C-axis Josephson Plasma Resonance Observed in Tl$_{2}$Ba$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8}$ Superconducting Thin Films using Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

Abstract

We have unambiguously observed the c-axis Josephson Plasma Resonance (JPR) in high-T$_{c}$ cuprate Tl$_{2}$Ba$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8}$ superconducting thin films employing terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in transmission as a function of temperature in zero magnetic field. These are the first measurements of the JPR temperature dependence of a high-$T_{c}$ material in transmission. With increasing temperature, the JPR shifts from 705 GHz at 10 K to $\sim$170 GHz at 98 K corresponding to a c-axis penetration depth increasing from 20.1$\pm$0.6 $μ$m to 84$\pm$9 $μ$m. The linewidth of the JPR peak increases with temperature, indicative of an increase in the quasiparticle scattering rate. We have probed the onset of the c-axis phase coherence to $\sim$0.95T$_{c}$. The JPR vanishes above T$_{c}$ as expected.

7 pages, 4 postscript figures (can also be obtained from vthorsmolle@lanl.gov), accepted in Optics Letters