Proximity Effect in Normal Metal - High Tc Superconductor Contacts

Abstract

We study the proximity effect in good contacts between normal metals and high Tc (d-wave) superconductors. We present theoretical results for the spatially dependent order parameter and local density of states, including effects of impurity scattering in the two sides, s-wave pairing interaction in the normal metal side (attractive or repulsive), as well as subdominant s-wave paring in the superconductor side. For the [100] orientation, a real combination d+s of the order parameters is always found. The spectral signatures of the proximity effect in the normal metal includes a suppression of the low-energy density of states and a finite energy peak structure. These features are mainly due to the impurity self-energies, which dominate over the effects of induced pair potentials. For the [110] orientation, for moderate transparencies, induction of a d+is order parameter on the superconductor side, leads to a proximity induced is order parameter also in the normal metal. The spectral signatures of this type of proximity effect are potentially useful for probing time-reversal symmetry breaking at a [110] interface.

10 pages, 10 figures

References in corpus (6)

• Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of the cuprate superconductors
• Circuit theory of unconventional superconductor junctions
• Theory of charge transport in diffusive normal metal / unconventional singlet superconductor contacts
• Local and macroscopic tunneling spectroscopy of Y(1-x)CaxBa2Cu3O(7-d) films: evidence for a doping dependent is or idxy component in the order parameter
• Anomalous density of states in a metallic film in proximity with a superconductor
• Andreev reflections on Y1-xCaxBa2Cu3O7-delta evidence for an unusual proximity effect

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Odd-frequency pairing in normal metal/superconductor junctions
• Theory of enhanced proximity effect by mid gap Andreev resonant state in diffusive normal metal / triplet superconductor junctions
• Surface-driven electronic structure in LaFeAsO studied by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy
• Influence of the impurity scattering on charge transport in unconventional superconductor junctions
• Anomalous proximity effects at the interface of s and s+- superconductors
• A proximity induced pseudogap - evidence for preformed pairs
• Reentrance and Magnetic-Field-Induced Superconductivity with Kondo Impurities: Bulk and Proximity Systems
• Self-consistent theory of current injection into $d$ and $d+is$ superconductors