Superconducting density of states of PtPb4

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Talavera, Pablo García, Moreno, Jose Antonio, Herrera, Edwin, Buzdin, Alexander I., Bud'ko, Sergey L., Canfield, Paul C., Guillamón, Isabel, Suderow, Hermann
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Talavera, Pablo García
Moreno, Jose Antonio
Herrera, Edwin
Buzdin, Alexander I.
Bud'ko, Sergey L.
Canfield, Paul C.
Guillamón, Isabel
Suderow, Hermann
author_facet Talavera, Pablo García
Moreno, Jose Antonio
Herrera, Edwin
Buzdin, Alexander I.
Bud'ko, Sergey L.
Canfield, Paul C.
Guillamón, Isabel
Suderow, Hermann
contents PtPb$_4$ is a type II superconductor with a bulk critical temperature $T_{c}\approx 3 $K and an upper critical field of $H_{c2}=0.36 $T. PtPb$_4$ is related to non-superconducting PtSn$_4$, which presents nodal arc states at the surface. Here we measure the superconducting density of states of PtPb$_4$ using millikelvin Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM). We observe a fully opened superconducting gap of $Δ=0.48$\ meV similar to expectations from Bardeen Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS) theory ($Δ_0=1.76k_BT_{c}=0.49 $meV). Measurements under magnetic fields applied perpendicular to the surface show a spatially inhomogeneous gap structure, presenting superconducting signatures at fields as high as 1.5 T, significantly above $H_{c2}=0.36 $T. On some locations we find that the superconducting density of states does not vanish above $T_{c}$. We can find signatures of a superconducting gap up to 5K. We discuss possible reasons for the observation of superconducting properties above $T_{c}$ and $H_{c2}$, emphasizing the role played by structural defects.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_21013
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Superconducting density of states of PtPb4
Talavera, Pablo García
Moreno, Jose Antonio
Herrera, Edwin
Buzdin, Alexander I.
Bud'ko, Sergey L.
Canfield, Paul C.
Guillamón, Isabel
Suderow, Hermann
Superconductivity
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
PtPb$_4$ is a type II superconductor with a bulk critical temperature $T_{c}\approx 3 $K and an upper critical field of $H_{c2}=0.36 $T. PtPb$_4$ is related to non-superconducting PtSn$_4$, which presents nodal arc states at the surface. Here we measure the superconducting density of states of PtPb$_4$ using millikelvin Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM). We observe a fully opened superconducting gap of $Δ=0.48$\ meV similar to expectations from Bardeen Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS) theory ($Δ_0=1.76k_BT_{c}=0.49 $meV). Measurements under magnetic fields applied perpendicular to the surface show a spatially inhomogeneous gap structure, presenting superconducting signatures at fields as high as 1.5 T, significantly above $H_{c2}=0.36 $T. On some locations we find that the superconducting density of states does not vanish above $T_{c}$. We can find signatures of a superconducting gap up to 5K. We discuss possible reasons for the observation of superconducting properties above $T_{c}$ and $H_{c2}$, emphasizing the role played by structural defects.
title Superconducting density of states of PtPb4
topic Superconductivity
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.21013