Pinning force scaling analysis of Fe-based high-Tc superconductors

Pinning force data, Fp, of a variety of Fe-based high-Tc superconductors (11-, 111-, 122- and 1111-type) were analyzed by means of a scaling approach based on own experimental data and an extensive collection of literature data. The literature data were mostly replotted, but also converted from critical current measurements together with data for the irreversibility line when available from the same authors. Using the scaling approaches of Dew-Hughes and Kramer, we determined the scaling behavior and the best fits to the theory. The data of most experiments analyzed show a good scaling behavior at high temperatures when plotting the normalized pinning force Fp/Fp,max versus the irreversibility field, Hirr. The resulting peak positions, h0, were found at 0.3 for the 11-type materials, at 0.48 for the 111-type materials, between 0.32 and 0.5 for the 1111-type materials and between 0.25 and 0.71 for the 122-type materials. This high peak position ensures a good performance of the materials in high applied magnetic fields and is, therefore, a very promising result concerning the possible applications of the Fe-based high-Tc superconductors.

$T_c$ Dependence of Energy Gap and Asymmetry of Coherence Peaks in NdBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$

We report here the results of scanning tunneling spectroscopic experiments performed on hole doped NdBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ single crystals of $T_c$ values of 76 K, 93.5 K and 95.5 K. The energy gaps are observed to be increasing with decreasing $T_c$ values. The coherence peaks are asymmetric with the peaks at the filled states being larger than those at the empty ones. The asymmetry increases with decreasing $T_c$. The observed asymmetry and its $T_c$ dependence can be explained by considering the Mott insulating nature of the material at the undoped state.

Excitation of a bosonic mode by electron tunneling into a cuprate superconductor

We performed scanning tunneling spectroscopic experiments on hole-doped NdBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$. The d$I$/d$V$ curves obtained at 4.2 K are asymmetric with clear peak-dip and hump structures. Energy derivatives of these curves show peaks at energies beyond the dip features. Highly precise full potential bandstructure calculations confirm a featureless electronic density of states in that energy region. Our results indicate that tunneling electrons couple to a collective mode in the CuO$_2$ plane.

Direct observation of nanometer-scale pinning sites in (Nd$_{0.33}$,Eu$_{0.20}$,Gd$_{0.47}$)Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ single crystals

We report on the observation of self-organized stripe-like structures on the as-grown surface and in the bulk of (Nd,Eu,Gd)Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_y$ single crystals. The periodicity of the stripes on the surface lies between 500 and 800 nm. These are possibly the growth steps of the crystal. Transmission electron microscopy investigations revealed stripes of periodicity in the range of 20 to 40 nm in the bulk. From electron back scattered diffraction investigations, no crystallographic misorientation due to the nanostripes has been found. Scanning tunneling spectroscopic experiments revealed nonsuperconducting regions, running along twin directions, which presumably constitute strong pinning sites.