First Scanning Tunnelling Spectroscopy on Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (Bi2223) single crystals

TL;DR

This study presents the first low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy analysis of high-quality Bi2223 crystals, revealing homogeneous superconducting gaps and similarities with Bi2212, advancing understanding of this high-temperature superconductor.

Contribution

First detailed STM and spectroscopy investigation of Bi2223 crystals, providing atomic resolution data and insights into their homogeneity and doping levels.

Findings

Homogeneous superconducting gap of 60 meV over 50 nm in one sample

Slightly less homogeneous sample with a 45 meV gap

Strong similarities with Bi2212 observed

Abstract

We report the first low temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy study of high quality Bi2223 crystals. We present atomic resolution and show spectroscopic data acquired on two different samples. In one case, for Tc= 109K and a transition width of only 1K, we obtained an extremely homogeneous sample with a gap value of 60 meV over at least 50 nm. In the other case, the respective parameters were Tc= 111K with a transition width of 1.7K and yielded a slightly less homogeneous sample with a gap of 45 meV. We evidence strong similarities with Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (Bi2212) and discuss the doping level of our samples.