Local tunneling spectroscopy of the electron-doped cuprate Sm1.85Ce0.15CuO4

TL;DR

This study uses local tunneling spectroscopy to investigate the superconducting gap and possible antiferromagnetic order in the electron-doped cuprate Sm1.85Ce0.15CuO4, revealing coexistence of these states at the local scale.

Contribution

It provides direct local spectroscopic evidence of the coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in electron-doped cuprates.

Findings

Superconducting gap observed with amplitude 3.5-6 meV.

High-energy feature above ±50 meV consistent with previous experiments.

Possible coexistence of antiferromagnetism and superconductivity.

Abstract

We present local tunneling spectroscopy in the optimally electron-doped cuprate Sm2-xCexCuO4 x=0.15. A clear signature of the superconducting gap is observed with an amplitude ranging from place to place and from sample to sample (Delta~3.5-6meV). Another spectroscopic feature is simultaneously observed at high energy above \pm 50meV. Its energy scale and temperature evolution is found to be compatible with previous photoemission and optical experiments. If interpreted as the signature of antiferromagnetic order in the samples, these results could suggest the coexistence on the local scale of antiferromagnetism and superconductivity on the electron-doped side of cuprate superconductors.