F. Massee

Nanoscale superconducting-gap variations and lack of phase separation in optimally doped BaFe1.86Co0.14As2

We present tunneling data from superconducting BaFe1.86Co0.14As2 and its parent compound, BaFe2As2. In the superconductor, clear coherencelike peaks are seen across the whole field of view, and their analysis reveals nanoscale variations in the superconducting gap value, Δ. The average peak-to-peak separation gives a 2Δ of ∼7.4kBTc, which exceeds the BCS weak coupling value for either s- or d-wave superconductivity. The characteristic length scales of the deviations from the average gap value and of anticorrelations observed between the gap magnitude and both the zero-bias conductance and coherence peak strength match well with the average separation between the Co dopant ions in the superconducting FeAs planes.

Hard x-ray photoemission and density functional theory study of the internal electric field in SrTiO3/LaAlO3 oxide heterostructures

A combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the electronic structure of the archetypal oxide heterointerface system LaAlO3 on SrTiO3 is presented. High-resolution, hard x-ray photoemission is used to uncover the occupation of Ti 3d states and the relative energetic alignment—and hence internal electric fields—within the LaAlO3 layer. First, the Ti 2p core-level spectra clearly show occupation of Ti 3d states already for two unit cells of LaAlO3. Second, the LaAlO3 core levels were seen to shift to lower binding energy as the LaAlO3 overlayer thickness, n, was increased, agreeing with the expectations from the canonical electron transfer model for the emergence of conductivity at the interface. However, not only is the energy offset of only ∼300 meV between n=2 (insulating interface) and n=6 (metallic interface) an order of magnitude smaller than the simple expectation, but it is also clearly not the sum of a series of unit-cell-by-unit-cell shifts within the LaAlO3 block. Both of these facts argue against the simple charge-transfer picture involving a cumulative shift of the LaAlO3 valence bands above the SrTiO3 conduction bands, resulting in charge transfer only for n≥4. We discuss effects which could frustrate this elegant and simple charge-transfer model, concluding that although it cannot be ruled out, photodoping by the x-ray beam is unlikely to be the cause of the observed behavior. Turning to the theoretical data, our density functional simulations show that the presence of oxygen vacancies at the LaAlO3 surface at the 25% level reverses the direction of the internal field in the LaAlO3. Therefore, taking the experimental and theoretical results together, a consistent picture emerges for real-life samples in which nature does not wait until n=4 and already for n=2 mechanisms other than internal-electric-field-driven electron transfer from idealized LaAlO3 to near-interfacial states in the SrTiO3 substrate are active in heading off the incipient polarization catastrophe that drives the physics in these systems.

Existence, character and origin of surface-related bands in the high temperature iron pnictide superconductor BaFe2-xCoxAs2

Low energy electron diffraction (LEED) experiments, LEED simulations, and finite slab density functional calculations are combined to study the cleavage surface of Co doped BaFe(2-x)Co(x)As2 (x = 0.1,0.17). We demonstrate that the energy dependence of the LEED data can only be understood from a terminating 1/2 Ba layer accompanied by distortions of the underlying As-Fe2-As block. As a result, surface-related Fe 3d states are present in the electronic structure, which we identify in angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments. The close proximity of the surface-related states to the bulk bands inevitably leads to broadening of the ARPES signals, which excludes the use of the BaFe(2-x)Co(x)As2 system for accurate determination of self-energies using ARPES.

Cleavage surfaces of the BaFe2−xCoxAs2 and FeySe1−xTex superconductors: A combined STM plus LEED study

We elucidate the termination surface of cleaved single crystals of the BaFe2−xCoxAs2 and FeySe1−xTex families of the high temperature iron based superconductors. By combining scanning tunneling microscopic data with low energy electron diffraction we prove that the termination layer of the Ba122 systems is a remnant of the Ba layer, which exhibits a complex diversity of ordered and disordered structures. The observed surface topographies and their accompanying superstructure reflections in electron diffraction depend on the cleavage temperature. In stark contrast, FeySe1−xTex possesses only a single termination structure that of the tetragonally ordered Se1−xTex layer.

High-resolution, hard x-ray photoemission investigation of BaFe2As2: Moderate influence of the surface and evidence for a low degree of Fe 3d-As 4p hybridization of electronic states near the Fermi energy

Photoemission data taken with hard x-ray radiation on cleaved single crystals of the barium parent compound of the MFe2As2 pnictide high-temperature superconductor family are presented. Making use of the increased bulk sensitivity upon hard x-ray excitation, and comparing the results to data taken at conventional vacuum ultraviolet photoemission excitation energies, it is shown that the BaFe2As2 cleavage surface provides an electrostatic environment that is slightly different to the bulk, most likely in the form of a modified Madelung potential. However, as the data argue against a different surface doping level, and the surface-related features in the spectra are by no means as dominating as seen in systems such as YBa2Cu3Ox, we can conclude that the itinerant, near-EF electronic states are almost unaffected by the existence of the cleavage surface. Furthermore, exploiting the strong changes in photoionization cross section between the Fe and As states across the wide photon energy range employed, it is shown that the degree of energetic overlap between the iron 3d and arsenic 4p valence bands is particularly small at the Fermi level, which can only mean a very low degree of hybridization between the Fe 3d and As 4p states near and at EF. Consequently, this means that the itinerancy of the charge carriers in this group of materials involves mainly the Fe 3d-Fe 3d overlap integrals with at best a minor role for the Fe 3d-As 4p hopping parameters and that the states which support superconductivity upon doping are essentially of Fe 3d character.

Droplet-like Fermi surfaces in the anti-ferromagnetic phase of EuFe2As2, an Fe-pnictide superconductor parent compound

Using angle-resolved photoemission it is shown that the low-lying electronic states of the iron pnictide parent compound EuFe2As2 are strongly modified in the magnetically ordered, low-temperature, orthorhombic state compared to the tetragonal, paramagnetic case above the spin density wave transition temperature. Back-folded bands, reflected in the orthorhombic/anti-ferromagnetic Brillouin zone boundary hybridize strongly with the non-folded states, leading to the opening of energy gaps. As a direct consequence, the large Fermi surfaces of the tetragonal phase fragment, the low-temperature Fermi surface being comprised of small droplets, built up of electron- and hole-like sections. These high-resolution ARPES data are therefore in keeping with quantum oscillation and optical data from other undoped pnictide parent compounds.

Pseudogap-less high-Tc superconductivity in BaCoxFe2−xAs2

The pseudogap state is one of the peculiarities of the cuprate high temperature superconductors. Here we investigate its presence in BaCo

Pseudogap-less high T

_{x}

_{c}

Fe

superconductivity in BaCo

_{2-x}