Imaging the Anisotropic Nonlinear Meissner Effect in Nodal YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-\delta}$ Thin-Film Superconductors

TL;DR

This study visualizes the anisotropic nonlinear Meissner effect in YBa2Cu3O7−δ superconductors by mapping the directional nonlinear electrodynamic response using laser scanning of a resonant thin film, revealing the superconductor's nodal structure.

Contribution

It introduces a novel laser scanning technique to directly image the anisotropic nonlinear Meissner effect in unconventional superconductors, linking surface and bulk properties.

Findings

Directional nonlinearities map out superconductor nodes.

Results align with theoretical predictions for bulk and surface effects.

Method demonstrates imaging of Fermi surface features.

Abstract

We have directly imaged the anisotropic nonlinear Meissner effect in an unconventional superconductor through the nonlinear electrodynamic response of both (bulk) gap nodes and (surface) Andreev bound states. A superconducting thin film is patterned into a compact self-resonant spiral structure, excited near resonance in the radio-frequency range, and scanned with a focused laser beam perturbation. At low temperatures, direction-dependent nonlinearities in the reactive and resistive properties of the resonator create photoresponse that maps out the directions of nodes, or of bound states associated with these nodes, on the Fermi surface of the superconductor. The method is demonstrated on the nodal superconductor YBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-\delta}$ and the results are consistent with theoretical predictions for the bulk and surface contributions.