Tunneling Spectroscopy at Megabar Pressures: Determination of the Superconducting Gap in Sulfur

The recent discovery of high-temperature, high-pressure superconductors, such as hydrides and nickelates, has opened exciting avenues in studying high-temperature superconductivity. The primary superconducting properties of these materials are well characterized by measuring various electrical and magnetic properties, despite the challenges posed by the high-pressure environment. Experimental microscopic insight into the pairing mechanism of these superconductors is even more challenging, due to the lack of direct probes of the superconducting gap structures at high pressure conditions. Here, we have developed a planar tunnel junction technique for diamond anvil cells and present ground-breaking tunneling spectroscopy measurements at megabar pressures. We determined the superconducting gap of elemental sulfur at 160 GPa, a key constituent of the high-temperature superconductor H3S. High quality tunneling spectra indicate that β-Po phase sulfur is a type II superconductor with a single s-wave gap with a gap value 2Δ(0)=5.6 meV. This technique is compatible with superconducting compounds synthesized in diamond anvil cells and provides insight into the pairing mechanism in novel superconductors under high-pressure conditions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024