We show that, contrary to previous belief, the transition to the antiferromagnetic state of Sr$_2$IrO$_4$ in zero magnetic field does show up in the transverse resistivity. We attribute this to a change in transverse integrals associated to the magne
tic ordering, which is evaluated considering hopping of the localized charge. The evolution of the resistivity anomaly associated to the magnetic transition under applied magnetic field is studied. It tracks the magnetic phase diagram, allowing to identify three different lines, notably the spin-flip line, associated with the reordering of the ferromagnetic component of the magnetization, and an intriguing line for field induced magnetism, also corroborated by magnetization measurements.
High-impedance contacts made on the surface of Sr$_{0.88}$La$_{0.12}$CuO$_2$ superconducting thin films systematically display a zero-bias anomaly. We consider two-level systems (TLS) as the origin of this anomaly. We observe that the contribution of
some TLS to the contact resistance is weakened by a magnetic field. We show that this could result from the increase of the TLS relaxation rate in the superconducting state, due to its ability to create pairs of quasiparticles out of the condensate, when located close to the surface of the film.
We report on the spectra of point-contacts made on Sr$_{0.88}$La$_{0.12}$CuO$_2$ thin films. Besides a clear evidence for the superconducting gap, we discuss the origin of specific features, such as resistance peaks at the gap voltage and the occurrence of a two-steps resistance decrease.
We have used the electric--field effect to modulate the resistivity of the surface of underdoped Sr$_{0.88}$La$_{0.12}$CuO$_{2+x}$ thin films, allowing opposite modifications of the electron and hole density in the CuO$_2$ planes, an original situati
on with respect to conventional chemical doping in electron-doped materials. When the Hall effect indicates a large contribution of a hole band, the electric--field effect on the normal state resistivity is however dominated by the electrons, and the superconducting transition temperature increases when carriers are transfered from holes to electrons.
The in-plane penetration depth of Sr$_{0.88}$La$_{0.12}$CuO$_{2+x}$ thin films at various doping obtained from oxygen reduction has been measured, using AC susceptibility measurements. For the higher doping samples, the superfluid density deviates st
rongly from the s-wave behavior, suggesting, in analogy with other electron-doped cuprates, a contribution from a nodal hole pocket, or a small gap on the Fermi surface such as an anisotropic s-wave order parameter. The low value of the superfluid densities, likely due to a strong doping-induced disorder, places the superconducting transition of our samples in the phase-fluctuation regime.
The resistance noise in a Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O$_{8+delta}$ thin film is found to increase strongly in the underdoped regime. While the increase of the raw resistance noise with decreasing temperature appears to roughly track the previously reported pseudo
gap temperature for this material, standard noise analysis rather suggests that the additional noise contribution is driven by the proximity of the superconductor-insulator transition.
