Near-field techniques for probing collective modes of anisotropic superconducting thin films

ORAL

Abstract

We propose the use of scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) to characterize the collective mode spectrum of anisotropic superconductors. To probe the dispersion of collective modes with large in-plane momenta, specifically surface plasmons and guided wave modes, we model the real-space interference patterns of modes launched by the sharp s-SNOM tip and their reflections off physical and electronic boundaries. In addition, we show that s-SNOM spectroscopy allows for a direct probe of the $c$-axis superfluid density in underdoped anisotropic superconductors with nanoscale spatial resolution.

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Authors

  • H.T. Stinson

    • Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego

  • J.S. Wu

    • Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego

  • B.Y. Jiang

    • Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego

  • Z. Fei

    • Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego

  • A.S. Rodin

    • Department of Physics, Boston University

  • B. Chapler

    • Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego

  • A.S. Mcleod

    • Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego

  • A. Castro-Neto

    • Graphene Research Centre, National University of Singapore

  • Y.S. Lee

    • Department of Physics, Soongsil University

  • M.M. Fogler

    • Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego

  • D.N. Basov

    • Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego