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Atomic-scale structure of 'pseudo-gap' in high-temperature superconductors

Cornell researchers and colleagues have produced the first atomic-scale description of what electrons are doing in the mysterious "pseudogap" in high-temperature superconductors.

Materials known as cuprates, made of copper oxide doped with other atoms, can become superconducting with just the right amount of doping, which allows electrons to bind into pairs that can conduct electricity without interference. "Pseudogap" refers to the fact that at some levels of doping an energy signal for these "Cooper pairs" is found, yet the material does not superconduct. Now Cornell experimenters find that in this state electrons may pair up, but most of the pairs are locked into fixed locations in the crystal lattice. more

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Spotlight

Michael Hall, a graduate student in LASSP's Single Molecule Biophysics Lab, can actually "unzip" the two strands of a DNA molecule using a procedure called optical trapping. To do this, he focuses a laser on a micron-sized polystyrene bead. Light going through the bead changes direction, forcing the bead in the opposite direction. The result is that the bead remains in the center of the beam of light, trapped in the optical trap. Michael can attach these beads to tiny ...
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