S-wave superconductivity near a surface

We study the superconducting order parameter near a surface with the Bogoliubov-de Gennes formalism. For definiteness we use the attractive Hubbard model. Near a surface, the order parameter and the density distribution exhibit "Friedel-like" oscillations. Although the local density of states is quite different from that in the bulk, the energy gap in the spectrum on a surface is almost the same as the bulk value. In the low-density limit, however, the energy gap tends to vanish on a surface. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.