Doping Dependence of Two Energy Scales in the Tunneling Spectra of Superconducting La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$

Abstract

Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy have been performed on superconducting La${}_{2-x}$Sr${}_x$CuO${}_4$ ($x=0.06,0.12,0.16$, and 0.21) at 4.2 K. Atomically resolved surface topography has been observed on the $ab$ surface, which exhibits a one-dimensional structure corresponding to the buckling pattern of the orthorhombic phase. The tunneling spectra of all samples exhibit kinks at about $\pm 5$ meV in addition to the energy gap, indicating the existence of two energy scales. While the gap magnitude varies on the length scale of a few nm and steadily increases upon underdoping, the kink energy is spatially uniform on the surface and almost independent of the doping level.

5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn Vol.77 No.5

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• A framework for the description of charge order, pseudo and superconducting gap, critical temperature and pairing interaction in cuprate superconductors
• Influence of the atomic-scale inhomogeneity of the pair interaction on extracted from the STM spectra characteristics of high-$T_c$ superconductors