Disparity of superconducting and pseudogap scales in low-Tc Bi-2201 cuprates

TL;DR

This study investigates the transport and tunneling properties of low-Tc Bi-2201 cuprates, revealing a significant disparity between superconducting and pseudogap energy scales, indicating different underlying mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence that the superconducting and pseudogap energy scales in low-Tc cuprates are fundamentally different, challenging assumptions of their related origins.

Findings

Superconducting energy and critical field scale with Tc

Pseudogap characteristics remain similar across different Tc levels

Disparity suggests different origins for superconducting and pseudogap phenomena

Abstract

We experimentally study transport and intrinsic tunneling characteristics of a single-layer cuprate Bi(2+x)Sr(2-y)CuO(6+delta) with a low superconducting critical temperature Tc < 4 K. It is observed that the superconducting energy, critical field and fluctuation temperature range are scaling down with Tc, while the corresponding pseudogap characteristics have the same order of magnitude as for high-Tc cuprates with 20 to 30 times higher Tc. The observed disparity of the superconducting and pseudogap scales clearly reveals their different origins.