Evidence for nodal quasiparticles in electron-doped cuprates from penetration depth measurements

Abstract

The in-plane magnetic penetration depth, $\lambda (T)$, was measured down to 0.4 K in single crystals of electron-doped superconductors, Pr$_{1.85}$Ce$_{0.15}$CuO$_{4-\delta}$ (PCCO) and Nd$_{1.85}$Ce$_{0.15}$CuO$_{4-\delta}$ (NCCO). In PCCO, the superfluid density varies as $T^2$ from 0.025 up to roughly 0.3 $T/T_c$ suggestive of a d-wave state with impurities. In NCCO, $\lambda (T)$ shows a pronounced upturn for $T < 4$ K due to the paramagnetic contribution of Nd$^{3+}$ ions. Fits to an s-wave order parameter over the standard BCS range ($T/T_c$ = 0.32) limit any gap to less than $\Delta_{min} (0)/T_c = 0.57$ in NCCO. For PCCO, the absence of paramagnetism permits a lower temperature fit and yields an upper limit of $\Delta_{min} (0)/T_c = 0.2$.