Tunneling spectroscopy and vortex imaging in boron-doped diamond

Phys Rev Lett. 2006 Mar 10;96(9):097006. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.097006. Epub 2006 Mar 9.

Abstract

We present the first scanning tunneling spectroscopy study of single-crystalline boron-doped diamond. The measurements were performed below 100 mK with a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The tunneling density of states displays a clear superconducting gap. The temperature evolution of the order parameter follows the weak-coupling BCS law with Delta(0)/kBTc approximately 1.74. Vortex imaging at low magnetic field also reveals localized states inside the vortex core that are unexpected for such a dirty superconductor.