Return to search

Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy of Topological Insulators and Cuprate Superconductors

Over the past twenty-five years, condensed matter physics has been developing materials with novel electronic characteristics for a wide range of future applications. Two research directions have shown particular promise: topological insulators, and high temperature copper based superconductors (cuprates). Topological insulators are a newly discovered class of materials that can be manipulated for spintronic or quantum computing devices. However there is a poor spectroscopic understanding of the current topological insulators and emerging topological insulator candidates. In cuprate superconductors, the challenge lies in raising the superconducting transition temperature to temperatures accessible in non-laboratory settings. This effort has been hampered by a poor understanding of the superconducting mechanism and its relationship with a mysterious pseudogap phase. In this thesis, I will describe experiments conducted on topological insulators and cuprate superconductors using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, which provide nanoscale spectroscopic information in these materials. / Physics

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:harvard.edu/oai:dash.harvard.edu:1/12274590
Date04 December 2014
CreatorsYee, Michael Manchun
ContributorsHoffman, Jennifer Eve
PublisherHarvard University
Source SetsHarvard University
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Rightsopen

Page generated in 0.0021 seconds