2000/12/31 by Ivar Martin, I. Martin, Alexander V. Balatsky +3 · 8 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Surface and Thin Film Phenomena #Theoretical and Computational Physics #cond-mat.dis-nn #cond-mat.supr-con
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.88.097003
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 097003 (2002) · 4 pages, 4 eps figures. Version published in PRL
openalex publication_date 2002/02/15 · arxiv created 2002/02/19 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
We argue that the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) images of resonant states generated by doping Zn or Ni impurities into Cu-O planes of BSCCO are the result of quantum interference of the impurity signal coming from several distinct paths. The impurity image seen on the surface is greatly affected by interlayer tunneling matrix elements. We find that the optimal tunneling path between the STM tip and the metal (Cu, Zn, or Ni) d(x(2)-y(2)) orbitals in the Cu-O plane involves intermediate excited states. This tunneling path leads to the fourfold nonlocal filter of the impurity state in Cu-O plane that explains the experimental impurity spectra. Applications of the tunneling filter to the Cu vacancy defects and "direct" tunneling into Cu-O planes are also discussed.