Science, Vol.279, No.5354, 1193-1196, 1998
Images of interlayer Josephson vortices in Tl2Ba2CuO6+delta
The strength of the interlayer Josephson tunneling in layered superconductors is an essential test of the interlayer tunneling model as a mechanism for superconductivity, as well as a useful phenomenological parameter. A scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) microscope was used to image interlayer Josephson vortices in Tl2Ba2CuO6+delta and to obtain a direct measure of the interlayer tunneling in a high-transition temperature superconductor with a single copper oxide plane per unit cell. The measured interlayer penetration depth, lambda(c), is similar to 20 micrometers, about 20 times the penetration depth required by the interlayer tunneling model.
Keywords:HIGH-TC SUPERCONDUCTORS;HALL-PROBE MICROSCOPY;COUPLED LAYER MODEL;CUO2 PLANES;PSEUDOGAP;FIELD