Berlin 2015 – scientific programme
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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 32: Surface Magnetism and Spin Phenomena
O 32.7: Poster
Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 18:15–21:00, Poster A
Tunneling processes into localized subgap states in superconductors — •Michael Ruby1, Falko Pientka1,2, Yang Peng1,2, Benjamin W. Heinrich1, Felix v. Oppen1,2, and Katharina J. Franke1 — 1Freie Universität Berlin, Arnimallee 14, 14195 Berlin, Germany — 2Dahlem Center for Complex Quantum Systems, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
The Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states bound by magnetic impurities in conventional s-wave superconductors are a simple model system for probing the competition between superconducting and magnetic correlations. Shiba states can be observed in scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) as a pair of resonances at positive and negative bias voltages in the superconducting gap. These resonances have been interpreted in terms of single-electron tunneling into the localized sub-gap states. This requires relaxation mechanisms that depopulate the state after an initial tunneling event. Recently, theory suggests that the current can also be carried by Andreev processes which resonantly transfer a Cooper pair into the superconductor.
We performed high-resolution STS experiments on single adatom Shiba states on the superconductor Pb, and provide evidence for the existence of two transport regimes. The single-electron processes dominate at large tip-sample distances and small tunneling currents, whereas Andreev processes become important at stronger tunneling. Our conclusions are based on a careful comparison of experiment and theory.