Photothermal measurements of differential reflectivity of YBCO related to the symmetry of the superconducting order parameter
Date
1996Source
Physica C: Superconductivity and its ApplicationsVolume
271Pages
286-290Google Scholar check
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We have investigated symmetry of the differential optical response of single YBCO domains in the a-b plane. As a function of temperature, this response consists of a smooth background and a sharp peak in the vicinity of Tc related to the normal and superconducting phases, respectively. For the probe light polarized along the a axis, we have observed for the first time that the superconducting phase response is a sharp peak near Tc which is only ∼ 1 K wide. It is difficult to explain this peak in terms of a single second-order phase transition, or to arrive at a suitable model to explain the experimental results. We have also measured cross-polarized DOR signals which showed no off-diagonal reflection components.