Characterizing the Superconducting Properties of NbSe2 Using Point Contact Spectroscopy

ORAL

Abstract

Superconductivity has applications from MRI machines in hospitals to high energy particle accelerators like those at CERN. However to find more applications in medicine, research, and industry we must better understand superconductivity and discover higher temperature superconductors. Point Contact Spectroscopy (PCS) is an important tool for studying the electron interactions inside a material. Using PCS I studied the electronic properties of niobium diselenide (NbSe2) which exhibits a charge density wave (CDW) below 33.5 K and superconducts below 7.2 K. The superconducting energy gap was determined by the spectroscopic data obtained being fitted to the Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk theory of conductance. Several temperature evolutions of the PCS conductance revealed no signatures of the CDW. The data obtained was also an important diagnostic of PCS junction quality.

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Authors

  • James Hansen

    Missouri State University

  • Jatinder Kumar

    Harvard U., Baker University, Bejing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northrop Grumman, Baltimore, MD, University of Kansas Dept. of Physics \& Astronomy, Kansas State University, Department of Chemistry, College of Materials Science \& Engineering, Sichuan University, China, Illinois State University, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College of London, Holmbury St. Mary, United Kingdom, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, Monmouth College, Missouri State University, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Ames Laboratory. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Siena College, \'Ecole Polytechnique F\'ed\'erale de Lausanne, Switzerland, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kansas State University, Purdue University, Princeton University, Oklahoma State University, University of Chicago, University of Iowa, University of Kansas, University of Kansas and University of Iowa