Thermodynamic properties of Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO4-δ -: art. no. 140508

We present specific heat measurements on optimally doped Pr1.85Ce0.15CuO4-delta (PCCO) single crystals from which we determine the condensation energy, entropy, and the thermodynamic critical field. Our analysis of the specific heat jump at T-c suggests that the coupling in electron-doped cuprates is weaker than in the hole-doped cuprates. In addition, the entropy balance in the superconducting state suggests that any depression in density of states (DOS) at T>T-c, i.e., a pseudogap, would have to be very small (less than 10% of average DOS). Finally, a study of the residual electronic specific heat of an optimally doped PCCO before and after oxygen reduction suggests that this anomalous contribution is due to normal regions in the sample.