c-Axis tunneling in YBa2Cu3O7-δ/PrBa2Cu3O7-δsuperlattices

Abstract

In this work we report c-axis conductance measurements done on a superlattice based on a stack of 2 layers YBa2Cu3O{7-δ} and 7 layers PrBa2Cu3O{7-δ} (2:7). We find that these quasi-2D structures show no clear superconducting coupling along the c-axis. Instead, we observe tunneling with a gap of Δ_c=5.0\pm 0.5 meV for the direction perpendicular to the superconducting planes. The conductance spectrum show well defined quasi-periodic structures which are attributed to the superlattice structure. From this data we deduce a low temperature c-axis coherence length of ξ_c=0.24\pm 0.03 nm.

15 pages, 5 figures. To appear in Phys.Rev.B