Scanning microscopies of superconductors at very low temperatures

V. Crespo (1) , A. Maldonado (1) , J.A. Galvis (1) , P. Kulkarni (1) , I. Guillamon (1, 2) , Jose Gabriel Rodrigo (1) , H. Suderow (1) , S. Vieira (1) , S. Banerjee (3) , Pierre Rodiere (4)

1 FMC - Departamento de Fisica de la Materia Condensada [Madrid]
2 H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory [Bristol]
3 Department of Physics [Kanpur]
4 NEEL - MagSup - Magnétisme et Supraconductivité

We discuss basics of Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy (STM/S) of the superconducting state with normal and superconducting tips. We present a new method to measure the local variations in the Andreev reflection amplitude between a superconducting tip and the sample. This method is termed Scanning Andreev Reflection Spectroscopy (SAS). We also briefly discuss vortex imaging with STM/S under an applied current through the sample, and show the vortex lattice as a function of the angle between the magnetic field and sample's surface.

Domaines: Supraconductivité [cond-mat.supr-con]

V. Crespo, A. Maldonado, J.A. Galvis, P. Kulkarni, I. Guillamon, et al.. Scanning microscopies of superconductors at very low temperatures. Physica C: Superconductivity and its Applications, 2012, 479, pp.19-23. ⟨10.1016/j.physc.2012.02.014⟩. ⟨hal-00965604⟩