Imaging nanoscale Fermi surface variations in an inhomogeneous superconductor

Details Imaging nanoscale Fermi surface variations in an inhomogeneous superconductor Imaging nanoscale Fermi surface variations in an inhomogeneous superconductor

2008-11-10

arxiv.org/abs/0811.1585v1

Physics

Condensed Matter

Superconductivity

Scientific paper

10.1038/nphys1197

Particle-wave duality suggests we think of electrons as waves stretched across a sample, with wavevector k proportional to their momentum. Their arrangement in "k-space," and in particular the shape of the Fermi surface, where the highest energy electrons of the system reside, determine many material properties. Here we use a novel extension of Fourier transform scanning tunneling microscopy to probe the Fermi surface of the strongly inhomogeneous Bi-based cuprate superconductors. Surprisingly, we find that rather than being globally defined, the Fermi surface changes on nanometer length scales. Just as shifting tide lines expose variations of water height, changing Fermi surfaces indicate strong local doping variations. This discovery, unprecedented in any material, paves the way for an understanding of other inhomogeneous characteristics of the cuprates, like the pseudogap magnitude, and highlights a new approach to the study of nanoscale inhomogeneity in general.

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