Metallic nonsuperconducting phase and d-wave superconductivity in Zn-substituted LaSrCuO

TL;DR

This study investigates how Zn substitution affects the superconducting and metallic properties of LaSrCuO, revealing that d-wave pairing persists despite suppressed superconductivity and that the metal-insulator transition is disorder-driven.

Contribution

It demonstrates that Zn doping suppresses superconductivity without altering d-wave pairing, and identifies the disorder-driven metal-insulator transition in LaSrCuO.

Findings

D-wave superconductivity persists despite Zn doping.

Superconductivity suppression leads to a metallic nonsuperconducting phase.

Metal-insulator transition is disorder-driven near kFl~1.

Abstract

Measurements of the resistivity, magnetoresistance and penetration depth were made on films of LaSrCuO with up to 12 at.% of Zn substituted for the Cu. The results show that the quadratic temperature dependence of the inverse square of the penetration depth, indicative of d-wave superconductivity, is not affected by doping. The suppression of superconductivity leads to a metallic nonsuperconducting phase, as expected for a pairing mechanism related to spin fluctuations. The metal-insulator transition occurs in the vicinity of kFl~1, and appears to be disorder-driven, with the carrier concentration unaffected by doping.