Theory of Josephson tunneling along the c-axis of YBCO

TL;DR

This paper develops a theoretical model explaining Josephson tunneling along the c-axis of YBCO, considering the interplay of d-wave and s-wave superconducting components, to reconcile experimental observations.

Contribution

It introduces a theory based on competition between d-wave and surface-enhanced s-wave components to explain Josephson tunneling in YBCO.

Findings

Qualitative agreement with experimental data

Explains tunneling behavior in twinned samples

Highlights surface s-wave component influence

Abstract

The existence of Josephson tunneling has been demonstrated between YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ and Pb with the current flowing along the c-axis of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$. This is presumed to come from an s-wave component of the superconductivity in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$, perhaps induced by the orthorhombic distortion. This hypothesis by itself appears to be in contradiction with experiments on twinned samples whose tunneling current does not follow random statistics. We present a theory which depends on a competition between the intertwin d-wave coupling and a relatively enhanced s-wave component on the surface. This theory appears to explain, at least qualitatively, all observations made to date.