Transmittance and reflectance measurements at terahertz frequencies on a superconducting BaFe1.84Co0.16As2 ultrathin film: an analysis of the optical gaps in the Co-doped BaFe2As2 pnictide

Here we report an optical investigation in the terahertz region of a 40 nm ultrathin BaFe1.84Co0.16As2 superconducting film with superconducting transition temperature T-c = 17.5 K. A detailed analysis of the combined reflectance and transmittance measurements showed that the optical properties of the superconducting system can be described in terms of a two-band, two-gap model. The zero temperature value of the large gap Delta(B), which seems to follow a BCS-like behavior, results to be Delta(B)(0) = 17 cm(-1). For the small gap, for which Delta(A)(0) = 8 cm(-1), the temperature dependence cannot be clearly established. These gap values and those reported in the literature for the BaFe2-xCoxAs2 system by using infrared spectroscopy, when put together as a function of T-c, show a tendency to cluster along two main curves, providing a unified perspective of the measured optical gaps. Below a temperature around 20 K, the gap-sizes as a function of T-c seem to have a BCS-like linear behavior, but with different slopes. Above this temperature, both gaps show different supra-linear behaviors.