Periodic Coherence Peak Height Modulations in Superconducting BSCCO

TL;DR

This study uses scanning tunneling spectroscopy to analyze local electronic states in nearly optimally doped BSCCO, revealing charge-density modulations linked to superconductivity through spatial LDOS and coherence peak height patterns.

Contribution

It demonstrates the coexistence of dispersive and non-dispersive LDOS modulations and links non-dispersive modulations to charge-density waves affecting superconductivity.

Findings

Non-dispersive LDOS modulations are observed.

Superconducting coherence peak heights mirror LDOS structures.

Charge-density modulations interact with superconducting states.

Abstract

In this paper we analyze, using scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), the local density of electronic states (LDOS) in nearly optimally doped BSCCO in zero field. We see both dispersive and non-dispersive spatial LDOS modulations as a function of energy in our samples. Moreover, a spatial map of the superconducting coherence peak heights shows the same structure as the low energy LDOS. This suggests that these non-dispersive LDOS modulations originate from an underlying charge-density modulation which interacts with superconductivity.