Node-like excitations in superconductingPbMo6S8probed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy

2007/02/12 by C. Dubois, A. P. Petrovic, A. P. Petrović +9 · 3 citations
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Iron-based superconductors research #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #cond-mat.supr-con

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.75.104501

published as Phys. Rev. B 75, 104501 (2007) · To appear in PRB; 5 pages, 4 figures

arxiv created 2007/02/12 · openalex publication_date 2007/03/05 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We present a scanning tunneling spectroscopy study on the Chevrel phase PbMo₆S₈, an extreme type-II superconductor with a coherence length only slightly larger than in high-T_c cuprates. Tunneling spectra measured on atomically flat terraces are spatially homogeneous and show well-defined coherence peaks. The low-energy spectral weight, the zero bias conductance, and the temperature dependence of the gap are incompatible with a conventional isotropic s-wave interpretation, revealing the presence of low-energy excitations in the superconducting state. We show that our data are consistent with the presence of nodes in the superconducting gap.

Citations

• Phenomenological theory of unconventional superconductivity

Cited by

• Phonon mode spectroscopy, electron-phonon coupling, and the metal-insulator transition in quasi-one-dimensionalM2Mo6Se6
• Multiband Superconductivity in the Chevrel PhasesSnMo6S8andPbMo6S8
• Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy in the Superconducting State and Vortex Cores of theβ-PyrochloreKOs2O6