Electronic effect of doped oxygen atoms in Bi2201 superconductors determined by scanning tunneling microscopy

TL;DR

This study uses scanning tunneling microscopy to analyze how doped oxygen atoms influence the electronic properties of Bi2201 superconductors, revealing the dominant role of interstitial oxygen on SrO layers and their correlation with pseudogap inhomogeneity.

Contribution

It provides detailed spatial mapping of oxygen dopants in Bi2201 superconductors and clarifies their specific influence on electronic inhomogeneity and pseudogap behavior.

Findings

Interstitial oxygen on SrO layers dominates doping effects.

Negative correlation between oxygen dopants and pseudogap inhomogeneity.

Quantitative estimation of hole doping from oxygen concentration.

Abstract

The oxygen dopants are essential in tuning electronic properties of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$Ca$_{n-1}$Cu$_n$O$_{2n+4+\delta}$ superconductors. Here we apply the technique of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to study the influence of oxygen dopants in an optimally doped Bi$_2$Sr$_{2-x}$La$_x$CuO$_{6+\delta}$ and an overdoped Bi$_{2-y}$Pb$_y$Sr$_2$CuO$_{6+\delta}$. In both samples, we find that interstitial oxygen atoms on the SrO layers dominate over the other two forms of oxygen dopants, oxygen vacancies on the SrO layers and interstitial oxygen atoms on the BiO layers. The hole doping is estimated from the oxygen concentration, as compared to the result extracted from the measured Fermi surface. The precise spatial location is employed to obtain a negative correlation between the oxygen dopants and the inhomogeneous pseudogap.