The effect of nonmagnetic impurities on the local density of states in s-wave superconductors

Abstract

We study the effect of nonmagnetic impurities on the local density of states (LDOS) in s-wave superconductors. The quasiclassical equations of superconductivity are solved selfconsistently to show how LDOS evolves with impurity concentration. The spatially averaged zero-energy LDOS is a linear function of magnetic induction in low fields, N(E=0)=cB/H_{c2}, for all impurity concentration. The constant of proportionality "c" depends weakly on the electron mean free path. We present numerical data for differential conductance and spatial profile of zero-energy LDOS which can help in estimating the mean free path through the LDOS measurement.

7 pages, 7 figures (high quality color figure available on request)