Quantum Interference of Impurity Bound States in Bi₂Sr₂Ca(Cu_(1-x)Zn_(x))₂O_(8+δ) Probed by Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy

In conventional superconductors, magnetic impurities form an impurity band due to quantum interference of the impurity bound states, leading to suppression of the superconducting transition temperature. Such quantum interference effects can also be expected in d-wave superconductors. Here, we use scanning tunneling microscopy to investigate the effect of multiple non-magnetic impurities on the local electronic structure of the high-temperature superconductor Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$Ca(Cu$_{1-x}$Zn$_{x}$)$_{2}$O$_{8+\delta}$. We find several fingerprints of quantum interference of the impurity bound states including: (i) a two-dimensional modulation of local density-of-states with a period of approximately 5.4 \AA\ along the $a$- and $b$-axes, which is indicative of the d-wave superconducting nature of the cuprates; (ii) abrupt spatial variations of the impurity bound state energy; (iii)an appearance of positive energy states; (iv) a split of the impurity bound state. All of these findings provide important insight into how the impurity band in d-wave superconductors is formed.