Muon-spin-rotation measurements of the London penetration depths in YBa2Cu3O6.97

Muon-spin-rotation (SR) experiments on a high-quality sintered YBa2Cu3Ox sample [x=6.970(1)] were performed, in order to obtain an accurate knowledge of the magnitude and the temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth in this copper oxide superconductor. Special attention was given to the data analysis. In particular, the systematic errors introduced by different types of analyses were estimated. Our results show that the temperature dependence of the effective penetration depth eff into the sintered sample is well described by the two-fluid model, with eff(0)=155(10) nm. This behavior of eff(T) is consistent with conventional s-wave pairing. With the anisotropy ratio cab=5(1) measured in a previous SR experiment, the penetration depthsab(0)=130(10) nm and c(0)=500 800 nm (parallel and perpendicular to the CuO2 planes, respectively) were extracted. Our results are compared with those obtained by other experimental techniques and theoretical predictions. © 1990 The American Physical Society.