by efficient reduction annealing by the protect-annealing method leads to superconductivity not only with lower Ce concentrations but also with higher transition temperatures. To reveal the nature of this superconducting state, we have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements of protect-annealed electron-doped superconductors Pr$_{1.3-x}$La$_{0.7}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ and directly investigated the superconducting gap. The gap was found to be consistent with $d$-wave symmetry, suggesting that strong electron correlation persists and hence antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations remain a candidate that mediates Copper pairing in the protect-annealed electron-doped cuprates.
Electron correlations play a dominant role in the charge dynamics of the cuprates. We use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) to track the doping dependence of the collective charge excitations in electron doped La$_{2-x}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$(LCCO). From the resonant energy dependence and the out-of-plane momentum dependence, the charge excitations are identified as three-dimensional (3D) plasmons, which reflect the nature of the electronic structure and Coulomb repulsion on both short and long length scales. With increasing electron doping, the plasmon excitations show monotonic hardening in energy, a consequence of the electron correlation effect on electron structure near the Fermi surface (FS). Importantly, the plasmon excitations evolve from a broad feature into a well defined peak with much increased life time, revealing the evolution of the electrons from incoherent states to coherent quasi-particles near the FS. Such evolution marks the reduction of the short-range electronic correlation, and thus the softening of the Mottness of the system with increasing electron doping.