What does intrinsic tunnelling spectroscopy really examine?
Abstract
The out-of-plane current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of Bi2212 are studied in experimental environments of different heat transfer efficiency, allowing practical separation of intrinsic and extrinsic phenomena. {\it Intrinsic} (heating-free) response is Ohmic in the normal state of Bi2212, while its resistance, R=V/I, is found to be a good practical measure of the mean temperature of the sample in the overheated case. A self-heating model proposed for the latter case provides a qualitative and quantitative description of key findings of intrinsic tunnelling spectroscopy including (pseudo)gaps, quasiparticle and normal state resistances. The model also naturally explains the `superconducting' gap closure well below of the material as well as its survival at a magnetic field significantly exceeding . The generic shape of the individual branches of the brush-like part of I-V established under conditions of negligible overheating suggests a phase-slip origin of the so-called `intrinsic Josephson effect' (IJE).
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0410069,
title = {What does intrinsic tunnelling spectroscopy really examine?},
author = {V. N. Zavaritsky},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0410069},
year = {2007}
}