A weakening of superconductivity upon substitution of Cu by Zn (0.5~1 %) is observed in a high-T_c cuprate, Ca_{2-x}Na_xCuO2Cl2, near the hole concentration of 1/8 per Cu. The superconducting transition temperature and its volume fraction, estimated by magnetic susceptibility, exhibit a sizable anomaly for x=0.12~0.14, where the slowing down of Cu spin fluctuations below 5 K is demonstrated by muon spin relaxation experiments. These observations are in close resemblance to other typical cuprates including YBa2Cu3O_{7-d}, and Bi2Sr2Ca_{1-x}Y_xCu2O_{8+d}, providing further evidence that Zn-induced "stripe" correlation is a universal feature of high-T_c cuprate superconductors common to that of La_{2-x}A_{x}CuO4 (A=Ba, Sr).
Samples of YBa2-xSrxCu3O7-d (x = 0.0, 0.50, 1.0) series were synthesized by solid-state reaction and first annealed in flowing O2 gas. All samples crystallized in orthorhombic structure, where orthorhombic distortion was found to decrease with an increase in x. Four probe resistivity measurements showed that superconducting transition temperature (Tc) decreases monotonically with x at a rate of dTc/dx = 1.3 K/at%. The sample with x=0 had a Tc = 91 K. The samples were further annealed in flowing N2 gas at 450 0C. The Tc of all samples decreased by nitrogen annealing. Interestingly, the decrease…
We have performed a systematic angle-resolved photoemission study of chemically substituted cuprates Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2-x}$Bi$_{x}$CuO$_{6+δ}$. We observed that the Fermi surface area shrinks linearly with Bi substitution content $x$, reflecting the electron doping nature of this chemical substitution. In addition, the spectral linewidth broadens rapidly with increasing $x$, and becomes completely incoherent at the superconducting-insulating boundary. The d-wave-like normal-state gap observed in the lightly underdoped region gradually evolves into a large soft gap, which suppresses antinodal spect…
We have performed an angle-resolved photoemission study of the electron-doped high-Tc superconductors (HTSCs) Sm_{1.85}Ce_{0.15}CuO_{4} (SCCO) and Eu_{1.85}Ce_{0.15}CuO_{4} (ECCO). Around the nodal point (pi/2, pi/2), we observed an energy gap at the Fermi level (EF) for both samples, resulting from the strong effects of antiferromagnetism. The magnitude of this gap in ECCO is larger than that in SCCO, implying that the effects of antiferromagnetism in ECCO are stronger than that in SCCO. Also, we quantitatively confirmed the effects of antiferromagnetism by the band dispersions to tight-bindi…
Induction of holes not only in the superconductive CuO2 plane but also in the Bi2O2+d charge reservoir of the Bi2Sr2(Y1-xCax)Cu2O8+d superconductor upon CaII-for-YIII substitution is evidenced by means of two independent techniques, i.e., high-resolution x-ray-absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy measurements and coulometric redox titrations. The absolute values derived for the CuO2-plane hole concentration from the Cu L2,3-edge XANES spectra are in good agreement with those obtained from the coulometric redox analysis. The CuO2-plane hole concentration is found to increase from…
We have succeeded in growing large-size single-crystals of Ca$_{2+x}$Y$_{2-x}$Cu$_5$O$_{10}$ with $0 \le x \le 1.67$ and measured the magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and magnetization curve, in order to study the magnetic ground state in the edge-sharing CuO$_2$ chain as a function of hole concentration and magnetic field. In $0 \le x \le 1.3$, it has been found that an antiferromagnetically ordered phase with the magnetic easy axis along the b-axis is stabilized and that a spin-flop transition occurs by the application of magnetic fields parallel to the b-axis. The antiferromagnetic tr…
Precise neutron-scattering experiments on La$_{1.88-y}$Sr$_{0.12+y}$Cu$_{0.99}$R$_{0.01}$O$_4$ ($y$=0 for R=Cu, Zn and $y$=0.01 for R=Ga, Fe) were performed to examine the stability of stripe order in cuprate oxides through impurity substitution effects. For all the impurity-substituted samples a static charge-density-wave order similar to that reported in the low-temperature-tetragonal phase (LTT) was discovered in the low-temperature-orthorhombic (LTO) phase for the first time. Fe substitution significantly enhanced both the charge- and spin-density-wave orders. These results indicate that d…
We investigated Ce-substitution and reduction annealing effects on the electronic states at copper sites by Cu ${K}$-edge x-ray absorption near-edge structure measurements in Pr$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_{4+α-δ}$ (PCCO) with varying $x$ and $δ$ (the amount of oxygen loss during annealing) values. Absorption near-edge spectra were modified by Ce-substitution and reduction annealing in a similar manner with increasing $x$ and $δ$. Considering electron doping by Ce-substitution, this similarity indicates an increase of electron number at the copper sites due to annealing $n_{\rm AN}$. Thus, the total num…
Composite material was prepared from Byström-Evers metallic particles Ag5Pb2O6 dispersed in a semiconducting matrix CuO-Cu2O. Partial substitution of CuO by Cu2O increases electric conductivity at 673 K for 2-3 orders of magnitude above Landauer conductivity e2/ha indicated by pure CuO matrix. Onset of superconductivity at 86-375 K presented in this and previous works is discussed in the framework of the exciton-polariton mechanism occurring on the grain surfaces.
The oxygen isotope effect on the superconductivity, stripe phase and structure transition is systematically investigated in La$_{1.6-x}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_4$ with static stripe phase. Substitution of $^{16}$O by $^{18}$O leads to a decrease in superconducting transition temperature T$_C$, while enhances the temperature of the structural transition from low-temperature-orthorhombic (LTO) phase to low-temperature-tetragonal (LTT) phase. Compared to the Nd free sample, a larger isotope effect on $T_C$ is observed in La$_{1.6-x}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_4$. These results indicate that the distor…
We report experimental evidence for the spatial variation of hole concentration x_(hole) in the high Tc superconductor La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4) (0.04 <= x <= 0.16) by using (63)Cu NQR for (63)Cu isotope enriched samples. We demonstrate that the extent of the spatial variation of the local hole concentration D(x)_(hole) is reflected on (63)1/T1 and deduce the temperature dependence. D(x)_(hole) increases below 500 - 600K, and reaches values as large as D(x)_(hole)/x ~ 0.5 below ~ 150K. We estimate the length scale of the spatial variation in x_(hole) to be R_(hole) >~ 3nm from analysis of the NQR spe…
The hole concentration dependence of the magnetic correlations is studied in very lightly-doped La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ ($x<$0.02), which shows coexistence of a three-dimensional antiferromagnetic (AF) long-range ordered phase and a spin-glass phase at low temperatures. It is found that the spin-glass phase in the coexistence region also shows a diagonal spin modulation as in the pure spin-glass phase in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ (0.02$\le x\le$0.055). Below $x\sim$0.02 the diagonal stripe structure is the same as that in $x\sim$0.02 with a volume fraction almost proportional to hole concentrati…
We studied the hole concentration dependences of 63Cu Knight shifts in single-CuO2-layer high-Tc cuprate superconductors HgBa2CuO4+d and double-layer HgBa2CaCu2O6+d. We found that the spin Knight shift at room temperature as a function of the hole concentration in the single-layer superconductor is different from that in the double-layer superconductor. Two type relations between the spin Knight shift and the hole doping level serve to estimate the individual hole concentrations of the non-equivalent CuO2 planes in a unit cell.
The effect of Pr substitution on the superconductivity and interlayer coupling of Bi2212 system is investigated. Magnetic and transport measurements were performed for purposes of characterization. The superconducting transition temperature Tc first increased and then decreased till it became zero at x=0.6. The effective superconducting volume also decreases due to Pr substitution. From the fluctuation conductivity analyses it is found that the interlayer coupling constant J decreases monotonically with increase of the Pr content. This result shows that the Pr doping weakens the CuO2 interlaye…
We have performed a temperature-dependent angle-integrated photoemission study of lightly-doped to heavily-overdoped La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_4$ and oxygen-doped La$_2$CuO$_{4.10}$. We found that both the magnitude $Δ$* of the (small) pseudogap and the temperature \textit{T}* at which the pseudogap is opened increases with decreasing hole concentration, consistent with previous studies. On the other hand, the superconducting gap $Δ_{sc}$ was found to remain small for decreasing hole concentration. The results can be explained if the superconducting gap opens only on the Fermi arc around the noda…
Neutron-scattering experiments have been performed on lightly-doped La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4 single crystals in both the insulating (x=0.03,0.04,0.05) and superconducting (x=0.06) regions. Elastic magnetic peaks are observed at low temperatures in all samples with the maximum peak linewidth occuring at the critical concentration x_c=0.05. New incommensurate peaks are observed only at x=0.05, the positions of which are rotated by 45 degrees in reciprocal space about (pi,pi) from those observed for x>=0.06 in the superconducting phase.
Based on the newly developed real-space spin-parallel pairing and superconducting theory, we explore a simple explanation for the observed checkerboard patterns in hole-doped Ca{2-x}Na{x}CuO{2}Cl{2} cuprate superconductor. At a hole concentration x=1/8=0.125, the analytical results show that there exists a phase competition between non-superconducting 4a*4b (a=b) checkerboard phase and 8a*2c superconducting vortex phase, where a, b and c are the lattice constants of the superconductor. At a lower hole concentration x=1/16=0.0625, it is revealed that the metastable 4\sqrt{2}a*4\sqrt{2}a checker…
Bulk crystals of electron-doped cuprates with the T'-type structure require both Ce substitutions and reduction annealing for the emergence of superconductivity while the reduction annealing alone can induce superconductivity in thin films of the T'-type cuprates. In order to reveal low-energy electronic states which are responsible for the superconductivity, we have conducted angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements on thin films of the superconducting Ce-free T'-type cuprate Pr$_2$CuO$_4$. The results indicate that the overall band structure and the Fermi surface area of the su…
We present a detailed analysis on the hopping between monolayer CuO$_2$ and bulk CuO$_2$ plane in the Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ substrate. With a two-band model, we demonstrate that the nodeless gap can only exist when the hole concentration in monolayer CuO$_2$ plane is very large or very small. We argued that the possible phase separation may play important role in the recent experimental observation of nodeless gap.
We report a Cu K- and L$_3$-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering study of charge and spin excitations of bulk Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_4$, with focus on post-growth annealing effects. For the parent compound Nd$_2$CuO$_4$ ($x = 0$), a clear charge-transfer gap is observed in the as-grown state, whereas the charge excitation spectra indicate that electrons are doped in the annealed state. This is consistent with the observation that annealed thin-film and polycrystalline samples of RE$_2$CuO$_4$ (RE = rare earth) can become metallic and superconducting at sufficiently high electron concentratio…
We use inelastic neutron scattering to study the evolution of the generalized phonon density of states (GDOS) of the $n$-type high-$T_c$ superconductor Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_{4+δ}$ (NCCO), from the half-filled Mott-insulator ($x=0$) to the $T_c=24$ K superconductor ($x=0.15$). Upon doping the CuO$_2$ planes in Nd$_2$CuO$_{4+δ}$ (NCO) with electrons by Ce substitution, the most significant change in the GDOS is the softening of the highest phonon branches associated with the Cu-O bond stretching and out-of-plane oxygen vibration modes. However, the softening occurs within the first few percent o…
We measured the thermopower S and the Hall coefficients R_H of Bi_{2}Sr_{2-z}La_{z}CuO_{6+δ} (BSLCO) single crystals in a wide doping range, in an effort to identify the actual hole concentrations per Cu, p, in this system. It is found that the "universal" relation between the room-temperature thermopower and T_c does not hold in the BSLCO system. Instead, comparison of the temperature-dependent R_H data with other cuprate systems is used as a tool to identify the actual p value. To justify this approach, we compare normalized R_H(T) data of BSLCO, La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} (LSCO), YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_…
We report that it is possible to obtain a series of high-quality crystals of La-doped Bi-2201, of which the transport properties have been believed to be "dirtier" than those of other cuprates. In our crystals, the normal-state transport properties display behaviors which are in good accord with other cuprates; for example, in the underdoped region the in-plane resistivity ρ_{ab} shows the pseudogap feature and in the overdoped region the T dependence of ρ_{ab} changes to T^n with n > 1. The characteristic temperatures of the pseudogap deduced from the resistivity and the Hall coefficient data…
Chemical substitution, combined with strain, allows the charge-transfer energy in hole-doped cuprates to be broadly tuned. We theoretically characterize the structural and electronic properties of the family of compounds $R_2$CuO$_2$S$_2$, constructed by sulfur replacement of the apical oxygens and rare earth substitutions in the parent cuprate La$_2$CuO$_4$. Additionally, the enthalpies of formation for possible synthesis pathways are determined.
In order to realize superconductivity in cuprates with the T'-type structure, not only chemical substitution (Ce doping) but also post-growth reduction annealing is necessary. In the case of thin films, however, well-designed reduction annealing alone without Ce doping can induce superconductivity in the T'-type cuprates. In order to unveil the origin of superconductivity in the Ce-undoped T'-type cuprates, we have performed bulk-sensitive hard x-ray photoemission and soft x-ray absorption spectroscopies on superconducting and non-superconducting Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_4$ ($x=$ 0, 0.15, and 0.19…
The superconducting properties of high-\tc\ materials are functions of carriers concentration, which is controlled by the concentration of defects including heterovalent cations, interstitial oxygen ions, and oxygen vacancies. Here we combine low-temperature thermal treatment of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ epitaxial thin films and confocal Raman spectroscopy to control and investigate oxygen vacancies. We demonstrate that the apical site is the most favorable position to accommodate oxygen vacancies under low-temperature annealing conditions. Additionally we show that in high-quality films of …
The dynamical stripe structure relating to the "1/8 problem" was investigated in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ utilizing the high frequency response of Raman scattering. The split of the two-magnon peak due to the formation of the stripe structure was observed at whole Sr concentration region from $x=0.035$ to 0.25 at low temperatures. Especially clear split was observed at low carrier concentration region $x=0.035 - 0.06$ and at $x \sim 1/8$. The onset temperatures of these stripe structures are as high as 300-350 K, which are much higher than the temperatures measured by slow response probes.
It is found that a strong inhomogeneous distribution of oxygen in single crystal La_{2}CuO_{4+δ} can lead to the formation of isolated superconducting inclusions, the average hole concentration being no more than 0.0024 per Cu atom. The behavior of the conductivity in the magnetic field below T=20 K is consistent with possible existence of a insulating low-temperature magnetic phase (spin density waves), which is typical of cuprates with excess oxygen.
The effect of Zn substitution on the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, was investigated for the La2-xSrxCu1-yZnyO4 (Zn-LSCO) compounds over a wide range of hole concentration, p (= x), and Zn content (y) in the CuO2 plane. Zn induced rate of suppression of Tc, dTc/dy, was found to be strongly p-dependent and showed a systematic variation with hole concentration, except in the vicinity of p ~ 0.12, i.e., near the so-called 1/8th anomaly where the charge/spin stripe correlations are at its strongest in La2-xSrxCuO4. Near p ~ 0.12, the static striped charge ordering is widely believed t…
To investigate the validity of the Wiedemann-Franz (WF) law in disordered but metallic cuprates, the low-temperature charge and heat transport properties are carefully studied for a series of impurity-substituted and carrier-overdoped La_{1.8}Sr_{0.2}Cu_{1-z}M_zO_4 (M = Zn or Mg) single crystals. With moderate impurity substitution concentrations of z = 0.049 and 0.082 (M = Zn), the resistivity shows a clear metallic behavior at low temperature and the WF law is confirmed to be valid. With increasing impurity concentration to z = 0.13 (M = Zn) or 0.15 (M = Mg), the resistivity shows a low-T up…
x dependences of Tc in YBa2Cu3O6+x and Y1-b(Ca)bBa2Cu3O6+x (b=0.1 and b=0.2) have been calculated assuming that the net doping of CuO2 layers is a sum of contributions from CuO chains and from substitution of Y3+ by Ca2+. We applied the concept of minimal (critical) chain length lcr needed to trigger charge transfer from chains to planes. The model proposed assumes that only a certain part, say kappa, of those chain-holes that are created beyond the first lcr-2 holes in chains of length l>lcr, are able to attract electrons from CuO2 bilayer. Our analysis points to the conclusion that parameter…
First principles band-structure calculations for large supercells of Ba$_{2}$CuO$_{4-δ}$ and La$_{2}$CuO$_{4-δ}$ with different distributions and concentrations of oxygen vacancies show that the effective doping on copper sites strongly depends on where the vacancy is located. A vacancy within the Cu layer produces a weak doping effect while a vacancy located at an apical oxygen site acts as a stronger electron dopant on the copper layers and gradually brings the electronic structure close to that of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_{4}$. These effects are robust and only depend marginally on lattice dist…
We report on the magnetic phase diagram of a hole-doped cuprate Ca$_{2-x}$Na$_{x}$CuO$_{2}$Cl$_{2}$, which is free from buckling of CuO$_2$ planes, determined by muon spin rotation and relaxation. It is characterized by a quasi-static spin glass-like phase over a range of sodium concentration ($0.05\leq x\leq 0.12$), which is held between long range antiferromagnetic (AF) phase ($x\leq 0.02$) and superconducting phase where the system is non-magnetic for $x\geq 0.15$. The obtained phase diagram qualitatively agrees well with that commonly found for hole-doped high-\tc cuprates, strongly sugges…
The Seebeck coefficient $S$ of the cuprate superconductor La$ _{2-x} $Sr$_{x} $CuO$ _{4}$ (LSCO) was measured in magnetic fields large enough to access the normal state at low temperatures, for a range of Sr concentrations from $x = 0.07$ to $x = 0.15$. For $x = 0.11$, 0.12, 0.125 and 0.13, $S/T$ decreases upon cooling to become negative at low temperatures. The same behavior is observed in the Hall coefficient $R_{H}(T)$. In analogy with other hole-doped cuprates at similar hole concentrations $p$, the negative $S$ and $R_{H}$ show that the Fermi surface of LSCO undergoes a reconstruction cau…
The effect of Co-Ga paired substitution on the superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3O7-d (Y-123) has been investigated by X-ray diffraction, ac susceptibility,dc resistivity and oxygen content measurements. We report in this paper the results of our studies on the paired substitution of a magnetic and non-magnetic ion at Cu site in Y-123, while keeping the total dopant concentration fixed. The simultaneous substitution of Co and Ga at Cu site shows variation in the transition temperature (Tc), oxygen content and hole concentration as a function of change in the balance of magnetic (Co) and non…
Identifying the essence of doped Mott insulators is one of the major outstanding problems in condensed matter physics and the key to understanding the high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates. We report real space visualization of Mott transition in Sr1-xLaxCuO2+y cuprate films that cover the entire electron- and hole-doped regimes. Tunneling conductance measurements directly on the cooper-oxide (CuO2) planes reveal a systematic shift in the Fermi level, while the fundamental Mott-Hubbard band structure remains unchanged. This is further demonstrated by exploring atomic-scale electronic …
For electron-doped cuprates, the strong suppression of antiferromagnetic spin correlation by efficient reduction annealing by the "protect-annealing" method leads to superconductivity not only with lower Ce concentrations but also with higher transition temperatures. To reveal the nature of this superconducting state, we have performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements of protect-annealed electron-doped superconductors Pr$_{1.3-x}$La$_{0.7}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ and directly investigated the superconducting gap. The gap was found to be consistent with $d$-wave symmetry, sugges…
Using resonant X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, we study charge correlations and lattice dynamics in two model cuprates, HgBa$_{2}$CuO$_{4+δ}$ and HgBa$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{6+δ}$. We observe a maximum of the characteristic charge order temperature around the same hole concentration ($p \approx 0.09$) in both compounds, and concomitant pronounced anomalies in the lattice dynamics that involve the motion of atoms in and/or adjacent to the CuO$_2$ layers. These anomalies are already present at room temperature, and therefore precede the formation of the static charge correlations, and we a…
Temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient, R_H_, has been investigated in charge-spin stripe-ordered La-214 high-T_c_ superconductors. Using the simplest stripe-ordered system of La_2-x_Ba_x_CuO_4_, it has been clarified that both the behavior of R_H_ and its sign exhibit significant dependences on the hole concentration. That is, R_H_ is zero in the ground state of the charge-spin stripe order at x=1/8, while it is negative in the less-stabilized state of the charge stripe for x<1/8. These are interpreted as owing to the delicate balance of the contributions of the hole-like Fermi surfac…
Frequency-dependent terahertz conductivities of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ thin films with various carrier concentrations were investigated. The imaginary part of the complex conductivity considerably increased from far above a zero-resistance superconducting transition temperature, $T_\text{c}^\text{zero}$, because of the existence of the fluctuating superfluid density with a short lifetime. The onset temperature of the superconducting fluctuation is at most $\sim 2T_\text{c}^\text{zero}$ for underdoped samples, which is consistent with the previously reported analysis of microwave conductivity.…
We have studied the effects of the isoelectronic substitution of Ru for Fe in polycrystalline samples of the spin density wave (SDW) material PrFeAsO. Crystal structures from powder x-ray diffraction at room temperature and transport properties from 2-300 K are reported. The SDW is completely suppressed upon Ru substitution. The distortion of the tetrahedral coordination environment of the transition metal site increases as the Ru concentration increases, which may be related to the absence of superconductivity above 2 K. Band structure calculations show that the larger size of Ru 4$d$ orbital…
The possible inhomogeneity of superconductivity has been investigated by means of bulk-sensitive probes, using La_2-x_Sr_x_CuO_4_ (LSCO) single crystals from the underdoped to optimally doped regime. Measurements of the magnetic susceptibility, chi, on field cooling and specific heat have revealed that both the absolute value of chi at 2 K, regarded as corresponding to the superconducting (SC) volume fraction in a sample, and the Sommerfeld constant, reflecting the density of states of quasiparticles at the Fermi level, exhibit significant dependence on x, namely, on the hole concentration. Th…
Ni-substitution effects on the superconductivity and Cu-spin correlation have been investigated in La2-xSrxCu1-yNiyO4 from the electrical resistivity and muon spin relaxation measurements, taking into account the hole trapping by Ni recently suggested. It has been found that the Ni-substitution suppresses the superconductivity, induces the localization of holes and develops the Cu-spin correlation to the same degree as the Zn substitution. These suggest that Ni with a trapped hole tends to give rise to potential scattering of holes in the CuO2 plane to the same degree as Zn, being discussed in…
The oxygen deficient CuO_x planes of the high-Tc superconductors REBa_2Cu_3O_{6+x} (RE denotes a rare-earth atom or yttrium) are studied. Starting from the Emery model for the Cu-O chain fragments, an extended ASYNNNI model is proposed to describe the statistical mechanics of the CuO_x planes. The model is analysed by using Monte Carlo techniques, computing especially the charge transfer to the CuO$_2$ planes regulating the high-Tc superconductivity, and the concentration of differently coordinated Cu ions.Results are compared to experimental data for various RE cases.
The effect of Sr(II)-for-Ba(II) isovalent substitution on the magnetic irreversibility field (Hirr) of Cu(Ba1-ySry)2YbCu2O6.95(2) (Cu-1212) sample series (y = 0 ~ 0.4) is studied to reveal guiding rules for tailoring the intrinsic Hirr characteristics of high-Tc superconductors. It has been assumed that substitution of the larger alkaline earth cation, Ba(II), by the smaller, Sr(II), might improve the Hirr characteristics as a consequence of the decrease in the thickness of nonsuperconductive blocking block (BB). However, results of the present work show that Sr substitution rather depresses t…
The structural and electronic properties of La$_{2-x}$Ba$_x$CuO$_4$ were investigated as a function of Ba-concentration $0 \leq x \leq 1.2$, within the virtual crystal approximation (VCA) by means of first-principles total-energy calculations. We found Ba doping induces a quasi-rigid displacement of Cu d$_{x^{2}-y^{2}}$ and d$_{z^{2}}$ bands toward higher energies. This effect generates important changes in the Fermi surface topology, which manage to imitate the ARPES momentum distribution map (MDM) measurements and tight-binding calculations recently reported for doped La-based cuprates. The …
An elastic neutron scattering study has been performed on several single crystals of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ for {\it x} near the lower critical concentration {\it x$_{c}$} for superconductivity. % In the insulating spin-glass phase ({\it x} = 0.04 and 0.053), the previously reported one-dimensional spin modulation along the orthorhombic {\it b}-axis is confirmed. % Just inside the superconducting phase ({\it x} = 0.06), however, two pairs of incommensurate magnetic peaks are additionally observed corresponding to the spin modulation parallel to the tetragonal axes. % These two types of sp…
We present a microscopic model for `electron doped' $Nd_{2-x}Ce_xCuO_4$ family and offer a resolution to a long standing doping asymmetry puzzle. Here, i) Ce atoms do not dope free electrons, instead a Ce atom effectively quenches a $Cu^{2+}$ spin moment at an adjacent site, at an energy scale > superexchange J of $CuO_2$ plane and `site dilutes' the Mott insulator. ii) Effective chemical pressure, caused by increased Ce substitution, induces a {\em first order Mott insulator to superconductor transition} in the $CuO_2$ plane. We predict, i) {\em equal number of +e and -e carriers} in metallic…
We report the results of elastic neutron scattering measurements performed on 1/8-hole doped La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.125-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ single crystals with {\it x}=0.05, 0.06, 0.075 and 0.085. In the low-temperature less-orthorhombic (LTLO, {\it Pccn} symmetry) phase, the charge-density-wave (CDW) and spin-density-wave (SDW) wavevectors were found to tilt in a low-symmetric direction with one-dimensional anisotropy in the CuO$_{2}$ plane, while they were aligned along the high-symmetry axis in the low-temperature tetragonal (LTT, {\it P}4$_2$/{\it ncm} symmetry) phase. The coincident directi…
We prepared a set of Pb-substituted Bi_{2-x}Pb_xSr_2ErCu_2O_8 single crystals. The resistivity and the in-plane thermopower decrease with increasing x from 0 to 0.8, which indicates that the Pb substitution supplies holes in the CuO_2 plane. For x=0.8, a tiny resistivity drop (a trace of superconductivity) is seen near 70 K, suggesting that the doping level is close to the critical concentration. The c-axis dielectric constant also systematically changes with x, and suggests that the charge inhomogeneity is suppressed by the Pb substitution.
We present the results of electrical transport measurements of La$_{1.85}$Sr$_{0.15}$Cu$_{1-y}$Ni$_{y}$O$_{4}$ thin single-crystal films at magnetic fields up to 9 T. Adding Ni impurity with strong Coulomb scattering potential to slightly underdoped cuprate makes the signs of resistivity saturation at $ρ_{sat}$ visible in the measurement temperature window up to 350 K. Employing the parallel-resistor formalism reveals that $ρ_{sat}$ is consistent with classical Ioffe-Regel-Mott limit and changes with carrier concentration $n$ as $ρ_{sat}\propto 1/\sqrt{n}$. Thermopower measurements show that N…
We have investigated the effect of Zn substitution on the hole content, p, and the oxygen deficiency, d, for a series of high-quality crystalline c-axis oriented thin films and polycrystalline Y1-xCaxBa2(Cu1-yZny)3O7-delta compounds over a wide range of composition (x, y, and delta). p was determined from the room-temperature thermopower, S[290K]. When annealed at a given temperature and oxygen partial pressure, a small but systematic variation in S[290K] was observed with Zn, for all the samples. From the analysis of the temperature derivative of resistivity, drho/dT, at 300K, which varies al…
We have conducted a highly precise doping controlled experiment on a thin film of the single layer cuprate Bi2Sr2-xLaxCuOy (x = 0.6), in order to observe the superconducting insulating transition (SIT). Sr2+/La3+ substitution (x = 0.6) allowed us to start from a doping state in the vicinity of the SIT, which was further finely-tuned by varying the oxygen content in very small amounts through a vacuum anneal process. Measurements of the Hall effect at 300K and of the resistance vs. T, R(T), have been performed after each treatment. Approaching the SIT from the metallic side, and with decreasing…
Signature of T$_\textrm{c}$ above 111 K in Li-doped (Bi,Pb)-2223 superconductors: synergistic nature of hole concentration, coherence length and Josephson interlayer coupling
For both electron- and hole-doped cuprates, superconductivity appears in the vicinity of suppressed broken symmetry order, suggesting that quantum criticality plays a vital role in the physics of these systems. A confounding factor in identifying the role of quantum criticality in the electron-doped systems is the competing influence of chemical doping and oxygen stoichiometry. Using high quality thin films of Pr$_{2}$CuO$_{4\pmδ}$, we tune superconductivity and uncover the influence of quantum criticality without Ce substitution. We observe magnetic quantum oscillations that are consistent wi…
The effect of Zn substitution on the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, was investigated for the sintered Y1-xCaxBa2(Cu1-yZny)3O7-delta compounds over a wide range of hole concentration per CuO2 plane, p. Ca substitution enabled us to study the deeply overdoped region. p was changed by changing the oxygen deficiency (delta). A strongly p-dependent rate of suppression of Tc with Zn (dTc/dy) was found. From the analysis of the dTc(p)/dy and Tc(p,y) data, we found that the optimum hole content, popt, shifts to higher values with increasing Zn and superconductivity is at its strongest whe…
We performed systematic measurements of magnetic susceptibility on single crystals of La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.125-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$. The dependence of the superconducting transition temperature on Sr-concentration demonstrates a step-like pattern upon doping at {\it x}$\sim$0.08 as the crystal structure changes from low-temperature tetragonal (LTT) to low-temperature orthorhombic (LTO) phase at low temperature. Upon cooling, an anomalous upturn in the susceptibility was observed at the structural phase transition between the LTT-LTO phases under the magnetic field parallel to {\it c}-axis.
