We present low temperature tunneling density of states measurements of Pauli-limited Al films in which the Zeeman and orbital contributions to the critical field are comparable. We show that films in the thickness range of 6-7 nm exhibit a reentrant parallel critical field transition which is associated with a high entropy superconducting phase, similar to the high entropy solid phase of 3He responsible for the Pomeranchuk effect. This phase is characterized by an excess of states near the Fermi energy so long as the parallel critical field transition remains second order. Theoretical fits to the zero bias tunneling conductance are in good agreement with the data well below the transition but theory deviates significantly near the transition. The discrepancy is a consequence of the emergence of e-e interaction correlations as one enters the normal state.
Recent scanning tunnelling microscopy experiments in NbN thin disordered superconducting films found an emergent inhomogeneity at the scale of tens of nanometers. This inhomogeneity is mirrored by an apparent dimensional crossover in the paraconductivity measured in transport above the superconducting critical temperature $T_c$. This behavior was interpreted in terms of an anomalous diffusion of fluctuating Cooper pairs, that display a {em quasi-confinement} (i.e., a slowing down of their diffusive dynamics) on length scales shorter than the inhomogeneity identified by tunnelling experiments. Here we assume this anomalous diffusive behavior of fluctuating Cooper pairs and calculate the effect of these fluctuations on the electron density of states above $T_c$. We find that the density of states is substantially suppressed up to temperatures well above $T_c$. This behavior, which is closely reminiscent of a pseudogap, only arises from the anomalous diffusion of fluctuating Cooper pairs in the absence of stable preformed pairs, setting the stage for an intermediate behavior between the two common paradigms in the superconducting-insulator transition, namely the localisation of Cooper pairs (the so-called bosonic scenario) and the breaking of Cooper pairs into unpaired electrons due to strong disorder (the so-called fermionic scenario).
We report a detailed study of the pairing resonance via tunneling density of states in ultra-thin superconducting Al films in supercritical magnetic fields. Particular emphasis is placed on effects of the perpendicular component of the magnetic field on the resonance energy and magnitude. Though the resonance is broadened and attenuated by $H_bot$ as expected, its energy is shifted upward linearly with $H_bot$. Extension of the original theory of the resonance to include strong perpendicular fields shows that at sufficiently large $H_bot$ the overlap of the broadened resonance tail with the underlying degenerate Fermi sea alters the spectral distribution of the resonance via the exclusion principle. This leads to the shift of the the resonance feature to higher energy.
Vortices in superconductors driven at microwave frequencies exhibit a response related to the interplay between the vortex viscosity, pinning strength, and flux creep effects. At the same time, the trapping of vortices in superconducting microwave resonant circuits contributes excess loss and can result in substantial reductions in the quality factor. Thus, understanding the microwave vortex response in superconducting thin films is important for the design of such circuits, including superconducting qubits and photon detectors, which are typically operated in small, but non-zero, magnetic fields. By cooling in fields of the order of 100 $mu$T and below, we have characterized the magnetic field and frequency dependence of the microwave response of a small density of vortices in resonators fabricated from thin films of Re and Al, which are common materials used in superconducting microwave circuits. Above a certain threshold cooling field, which is different for the Re and Al films, vortices become trapped in the resonators. Vortices in the Al resonators contribute greater loss and are influenced more strongly by flux creep effects than in the Re resonators. This different behavior can be described in the framework of a general vortex dynamics model.
The upper critical field Hc2(T) of the multiband superconductor KFe2As2 has been studied via low-temperature thermal expansion and magnetostriction measurements. We present compelling evidence for Pauli-limiting effects dominating Hc2(T) for H || a, as revealed by a crossover from second- to first-order phase transitions to the superconducting state in the magnetostriction measurements down to 50 mK. Corresponding features were absent for H || c. To our knowledge, this crossover constitutes the first confirmation of Pauli limiting of the Hc2(T) of a multiband superconductor. The results are supported by modeling Pauli limits for single-band and multiband cases.
We present numerical solution of equations by Aslamazov and Lempitskiy (AL) for the distribution of the transport current density in thin superconducting films in the absence of external magnetic field, in both the Meissner and the vortex states. This solution describes smooth transition between the regimes of a wide film and a narrow channel and enables us to find the critical currents and current-voltage characteristics within a wide range of the film width and temperatures. We propose simple approximating formulas for the current density distributions and critical currents.
X. S. Wu
,P.W. Adams
,G. Catelani
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(2006)
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"Density of States, Entropy, and the Superconducting Pomeranchuk Effect in Pauli-Limited Al Films"
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Gianluigi Catelani
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