Point-Contact Andreev-Reflection Spectroscopy in the Fe-based Superconductor LaFeAsO1−x F x

Abstract

Point-contact Andreev-reflection (PCAR) spectroscopy measurements have been performed in the Fe-based superconductor LaFeAsO1−x F x in order to investigate the energy gaps. The Andreev spectra show clear and reproducible features that could be related to two nodeless gaps. Their values, as determined by fitting the conductance curves measured in junctions with local T c =27.3–28.6 K within the two-band BTK model, are Δ 1=2.75–3.8 meV for the small gap and Δ 2=7.9–10.2 meV for the larger one, respectively. The absence of zero-bias conductance peaks and considerations regarding the nonperfectly directional current injection in PCAR experiments and the polycrystalline nature of the samples rule out the possibility of nodal gaps in the superconductor. Moreover, the conductance curves show pseudogap-like features coexisting, at low temperature, with superconductivity and disappearing close to the Néel temperature of the parent compound, T N≈140 K.