The low-temperature specific heat of La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 (LSCO) single crystals in magnetic field H up to 12 T has been examined over a wide range of doping (0.063=< p =<0.238). From this we have mapped the upper critical field H_{c2} of LSCO across the entire superconducting diagram. It is found that the H_{c2} shows a doping dependence similar to that of the critical temperature T_c. We have discussed the implications of the result and proposed that there may be an effective superconducting energy scale responsible for the H_{c2} behavior in the underdoped region.
We present measurements of the magnetic penetration depth, λ^{-2}(T), in Pr_{2-x}Ce_{x}CuO_{4-y} and La_{2-x}Ce_{x}CuO_{4-y} films at three Ce doping levels, x, near optimal. Optimal and overdoped films are qualitatively and quantitatively different from underdoped films. For example, λ^{-2}(0) decreases rapidly with underdoping but is roughly constant above optimal doping. Also, λ^{-2}(T) at low T is exponential at optimal and overdoping but is quadratic at underdoping. In light of other studies that suggest both d- and s-wave pairing symmetry in nominally optimally doped samples, our results…
By measuring the field and temperature dependence of magnetization on systematically doped $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ thin films, the critical current density $j_c(0)$ and the collective pinning energy $U_p(0)$ are determined in single vortex creep regime. Together with the published data of superfluid density, condensation energy and anisotropy, for the first time we derive the doping dependence of the coherence length or vortex core size in wide doping regime directly from the low temperature data. It is found that the coherence length drops in the underdoped region and increases in the overdoped s…
The inhomogeneities inherent to the random distribution of Sr dopants in La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 superconductors are probed by measuring the x-ray diffraction linewidths and the Meissner transition widths, and then consistently explained on the grounds of a simple model in which the local Sr content is calculated by averaging over distances close to the in-plane electronic mean free path. By taking into account these intrinsic bulk inhomogeneities with long characteristic lengths (much larger than the superconducting coherence length amplitudes), the precursor diamagnetism measured above Tc, a finge…
We underline and comment some features of the data obtained in the beautiful experiment by G. S. Boebinger, Y. Ando, A. Passner, T. Kimura, M. Okuya, J. Shimoyama, K. Kishio, K. Tamasaku, N. Ichikawa, and S. Uchida, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 5417 (1996). While in our general interpretation we agree with the authors that ``It is possible that charge ordering could underlie the unusual insulating behavior'' observed ``in all underdoped LSCO samples'', we further notice that some specific features of the data are most naturally interpreted in the light of our proposal for an incommensurate charge-dens…
We analyze the hole doping mechanism in Bi_2Sr_{2-x}La_xCuO_{6+δ} (BSLCO). The singular optimum around x=0.35 is found to be connected with a feedback between the doped CuO_2 layers and its dopant reactant [La^{3+}/Bi^{3+}-O_δ] locking the number of doped holes preferentially on to the universal optimum n_opt=0.16.
Hall coefficient $R_H$ and thermoelectric power TEP are studied systematically in the single crystals $Nd_{2-x}Ce_xCuO_{4+δ}$ (NCCO) with different x from underdoped to overdoped regime. With increasing doping level, both $R_H$ and TEP decrease and change their sign from negative to positive. A striking feature is that the temperature dependence of the Hall angle follows a $T^4$ behavior in the underdoped regime, while a $T^2$ in the overdoped regime. These behaviors are closely related to the evolution of Fermi surface with doping level observed by ARPES.
Static spin-stripe order and superconductivity were systematically studied in La_2-xBa_xCuO_4 (0.11 - 0.17) at ambient pressure by means of magnetization and muSR experiments. We find that all the investigated La_2-xBa_xCuO_4 samples exhibit static spin-stripe order and that the quasi two-dimensional superconducting (SC) transition temperature T_c1 and the static spin-stripe order temperature T_so have very similar values throughout the phase diagram. Moreover, the magnetic and the SC properties of the x = 0.155 (LBCO-0.155) and x = 0.17 (LBCO-0.17) samples were studied under hydrostatic press…
We report the synthesis of new superconducting cuprates T'-La2-xRExCuO4 (RE = Sm, Eu, Tb, Lu, and Y) using molecular beam epitaxy. The new superconductors have no effective dopant, at least nominally. The substitution of isovalent RE for La was essentially performed to stabilize the T' phase of La2CuO4 instead of the T phase. The maximum Tconset is ~ 25 K and Tczero is ~ 21 K. The keys to our discovery are (1) the preparation of high-crystalline-quality La-based T' films by low-temperature (~ 650C) thin film processes, and (2) more thorough removal of impurity oxygen at the apical site, which …
A first Fermi surface map of a single-layer high-Tc superconductor is presented. The experiments were carried out on optimally doped Bi_2Sr_(2-x)La_xCuO_(6+delta)(x=0.40) with synchrotron radiation which allow to discuss in detail the strong polarisation dependence of the emissions near the Fermi edge. For the cuprates only little is known about the impact of the electron-photon matrix element determining the photoelectron intensity. For the example of the model layered superconductor Bi_2Sr_(2-x)La_xCuO_(6+delta)it will be demonstrated that the polarization geometry has significant influence …
We report the synthesis of new superconducting cuprates T'-La2-xRExCuO4 (RE = Sm, Eu, Tb, Lu, and Y) using molecular beam epitaxy. The new superconductors have no effective dopant, at least nominally. The substitution of isovalent RE for La was essentially performed to stabilize the T' phase of La2CuO4 instead of the T phase. The maximum Tconset is ~ 25 K and Tczero is ~ 21 K. The keys to our discovery are (1) the preparation of high-crystalline-quality La-based T' films by low-temperature (~650C) thin film processes, and (2) more thorough removal of impurity oxygen at the apical site, which i…
We measure the dispersion of the Cu-O bond-stretching phonon mode in the high-temperature superconducting parent compound Ca$_2$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$. Our density functional theory calculations predict a cosine-shaped bending of the dispersion along both the ($ξ$00) and ($ξξ$0) directions, while comparison with previous results on Ca$_{1.84}$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$ show it only along ($ξ$00), suggesting an anisotropic effect which is not reproduced in calculation at optimal doping. Comparison with isostructural La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ suggests that these calculations reproduce well the overdoped regime, however…
Low-temperature specific heat of the monolayer high-Tc superconductor Bi_2Sr_{2-x}La_xCuO_{6+δ} has been measured close to the optimal doping point (x ~ 0.4) in different magnetic fields. The identification of both a T^2 term in zero field and a \sqrt{H} dependence of the specific heat in fields is shown to follow the theoretical prediction for d-wave pairing, which enables us to extract the slope of the superconducting gap in the vicinity of the nodes (v_Δ, which is proportional to the superconducting gap Δ_0 at the antinodes according to the standard d_{x^2-y^2} gap function). The v_Δ or Δ_0…
The effects of nonmagnetic Zn and magnetic Ni substitution for Cu site on magnetism are studied by measurements of uniform magnetic susceptibility for lightly doped La_{2-x}Sr_xCu_{1-z}M_zO_4 (M=Zn or Ni) polycrystalline samples. For the parent x=0, Zn doping suppresses the Néel temperature T_N whereas Ni doping hardly changes T_N up to z=0.3. For the lightly doped samples with T_N~0, the Ni doping recovers T_N. For the superconducting samples, the Ni doping induces the superconductivity-to-antiferromagnetic transition (or crossover). All the heavily Ni doped samples indicate a spin glass beha…
We report a resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) study of the doping dependence of charge-transfer excitations in $\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$. The mome ntum dependence of these charge excitations are studied over the whole Brillouin zone in underdoped (x=0.05) and optimally doped (x=0.17) samples, and compared with that of the undoped (x=0) sample. We observe a large change in the RIXS spectra between the x=0 and x=0.17 sample, while the RIXS spectra of the x=0.05 sample are similar to that of the x=0 sample. The most prominent effect of doped-holes on the charge excitation spectra is the ap…
We present local structural evidence for the existence of charge inhomogeneities at low temperature in underdoped and optimally doped La_2-xSr_xCuO_4. The inhomogeneities disappear for x > 0.2. The evidence for the charge inhomogeneities comes from an anomalous increase in the in-plane Cu-O bond length distribution in the underdoped samples as well as evidence for CuO_6 octahedral tilt inhomogeneities in the intermediate range structure. Preliminary analysis of the temperature dependence of this phenomenon indicates that the inhomogeneities set in at temperatures in the range 60 K < Tco < 130 …
We use coherent pump-probe spectroscopy to measure the photoinduced reflectivity \DeltaR, and complex dielectric function, δ\in, of the electron-doped cuprate superconductor Nd_{2-x}Ce_xCuO_{4+δ} at a value of x near optimal doping, as a function of time, temperature, and laser fluence. We observe the onset of a negative \DeltaR at T=85 K, above the superconducting transition temperature, T_c, of 23 K, that exhibits a form of scaling consistent with critical fluctuations in the time domain. A positive ΔR onsets at T_c that we associate with superconducting order. We find that the two signals a…
We report angle-resolved photoemission spectra both above and below T_c in the single-plane cuprate superconductor Bi_2Sr_{2-x}La_xCuO_{6+d}. The superconducting state measurements show a highly anisotropic excitation gap with a maximum magnitude smaller than that of the bilayer compound Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 by a factor of 3. For a range of doping, the gap persists well above T_c, behavior previously associated with underdoped bilayer cuprates. The anisotropy and magnitude of the normal-state gap are very similar to the superconducting state gap, indicating that the two gaps may have a common ori…
We have measured the superconducting critical temperature (Tc) and the diamagnetic susceptibility of La2-xSrxCuO4 single crystals in various magnetic fields. We observed a field-induced evolution from an apparent Tc phase to an intrinsic Tc1 = 15 K or Tc2 = 30 K phase characterized by "magic" hole concentration which is commensurate with that of a two dimensional electronic lattice. The onset Tc of the intrinsic superconducting phases remains robust up to H = 5 Tesla. We suggest that the intrinsic superconducting phases at "magic" doping concentrations are the pristine electronic phases of hig…
In high temperature copper oxides superconductors, a novel magnetic order associated with the pseudogap phase has been identified in two different cuprate families over a wide region of temperature and doping. We here report the observation below 120 K of a similar magnetic ordering in the archetypal cuprate ${\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4}$ (LSCO) system for x=0.085. In contrast to the previous reports, the magnetic ordering in LSCO is {\it\bf only} short range with an in-plane correlation length of $\sim$ 10 Å and is bidimensional (2D). Such a less pronounced order suggests an interaction with other…
We calculate the doping dependence of the penetration depths and optical sum rule violation in La_(2-x)Sr_xCuO_4 within the model of hole superconductivity. In the clean limit the predicted in-plane sum rule violation is larger than the c-axis one, however in the presence of disorder the latter one becomes very substantially enhanced.
The magnetic field driven superconductor/insulator transition is studied in a large variety of $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ thin films of various Sr dopings. Temperature dependence of the resistivity down to 4.2 or 1.5 K under high pulsed magnetic field (up to 57 T) is analyzed. In particular, the existence of plateaus in the resistance versus temperature curves, in a limited range of temperature, for given values of the magnetic field is carefully investigated. It is shown to be associated to scaling behaviour of the resistance versus magnetic field curves, evocative of the presence of a quantum criti…
We present experimental results for the in-plane resistivity of the electron-doped cuprate superconductor $La_{2-x}Ce_xCuO_4$ above its transition temperature $T_c$ as a function of Ce doping x and temperature. For the doping x between 0.11 and 0.17, where $T_c$ varies from 30 K (x=0.11) to 5 K (x=0.17), we find that the resistivity shows an approximate $T^2$ behavior for all values of doping over the measurement range from 100 K to 400 K. The coefficient of the $T^2$ resistivity term decreases with increasing x following the trend in $T_c$. We analyze our data theoretically and posit that n-t…
Measuring the ESR of Gd spin probes we have studied the magnetic properties of the copper oxide planes in the low temperature tetragonal (LTT) phase of Eu doped La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4. The data give evidence that at particular levels of Sr and Eu doping the frequency of the antiferromagnetic fluctuations in the LTT phase dramatically decreases at low temperatures by almost three orders of magnitude. However, no static magnetic order has been found for T>8K in contrast to the observation by neutron scattering of stripe ordering of spins below 50K in a Nd doped La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 single crystal. To ou…
This paper has been withdrawn by the authors, because of results obtained from a more exhaustive study of both YBa_2Cu_3O_y and La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 (see cond-mat/0610051).
The effects on the correlated Cu^{2+} S = 1/2 spin dynamics in the paramagnetic phase of La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 (for $x \lesssim 0.04$) due to the injection of holes are studied by means of ^{63}Cu NQR spin-lattice relaxation time T_1 measurements. The results are discussed in the framework of the connection between T_1 and the in-plane magnetic correlation length $ξ_{2D}(x,T)$. It is found that at high temperatures the system remains in the renormalized classical regime, with a spin stiffness constant $ρ_s(x)$ reduced by small doping to an extent larger than the one due to Zn doping. For $x\gtrsim…
By measuring AC susceptibility using a very low amplitude of the AC field (<1 mG) it is shown that underdoped samples of La_(2-x)Sr_xCuO_4 (LASCO), are diamagnetic in a temperature region above T_c up to a temperature T^*. This behavior is only observed with AC fields along the c-axis whereas for fields in the ab-plane no diamagnetism above Tc was detected. The diamagnetism is almost frequency independent in the frequency range 0.1-10 kHz. At T* a broad step anomaly in the specific heat is inferred through measurements of the elastic constant c33. We suggest that the observed diamagnetism and …
Spin-glass magnetism confined to individual weakly interacting vortices is detected in two different families of high-transition-temperature (T_c) superconductors, but only in samples on the low-doping side of the low-temperature normal state metal-to-insulator crossover (MIC). Our findings unravel the mystery of the MIC, but more importantly identify the true location of the field-induced quantum phase transition (QPT) in the superconducting state. The non-uniform appearance of magnetism in the vortex state favours a surprisingly exotic phase diagram, in which spatially inhomogeneous competin…
Two aspects in connection with the magnetic properties of La_{2-x-y}Nd_ySr_xCuO_4 single crystals are discussed. The first is related to long wavelength magnetic excitations in x = 0, 0.01, and 0.03 La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 detwinned crystals as a function of doping, temperature and magnetic field. Two magnetic modes were observed within the AF region of the phase diagram. The one at lower energies was identified with the spin-wave gap induced by the antisymmetric DM interaction and its anisotropic properties in magnetic field could be well explained using a canonical form of the spin Hamiltonian. A …
Magnetotransport measurements on the overdoped cuprate La_{1.7}Sr_{0.3}CuO_4 are fitted using the Ong construction and band parameters inferred from angle-resolved photoemission. Within a band picture, the low temperature Hall data can only be fitted satisfactorily by invoking strong basal-plane anisotropy in the mean-free-path $\ell$. This violation of the isotropic-$\ell$ approximation supports a picture of dominant small-angle elastic scattering in cuprates due to out-of-plane substitutional disorder. We show that both band anisotropy and anisotropy in the elastic scattering channel strongl…
Low temperature specific heat has been measured for an overdoped $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ (x = 0.22) single crystal. The quasiparticle density of states (DOS) in the mixed state is found to deviate from the predicted scaling law $C_{vol}=Hf(T/H^{1/2})$. However, this scaling behavior is nicely reconciled if one considers the normal core region ($ξ\approx$ 21$Å$) which gives small contribution to the total DOS. The radius of the core and other parameters derived are consistent with reported values. Our results suggest that there is no zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP), which is predicted by the simp…
We measure the magnetic-field dependence of the c-axis resistivity, ρ_c(H), in a series of Bi_{2}Sr_{2-x}La_xCuO_{6+δ} (BSLCO) single crystals for a wide range of doping using pulsed magnetic fields up to 58 T. The behavior of ρ_c(H) is examined in light of the recent determination of the upper critical field H_{c2} for this material using Nernst effect measurements. We find that the peak in ρ_c(H) shows up at a field H_p that is much lower than H_{c2} and there is no discernable feature in ρ_c(H) at H_{c2}. Intriguingly, H_p shows a doping dependence similar to that of T_c, and there is an ap…
We have studied the thermopower of La_2CuO_{4+z} and Nd_2CuO_{4-y} which undergo an antiferromagnetic transition near room temperature and Bi_2Sr_{2-x}La_xCuO_{6+z} for which a broad spectrum of doping is possible. The thermopower of La_2CuO_{4+z} and Nd_2CuO_{4-y} is seen to exhibit an anomaly at the Neel temperature, whereas the resistivity is not. The extrapolated zero-temperature intercept of the thermopower, which is known to be positive for hole-doped cuprate superconductors, is found to become negative for Bi_2Sr_{2-x}La_xCuO_{6+z} above some critical doping-level. The data strongly sug…
By measuring the superconducting diamagnetic moments for an underdoped and an overdoped La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 single crystal with equal qualities and roughly equal transition temperatures, it is found that the underdoped sample has only one transition which corresponds to H_{c2}, but the overdoped sample has two transitions with the higher one at H_{c2}. Further investigation reveals the same upper-critical field H_{c2} for both samples although the overall charge densities are very different, indicating the possibility of a very direct and detailed equivalence of the superconducting condensation …
Inelastic light-scattering spectra of underdoped ${\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4}$ (LSCO) single crystals are presented which provide direct evidence of the formation of quasi one-dimensional charged structures in the two-dimensional $\rm CuO_2$ planes. The ``stripes'' manifest themselves in a Drude-like peak at low energies and temperatures. The selection rules allow us to determine the orientation to be along the diagonals at $x=0.02$ and along the principal axes at $x=0.10$. The electron-lattice interaction determines the correlation length which turns out to be larger in compound classes with lowe…
The in-plane resistivity has been measured in $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ (LSxCO) superconducting thin films of underdoped ($x=0.10,0.12$), optimally-doped ($x=0.15$) and overdoped ($x=0.20,0.25$) compositions. These films were grown on (100)SrTiO$_3$ substrates, and have about 150 nm thickness. The in-plane conductivity induced by superconducting fluctuations above the superconducting transition (the so-called in-plane paraconductivity, $Δσ_{ab}$) was extracted from these data in the reduced-temperature range $10^{-2}\lsimε\equiv\ln(T/\Tc)\lsim1$. Such a $Δσ_{ab}(ε)$ was then analyzed in terms of the…
Critical currents $I_c$ were measured in Superconducting - normal - superconducting SNS c-axis junctions, where S was optimally doped $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-δ}$ below $T_c$ (90 K) and N was $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ above its $T_c$ ($<$25 K) but in the pseudogap regime. $I_c$ was measured versus temperature T in junctions with various N-barrier thicknesses $d$ and doping levels $x$. From the proximity effect relation $I_c(T)\propto exp[-d/ξ_N(T)]$, the normal coherence length $ξ_N(T)$ of N was extracted and plotted versus T. Besides finding a long range proximity effect as reported also by others, we found …
The normal-state in-plane resistivity (ρ_{ab}) is measured in lightly Zn-doped La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 (LSCO) crystals with 0.06 \leq x \leq 0.17 to systematically study the localization behavior. It is found that the localization temperature, T_{loc}, where ρ_{ab}(T) turns from metallic (dρ_{ab}/dT>0) to insulating (dρ_{ab}/dT<0), shows an anomalous enhancement at x=0.12. Intriguingly, the doping dependence of T_{loc} in Zn-doped LSCO is found to be similar to that of Zn-free LSCO where superconductivity is suppressed by a high magnetic field. This suggests that the mechanism of the localization is…
Measurements of the static magnetization, susceptibility and ESR of Gd spin probes have been performed to study the properties of antiferromagnetically ordered La_{2-x-y}Eu_ySr_xCuO_4 (x less or equal 0.02) with the low temperature tetragonal structure. According to the static magnetic measurements the CuO_2 planes are magnetically decoupled in this structural phase. The ESR study reveals strong magnetic fluctuations at the ESR frequency which are not present in the orthorhombic phase. It is argued that this drastic enhancement of the spin fluctuations is due to a considerable weakening of the…
Resonant soft X-ray scattering with photon energies near the O K and the Cu L3 edges was used to study charge ordering in the system La_{1.8-x}Eu_{0.2}Sr_xCuO_4 as a function of temperature for x = 0.125 and 0.15. From the superstructure diffraction intensities a charge ordering with a doping dependent wave vector is derived which is in this system well below the transition temperature of the low-temperature tetragonal phase but well above the onset of spin ordering. This indicates that charge ordering is the primary driving force for the formation of stripe-like phases in two-dimensional dope…
We will summarize here some of our measurements of the superconducting fluctuations effects on the in-plane electrical resistivity (the so-called in-plane paraconductivity) in La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 thin films with different Sr content. Our results suggest that these superconducting fluctuations effects are not related to the opening of a pseudogap in the normal-state of underdoped compounds.
We present Raman scattering experiments in ${\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4}$ single crystals at various doping levels x and compare the results with theoretical predictions obtained assuming an interaction mediated by spin and charge fluctuations. The light-scattering selection rules allow us to disentangle their respective contributions. We find that the glue spectral function is spin-dominated at low doping while the contribution of charge fluctuations becomes dominant around optimal doping. This indicates that the fluctuations of a nearly ordered state with coexisting spin and charge order support …
It was recently demonstrated that the anisotropic phonon heat transport behavior is a good probe of the stripe formation in La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 (LSCO) [X. F. Sun {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. B {\bf 67}, 104503 (2003)]. Using this probe, we examined an electron-doped cuprate Pr_{1.3-x}La_{0.7}Ce_xCuO_4 (PLCCO) and found that essentially the same features as those in LSCO are observed. Moreover, the in-plane resistivity ρ_{ab} of lightly-doped PLCCO shows metallic behavior (dρ_{ab}/dT > 0) in the Néel ordered state with a mobility comparable to that in LSCO. It is discussed that these peculiar propert…
Zero temperature crossover from superfluidity to superconductivity with carrier density increasing is studied for a two-dimensional system in the s-wave and d-wave pairing channels. It was assumed that the particle attraction correlation length depends on carrier density $n_f$ as $r_0\sim1/\sqrt{n_f}$. Such a dependence was found experimentally for the radius of magnetic correlations in $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$. The short range Coulomb repulsion was also taken into account. It is shown that the behaviour of the system with doping is fundamentally different from the case with $r_0(n_f)=const$. In pa…
Recent ARPES measurements on the electron-doped cuprate Nd_{2-x}Ce_xCuO_4 can be interpreted in a mean field model of uniform doping of an antiferromagnet, with the Mott gap closing near optimal doping. Mode coupling calculations confirm the mean field results, while clarifying the relation between the Mott gap and short-range magnetic order. The same calculations find that hole doped cuprates should follow a strikingly different doping dependence, involving instability toward spiral phases or stripes. Nevertheless, the magnetic order (now associated with stripes) again collapses near optimal …
In the cuprates, the lightly-doped region is of major interest because superconductivity, antiferromagnetism, and the pseudogap state \cite{Timusk,Lee,Anderson} come together near a critical doping value $x_c$. These states are deeply influenced by phase fluctuations \cite{Emery} which lead to a vortex-liquid state that surrounds the superconducting region \cite{WangPRB01,WangPRB06}. However, many questions \cite{Doniach,Fisher,FisherLee,Tesanovic,Sachdev} related to the nature of the transition and vortex-liquid state at very low tempera- tures $T$ remain open because the diamagnetic signal i…
Low temperature specific heat has been measured and extensively analyzed on a series of $La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ single crystals from underdoped to overdoped regime. From these data the quasiparticle density of states (DOS) in the mixed state is derived and compared to the predicted scaling law $C_{vol}/T\sqrt{H}=f(T/\sqrt{H})$ of d-wave superconductivity. It is found that the scaling law can be nicely followed by the optimally doped sample (x=0.15) in quite wide region of ($T/\sqrt{H} \leq 8 K /\sqrt{T}$). However, the region for this scaling becomes smaller and smaller towards more underdoped reg…
We have studied the doping dependence of the in-plane and out-of-plane superfluid density, ρ^s(0), of two monolayer high-Tc superconductors, HgBa_2CuO_{4+δ} and La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4, using the low frequency ac-susceptibility and the muon spin relaxation techniques. For both superconductors, ρ^s(0) increases rapidly with doping in the under- and optimally doped regime and becomes nearly doping independent above a critical doping, p_c = 0.20.
We report a detailed study of the electric-field dependence of the normal-state conductivity in La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 thin films for two concentrations of doped holes, x=0.01 and 0.06, where formation of diagonal and vertical charged stripes was recently suggested. In order to elucidate whether high electric fields are capable of depinning the charged stripes and inducing their collective motion, we have measured current-voltage characteristics for various orientations of the electric field with respect to the crystallographic axes. However, even for the highest possible fields (~1000 V/cm for x=0…
We report on measurements of the low temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth lambda_ab in several single crystals of La_2-xSr_xCuO_4, Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 and YBa_2Cu_3O_6+x at various doping levels ranging from the under- to the overdoped regimes by using a novel single-coil technique achieving 10 pm resolution. We have found a linear dependence of lambda_ab in all samples with a rapidly increasing slope dlambda_ab/dT as doping decreases. Our analysis of the data indicates that a superconducting gap with d-wave symmetry is sufficient to quantitatively account for the above slope…
We report a tunneling study between Pr_2-xCe_xCuO_{4-delta} (PCCO) and Lead as a function of doping, temperature and magnetic field. The temperature dependence of the gap follows the BCS prediction. Our data fits a nonmonotonic d-wave order parameter for the whole doping range studied. From our data we are able to conclude that the electron-doped cuprate PCCO is a weak coupling, BCS, dirty superconductor.
We measure the resistivity and Hall angle of the electron-doped superconductor Pr_{2-x}Ce_xCuO_4 as a function of doping and temperature. The resistivity Rho_xx at temperatures 100K < T < 300K is mostly sensitive to the electrons. Its temperature behavior is doping independent over a wide doping range and even for non superconducting samples. On the other hand,the transverse resistivity rho_xy, or the Hall angle theta_H where cot(theta_H) = rho_xx/rho_xy, is sensitive to both holes and electrons. Its temperature dependence is strongly influenced by doping, and cot(theta_H) can be used to ident…
The tunneling spectra of the electron-doped cuprate Pr_2-xCe_xCuO4 as a function of doping and temperature is reported. We find that the superconducting gap, delta, shows a BCS-like temperature dependence even for extremely low carrier concentrations (studied here for the first time). Moreover, delta follows the doping dependence of Tc, in strong contrast with tunneling studies of hole-doped cuprates. From our results we conclude that there is a single superconducting energy scale in the electron-doped cuprates.
We present an angle resolved photoemission (ARPES) doping dependence study of the n-type cuprate superconductor Nd_2-xCe_xCuO_4, from the half-filled Mott-insulator to the T_c=24K superconductor. In Nd2CuO4, we reveal the charge-transfer band (CTB) for the first time. As electrons are doped into the system, this feature's intensity decreases with the concomitant formation of near-E_F spectral weight. At low doping, the Fermi surface is an electron-pocket (with volume ~ x) centered at (pi,0). Further doping leads to the creation of a new hole-like Fermi surface (volume ~ 1+x) centered at (pi,pi…
We report on the study of the Fermi surface of the electron-doped cuprate superconductor Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_{4}$ by measuring the interlayer magnetoresistance as a function of the strength and orientation of the applied magnetic field. We performed experiments in both steady and pulsed magnetic fields on high-quality single crystals with Ce concentrations of $x=0.13$ to 0.17. In the overdoped regime of $x > 0.15$ we found both semiclassical angle-dependent magnetoresistance oscillations (AMRO) and Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations. The combined AMRO and SdH data clearly show that the appe…
We present specific heat measurements on a series of BaFe2(As1-xPx)2 single crystals with phosphorous doping ranging from x = 0.3 to 0.55. Our results reveal that BaFe2(As1-xPx)2 follows the scaling Delta_C/Tc ~ Tc^2 remarkably well. The clean-limit nature of this material imposes new restraints on theories aimed at explaining the scaling. Furthermore, we find that the Ginzburg-Landau parameter decreases significantly with doping whereas the superconducting anisotropy is gamma~2.6, independent of doping.
We report the analysis of the magnetic fluctuations in the superconducing La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 and the related lanthanum cuprates having the different symmetry of the low temperature structure. The NMR and ESR investigations revealed the dynamical coexistence of the superconductivity and the antiferromagnetic correlations in the large part of superconductivity region of the phase diagram. We show that for all compounds, independent on their low temperature symmetry and on their superconducting properties, the enhancement of the spin stiffness near 1/8 doping takes place.
We have performed a systematic investigation of the variations of the lattice constants with substituent rare-earth element concentration x in the nominally undoped superconductors T'-(La3+)2-x(RE3+)xCuO4 (RE = Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Lu, and Y), which we have recently discovered using MBE. The results show both the in-plane and out-of-plane lattice constants (a0 and c0) linearly decrease with x, whose extrapolation to x = 2 agrees well with the reported a0 and c0 values for each T'-RE2CuO4. This behavior is what one would expect simply from the ionic size difference between La3+ and RE3+. The absence…
We report a doping, magnetic field and low-temperature dependent study of the specific heat of the iron-arsenide Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$ at under (x=0.045), optimal (x=0.08) and overdoped (x=0.103 and 0.105) regimes. By subtracting the lattice specific heat the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the electronic specific heat has been studied. The temperature and field dependencies of the superconducting part of $C_{p}$ exhibit similar behavior for all doping concentrations. The temperature variation of the electronic specific heat as well as its field dependence cannot be…
The doping dependence of the micro-Raman spectra of high quality La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4 microcrystals with x=0.0-0.45 has been investigated in the region 10-300 K. The phonon at ~100 cm^{-1} of the orthorhombic phase shows a classical soft mode behavior up to x=0.17, supporting its correlation with the LTO to HTT transition. In the xx/yy polarization spectra of the superconducting concentrations new modes at ~150 and 370 cm^{-1} related to the symmetry breaking and a broad band at ~280 cm^{-1} are attributed to the charge ordering at temperatures well above T_c. At all temperatures studied a correl…
