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 T, R(T) exhibits a high T metallic behaviour down to a temperature Tmin, followed by a non metallic increase (dR/dT< 0) up to a maximum at Tp before the superconducting transition at Tc. This re-entrant behaviour in R(T), commonly observed in cuprates close to the SIT, is attributed to a phase segregation phenomenon in the presence of strong electronic correlations and inhomogeneities. We present our results extracted from R(T) and Hall effect studies in the region close to the SIT and in the insulating region. A phase diagram shows the characteristic temperatures versus doping.
In contrast to the "Pr-issue" that neither PrBa2Cu3O7 (Pr123) nor PrBa2Cu4O8 (Pr124) shows superconductivity (SC), we have observed 100%-fraction of SC in an oxygen-reduced Pr2Ba4Cu7O(15-delta) (Pr247) which has a hybrid structure that Pr247 = Pr123 + Pr124. It is found that Cu nuclear-spin signals from the CuO2 planes observed at 300K are completely wiped out down at 2K. Instead, plane signals at 2K are observed at higher frequencies. This indicates that, despite the bulk SC, the CuO2 planes in Pr247 are found to be in an insulating and antiferromagnetically ordered state.
Due to the orthorhombic distortion of the lattice, the electronic hopping integrals along the $a$ and $b$ diagonals, the orthorhombic directions, are slightly different. We calculate their difference in the LDA and find $t_{a}^{\prime}-t_{b}^{\prime}\approx 8 $meV. We argue that electron correlations in the insulating phase of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$, i. e. at doping $x\leq 0.055,$ dramatically enhance the $(t_{a}^{\prime}-t_{b}^{\prime}) $-splitting between the $a$- and $b$-hole valleys. In particular, we predict that the intensity of both angle-resolved photoemission and of optical absor…
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…
The composite material, consisting of metallic particles Ag5Pb2O6 diluted in insulating CuO matrix, has been investigated in a narrow concentration range separating ballistic tunnel transport from hopping conductivity. The formation of intergrain conducting bridges between metallic particles has been avoided by a careful metallurgic treatment. Resistivity is indicated by temperature dependence lnR~(T0/T)^1/2, and this dependence appeals an attention for possible one dimensional conductivity which could be looked upon as a property uniquely associated with an onset of the superconductivity exte…
Understanding the complex phase diagram of cuprate superconductors is an outstanding challenge. The most actively studied questions surround the nature of the pseudogap and strange metal states and their relationship to superconductivity. In contrast, there is general agreement that the low energy physics of the Mott insulating parent state is well captured by a two-dimensional spin $S$ = 1/2 antiferromagnetic (AFM) Heisenberg model. However, recent observations of a large thermal Hall conductivity in several parent cuprates appear to defy this simple model and suggest proximity to a magneto-c…
Soft phonons and diffuse scattering in insulating La$_{2-x}$Sr$_{x}$CuO$_4$ ($x=0.05$) have been studied by the neutron scattering technique. The X-point phonon softens from high temperature towards the structural transition temperature $T_{s}=410$ K, and the Z-point phonon softens again below 200 K. The Z-point phonon softening persists to low temperature, in contrast to the behavior observed in the superconducting $x=0.15$ compound, in which the Z-point phonon hardens below $T_c$. The diffuse scattering associated with the structural phase transition at 410 K appears at commensurate position…
The transition temperature $T_\textrm{c}$ of unconventional superconductivity is often tunable. For a monolayer of FeSe, for example, the sweet spot is uniquely bound to titanium-oxide substrates. By contrast for La$_{2-\mathrm{x}}$Sr$_\mathrm{x}$CuO$_4$ thin films, such substrates are sub-optimal and the highest $T_\textrm{c}$ is instead obtained using LaSrAlO$_4$. An outstanding challenge is thus to understand the optimal conditions for superconductivity in thin films: which microscopic parameters drive the change in $T_\mathrm{c}$ and how can we tune them? Here we demonstrate, by a combinat…
A central issue for copper oxides is the nature of the insulating ground state at low carrier densities and the emergence of high-temperature superconductivity from that state with doping. Even though this superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) is a zero-temperature transition, measurements are not usually carried out at low temperatures. Here we use magnetoresistance to probe both the insulating state at very low temperatures and the presence of superconducting fluctuations in La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4}(LSCO) films, for doping levels that range from the insulator to the superconductor (x=0.03-0…
We report the first observation of superconductivity in heterostructure consisting of an insulating ferroelectric film (Ba$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$TiO$_3$) grown on an insulating parent compound of La$_2$CuO$_4$ with [001] orientation. The heterostructure was prepared by magnetron sputtering on a non-atomically-flat surface with inhomogeneities of the order of 1-2 nm. The measured superconducting transition temperature T$_c$ is about 30K. We have shown that superconductivity is confined near the interface region. Application of a weak magnetic field perpendicular to the interface leads to the appeara…
The magnetic-field (H) dependence of the thermal conductivity κof Pr_{1.3}La_{0.7}CuO_4 is found to show a pronounced minimum for in-plane fields at low temperature, which is best attributed to the scattering of phonons by free spins that are seen by a Schottky-type specific heat and a Curie-Weiss susceptibility. Besides pointing to a strong spin-phonon coupling in cuprates, the present result demonstrates that the H-dependence of the phonon heat transport should not be naively neglected when discussing the κ(H) behavior of cuprates, since the Schottky anomaly is ubiquitously found in cuprates…
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 normal-state Hall coefficient R_H and the in-plane resistivity ρ_{ab} are measured in La-doped Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CuO_{y} (T_c \simeq 13 K) single crystals and La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} thin films by suppressing superconductivity with 61-T pulsed magnetic fields. In contrast to data above T_c, the R_H below \sim 10 K shows little temperature dependence in all the samples measured, irrespective of whether ρ_{ab} exhibits insulating or metallic behavior. Thus, whatever physical mechanism gives rise to insulating behavior in the low-temperature normal state, it leaves the Hall conductivity relatively un…
Magnetic-field-induced ordering of electrons around vortices is a striking phenomenon recently found in high-$T_c$ cuprates. To identify its consequence in the quasiparticle dynamics, the magnetic-field ($H$) dependence of the low-temperature thermal conductivity $κ$ of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ crystals is studied for a wide doping range. It is found that the behavior of $κ(H)$ in the sub-Kelvin region changes drastically across optimum doping, and the data for underdoped samples are indicative of unusual magnetic-field-induced localization of quasiparticles; this localization phenomenon is pro…
We have epitaxially grown c-axis oriented SrxLa1-xCuO2 thin films by rf sputtering on KTaO3 substrates with x = 0.12. The as-grown deposits are insulating and a series of superconducting films with various Tc(R=0) up to 26 K have been obtained by in-situ oxygen reduction. Transport measurements in the ab plane of these samples have been undertaken. We report original results on the temperature dependence of the Hall effect and on the anisotropic magnetoresistance (T > Tc). We discuss the magnitude of upper critical fields and anisotropy, the Hall effect, which presents changes of sign indicati…
The in-plane $ρ_{ab}(H,T)$ and the out-of-plane $ρ_c(H,T)$ magneto-transport in magnetic fields up to 28 T has been investigated in high quality non-superconducting (down to 20 mK) La-free Bi$_{2+x}$Sr$_{2-x}$CuO$_{6+δ}$ single crystal. By measuring the angular dependence of the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetoresistivities at temperatures from 1 K down to 30 mK, we present evidence for the presence of vortex-like excitations in a non-superconducting cuprate in the insulating state. Such excitations have previously been observed by the detection of a Nernst signal in superconducting cuprates …
Lightly-doped La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ in the so-called "insulating" spin-glass/diagonal-stripe phase has been studied by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. A quasi-particle (QP) peak crossing the Fermi level has been observed in the node direction of the d-wave superconducting gap, forming an "arc" of Fermi surface consistent with the recently observed metallic transport behavior at high temperatures of lightly-doped materials. The spectral weight of the nodal QP smoothly increases with hole doping, corresponding to the $n \sim x$ behavior of the carrier number in the underdoped and li…
We measure the normal-state in-plane resistivity of La-doped Bi-2201 single crystals at low temperatures by suppressing superconductivity with 60-T pulsed magnetic fields. With decreasing hole doping, we observe a crossover from a metallic to insulating behavior in the low-temperature normal state. This crossover is estimated to occur near 1/8 doping, well inside the underdoped regime, and not at optimum doping as reported for other cuprates. The insulating regime is marked by a logarithmic temperature dependence of the resistivity over two decades of temperature, suggesting that a peculiar ch…
The electron dynamics in the normal state of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ is studied by inelastic light scattering over a wide range of doping. A strong anisotropy of the electron relaxation is found which cannot be explained by single-particle properties alone. The results strongly indicate the presence of an unconventional quantum-critical metal-insulator transition where "hot" (antinodal) quasiparticles become insulating while "cold" (nodal) quasiparticles remain metallic. A phenomenology is developed which allows a quantitative understanding of the Raman results and provides a scenario wh…
Copper oxide superconductors have continually fascinated the communities of condensed matter physics and material sciences because they host the highest ambient-pressure superconducting transition temperature (Tc) and mysterious physics. Searching for the universal correlation between the superconducting state and its normal state or neighboring ground state is believed to be an effective way for finding clues to elucidate the underlying mechanism of the superconductivity. One of the common pictures for the copper oxide superconductors is that a well-behaved metallic phase will present after t…
We use resonant soft x-ray scattering (RSXS) to quantify the hole distribution in a superlattice of insulating La2CuO4 (LCO) and overdoped La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO4 (LSCO). Despite its non-superconducting constituents, this structure is superconducting with T_{c}=38 K. We found that the conducting holes redistribute electronically from LSCO to the LCO layers. The LCO layers were found to be optimally doped, suggesting they are the main drivers of superconductivity. Our results demonstrate the utility of RSXS for separating electronic from structural effects at oxide interfaces.
Neutron and X-ray scattering studies have provided strong evidence for coupled spatial modulations of charge and spin densities in layered nickelates and cuprates. The accumulated results for La(2-x)Sr(x)NiO(4+d) are consistent with the strongly-modulated topological-stripe concept. Clues from Nd-doped La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4) suggest similar behavior for the cuprates. The experimental results are summarized, and features that conflict with an interpretation based on a Fermi-surface instability are emphasized. A rationalization for the differences in transport properties between the cuprates and nic…
In the framework of the generalized tight binding method we have calculated the quasiparticle band structure and the spectral functions of the undoped cuprates like $La_2 CuO_4$, $Sr_2CuO_2Cl_2$ etc. Due to spin fluctuations the in-gap state appears above the top of the valence band in the undoped antiferromagnetic insulator similar to in-gap states induced by hole doping. In the ARPES experiments the in-gap states can be detected as weak low energy satellites.
We performed systematic angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements $in$-$situ$ on $T'$-${\rm La}_{2-x}{\rm Ce}_x\rm {CuO}_{4\pmδ}$ (LCCO) thin films over the extended doping range prepared by the refined ozone/vacuum annealing method. Electron doping level ($n$), estimated from the measured Fermi surface volume, varies from 0.05 to 0.23, which covers the whole superconducting dome. We observed an absence of the insulating behavior around $n \sim$ 0.05 and the Fermi surface reconstruction shifted to $n \sim$ 0.11 in LCCO compared to that of other electron-doped cuprates at around 0.…
Using an electronic double layer transistor we have systematically studied the superconductor to insulator transition in La$_{2}$CuO$_{4+δ}$ thin films growth by ozone assisted molecular beam epitaxy. We have confirmed the high crystalline quality of the cuprate films and have demonstrated the suitability of the electronic double layer technique to continuously vary the charge density in a system that is otherwise characterized by the presence of miscibility gaps. The transport and magneto-transport results highlight the role of electron-electron interactions in the mechanism of the transition…
A large body of experimental data point towards a charge transfer instability of parent insulating cuprates to be their unique property. We argue that the true charge transfer gap in these compounds is as small as 0.4-0.5\,eV rather than 1.5-2.0\,eV as usually derived from the optical gap measurements. In fact we deal with a competition of the conventional (3d$^9$) ground state and a charge transfer (CT) state with formation of electron-hole dimers which evolves under doping to an unconventional bosonic system. Our conjecture does provide an unified standpoint on the main experimental findings…
The recently discovered cuprate superconductor Ba$_2$CuO$_{3+δ}$ exhibits a high $T_c\simeq73$K at $δ\simeq0.2$. The polycrystal grown under high pressure has a structure similar to La$_2$CuO$_4$, but with dramatically different lattice parameters due to the CuO$_6$ octahedron compression. The crystal field in the compressed Ba$_2$CuO$_4$ leads to an inverted Cu $3d$ $e_g$ complex with the $d_{x^2-y^2}$ orbital sitting below the $d_{3z^2-r^2}$ and an electronic structure highly unusual compared to the conventional cuprates. We construct a two-orbital Hubbard model for the Cu $d^9$ state at hol…
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…
Most of the novel superconductors are uniaxial crystals, with metallic planes ($ab$) orthogonal to an insulating axis ($c$). Far-infrared measurements of the reflectivity $R_{ab} (ω)$ provide valuable information on their low-energy electrodynamics, but involve delicate experimental issues. Two of them are a possible contamination of $R_{ab} (ω)$ from the c axis and the extrapolation of the $R_{ab}$ data to $ω$ =0, both above and below $T_c$. Here we discuss quantitatively these issues with particular regard to La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_{4+y}$, one of the most studied high-$T_c$ materials.
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.
We present high pressure diamond anvil cell synchrotron X-ray, resistivity, and ac-susceptibility measurements on electron-doped cuprate Pr$_{2-x}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_{4}$ to much higher pressures than previously reported. At 2.72 GPa between 88 and 98$%$ of the superconducting T$^\prime$ phase \cite{Tprime} of the optimally doped Pr$_{1.85}$Ce$_{0.15}$CuO$_{4}$ transforms into the insulating phase T. The T$_{c}$ of the remaining 2-12$%$ T$^\prime$ phase is suppressed continuously from 22 K to 18.5 K at about 14 GPa. Remarkably, the T$_{c}$ of the over doped Pr$_{1.83}$Ce$_{0.17}$CuO$_{4}$ remains pr…
We report a neutron and Raman scattering study of a single-crystal of La(2)CuO(4.05) prepared by high temperature electrochemical oxidation. Elastic neutron scattering measurements show the presence of two phases, corresponding to the two edges of the first miscibility gap, all the way up to 300 K. An additional oxygen redistribution, driven by electronic energies, is identified at 250 K in Raman scattering (RS) experiments by the simultaneous onset of two-phonon and two-magnon scattering, which are fingerprints of the insulating phase. Elastic neutron scattering measurements show directly an …
The evolution of the structural and transport properties of underdoped La$_{1.952}$Sr$_{0.048}$CuO$_4$ thin films under compressive epitaxial strain has been studied. The films of different thicknesses $d$ (from 26 nm to 120 nm) were deposited using an insulating target. The onset of superconductivity in the films is observed at temperatures as high as 26 K, while small residual resistance persists at low temperatures, indicating that superconductivity is inhomogeneous. The resistance measured under perpendicular magnetic field saturates below about 0.65 K, suggesting a possible existence of n…
We report measurements of the inverse squared magnetic penetration depth, $λ^{-2}(T)$, in Pr$_{2-x}$Ce$_{x}$CuO$_{4-δ}$ ($0.115 \leq x \leq 0.152$) superconducting films grown on SrTiO$_3$ (001) substrates coated with a buffer layer of insulating Pr$_{2}$CuO$_{4}$. $λ^{-2}(0)$, $T_c$ and normal-state resistivities of these films indicate that they are clean and homogeneous. Over a wide range of Ce doping, $0.124\leq x \leq 0.144$, $λ^{-2}(T)$ at low $T$ is flat: it changes by less than 0.15% over a factor of 3 change in $T$, indicating a gap in the superconducting density of states. Fits to th…
We present time-of-fight neutron-scattering measurements on single crystals of $La_{2-x}Ba_{x}CuO_{4}$ (LBCO) with 0 $\leq$ x $\leq$ 0.095 and $La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4}$ (LSCO) with x = 0.08 and 0.11. This range of dopings spans much of the phase diagram relevant to high temperature cuprate superconductivity, ranging from insulating, three dimensional (3D) commensurate long range antiferromagnetic order, for x $\leq$ 0.02, to two dimensional (2D) incommensurate antiferromagnetism co-existing with superconductivity for x $\geq$ 0.05. Previous work on lightly doped LBCO with x = 0.035 showed a clea…
Photoemission spectra of underdoped and lightly-doped Bi$_{2-z}$Pb$_z$Sr$_2$Ca$_{1-x}${\it R}$_{x}$Cu$_2$O$_{8+y}$ ($R=$ Pr, Er) (BSCCO) have been measured and compared with those of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ (LSCO). The lower-Hubbard band of the insulating BSCCO, like Ca$_2$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$, shows a stronger dispersion than La$_2$CuO$_4$ from ${\bf k}\sim$($π/2,π/2$) to $\sim$($π,0$). The flat band at ${\bf k}\sim$($π,0$) is found generally deeper in BSCCO. These observations together with the Fermi-surface shapes and the chemical potential shifts indicate that the next-nearest-neighbor hopping $|…
Superconductivity in layered copper-oxide compounds emerges when charge carriers are added to antiferromagnetically-ordered CuO2 layers. The carriers destroy the antiferromagnetic order, but strong spin fluctuations persist throughout the superconducting phase and are intimately linked to super-conductivity. Neutron scattering measurements of spin fluctuations in hole-doped copper oxides have revealed an unusual `hour-glass' feature in the momentum-resolved magnetic spectrum, present in a wide range of superconducting and non-superconducting materials. There is no widely-accepted explanation f…
The magnetic penetration depth of single crystal $\rm{Sm_{1.85}Ce_{0.15}CuO_{4-y}}$ was measured down to 0.4 K in dc fields up to 7 kOe. For insulating $\rm{Sm_2CuO_4}$, Sm$^{3+}$ spins order at the Néel temperature, $T_N = 6$ K, independent of the applied field. Superconducting $\rm{Sm_{1.85}Ce_{0.15}CuO_{4-y}}$ ($T_c \approx 23$ K) shows a sharp increase in diamagnetic screening below $T^{\ast}(H)$ which varied from 4.0 K ($H = 0$) to 0.5 K ($H =$ 7 kOe) for a field along the c-axis. If the field was aligned parallel to the conducting planes, $T^{\ast}$ remained unchanged. The unusual field …
We have measured the effect of a c-axis aligned magnetic field on the long-range magnetic order of insulating Nd2CuO4, as-grown nonsuperconducting and superconducting Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4. On cooling from room temperature, Nd2CuO4 goes through a series of antiferromagnetic (AF) phase transitions with different noncollinear spin structures. In all phases of Nd2CuO4, we find that the applied c-axis field induces a canting of the AF order but does not alter the basic zero-field noncollinear spin structures. Similar behavior is also found in as-grown nonsuperconducting Nd1.85Ce0.15CuO4. These results …
We report on superconducting(SC) characteristics for oxygen-reduced Cu-based five-layered high-temperature superconductor (Cu,C)Ba2Ca4Cu5Oy(Cu-1245(OPT)), which includes five-fold outer planes (OP) and four-fold inner planes (IP).As a result of the reduction of the carrier density, the bulk SC for Cu-1245 (OPT) takes place at the nearly optimally-doped OP with Tc= 98 K that is different from previously-reported Cu-1245(OVD) where IP plays a primary role for the onset of SC. It gives an evidence that the carrier density of the optimally-doped layer determines its bulk Tc.Static antiferromagneti…
Measurements of the thermal Hall conductivity in hole-doped cuprates have shown that phonons acquire chirality in a magnetic field, both in the pseudogap phase and in the Mott insulator state. The microscopic mechanism at play is still unclear. A number of theoretical proposals are being considered, including skew scattering of phonons by various defects, the coupling of phonons to spins, and a state of loop-current order with the appropriate symmetries, but more experimental information is required to constrain theoretical scenarios. Here we present our study of the thermal Hall conductivity …
In a recent letter [1] Pilgram, Rice and Sigrist (PRS) propose to perform oxygen isotope dependent conductivity measurements along the c-axis of the cuprate superconductor BSSCO. In Raman isotope data for vibrations along the c-axis from 1988 [2], and in site selective susceptibility experiments determining Tc, no isotope effects were observed for oxygen ions in the insulating layer [3]. Based on these earlier not by PRS quoted experiments, we argue that the suggestion made in Ref. 1 is not worth to be undertaken, and if it is carried through, no effect will be seen. From the meanwhile 12 year…
Slave boson mean-field approximation is carried out analytically for weakly doped CuO_2 conduction planes, characterized by Cu-O charge transfer energy Δ_{pd}, Cu-O hopping t_0, O-O hopping t' and repulsion U_d between holes on Cu site taken as infinite. At zero doping δ, finite negative t',|t'|<t_0/2, expands the range of stability of the covalent, conducting state on the expense of the insulating state which, however, remains stable at larger Δ_{pd}. For sufficiently large Δ_{pd} the renormalized charge transfer energy saturates at 4|t'| instead of decreasing to zero, as at t'=0 case. In con…
Exploring whether a spin density wave (SDW) is responsible for the charge excitations gap in the high-temperature superconducting cuprates is difficult, since the region of the phase diagram where the magnetic properties are clearly exposed is different from the region where the band dispersion is visible. On the one hand, long range magnetic order disappears as doping approaches 2% from below, hindering our ability to perform elastic neutron scattering (ENS). On the other hand, cuprates become insulating at low temperature when the doping approaches 2% from above, thus restricting angle-resol…
Strongly correlated electrons in layered perovskite structures have been the birthplace of high-temperature superconductivity, spin liquid, and quantum criticality. Specifically, the cuprate materials with layered structures made of corner sharing square planar CuO$_4$ units have been intensely studied due to their Mott insulating grounds state which leads to high-temperature superconductivity upon doping. Identifying new compounds with similar lattice and electronic structures has become a challenge in solid state chemistry. Here, we report the hydrothermal crystal growth of a new copper tell…
We measure the nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) signal on the Zn site in nearly optimally doped YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.92}$, when Cu is substituted by 3\% of isotopically pure $^{67}$Zn. We observe that Zn creates large insulating islands, confirming two earlier conjectures: that doping provokes an orbital transition in the CuO$_2$ plane, which is locally reversed by Zn substitution, and that the islands are antiferromagnetic. Also, we find that the Zn impurity locally induces a breaking of the D$_4$ symmetry. Cluster and DFT calculations show that the D$_4$ symmetry breaking is due to the same …
We discuss selected results from our recent work concerning the ARPES (angle-resolved photoemission) spectra from the cuprates. Our focus is on developing an understanding of the effects of the ARPES matrix element and those of strong electron correlations in analyzing photointensities. With simulations on Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+δ}$ (Bi2212), we show that the ARPES matrix element possesses remarkable selectivity properties, such that by tuning the photon energy and polarization, emission from the bonding or the antibonding states can be enhanced. Moreover, at low photon energies (below 25 e…
Recent neutron-scattering experiments on La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4 single crystals by Wakimoto et al. have revealed that elastic magnetic peaks appear at low temperatures in both insulating (x=0.02-0.05) and superconducting (x=0.06) samples. We have carried out further investigations particularly on the elastic incommensurate peaks for x=0.06, and found that the integrated intensity drastically changes across the low temperature insulator- superconductor boundary; the intensity of x=0.06 is 4 times smaller than that of x=0.05, while the intensity in the insulating region stays constant.
Starting with a minimal model for the CuO$_2$ planes with the on-site Hilbert space reduced to a charge triplet of the three effective valence centers [CuO$_4$]$^{7-,6-,5-}$ (nominally Cu$^{1+,2+,3+}$) with different conventional spin, different orbital symmetry, and different local lattice configuration, we develop a unified non-BCS spin-pseudospin model to describe the main phase states of doped cuprates. We argue that antiferromagnetic insulating, charge ordered, superconducting, and Fermi-liquid phases are possible phase states of a model parent cuprate, while typical phase state of a dope…
By paying special attention to the fact that the doped holes induce deformation of CuO6 octahedrons (or CuO5 pyramids) in cuprate superconductors, we develop a non-rigid band theory treating doping-induced alterations of energy-band structures in copper oxide superconductors. Thanks to this theory, we obtain a complete picture of the doping-induced alteration in the electronic structure of La2CuO4, from the spin-disordered insulating phase to the metallic phase. We conclude that the Fermi surface structure of this cuprate in the underdoped region consists of Fermi pockets in the antinodal regi…
Transport measurements provide important characterizations of the nature of stripe order in the cuprates. Initial studies of systems such as La(1.6-x)Nd(0.4)Sr(x)CuO(4) demonstrated the strong anisotropy between in-plane and c-axis resistivities, but also suggested that stripe order results in a tendency towards insulating behavior within the planes at low temperature. More recent work on La(2-x)Ba(x)CuO(4) with x=1/8 has revealed the occurrence of quasi-two-dimensional superconductivity that onsets with spin-stripe order. The suppression of three-dimensional superconductivity indicates a frus…
The correlated electronic structure of the infinite-layer compounds NdNiO$_2$ and SrCuO$_2$ at stoichiometry and with finite hole doping is compared. Key differences are elucidated from an advanced first-principles many-body perspective. Contrary to the charge-transfer insulating cuprate, the self-doped nickelate remains non-insulating even for large interaction strength, though the Ni-$d_{x^2-y^2}$ spectral weight is also gapped in that limit. Hybridization between Ni$(3d)$ and Nd$(5d)$ is crucial for the appearance of the self-doping band. Upon realistic hole doping, Sr$_{1-y}$CuO$_2$ shows …
We perform infrared conductivity measurements on a series of CaCuO$_2$/SrTiO$_3$ heterostructures made by the insulating cuprate CaCuO$_2$ (CCO) and the insulating perovkite SrTiO$_3$ (STO). We estimate the carrier density of various heterostructures, with different level of hole doping from the integral of the optical conductivity and we measure the corresponding degree of correlation by estimating the ratio between the Drude weight and the integral of the infrared spectrum. The analysis demonstrates a large degree of correlation, which increases as the doping is reduced. The experimental res…
We calculate for La2CuO4 the phonon-induced redistribution of the electronic charge density in the insulating, the underdoped pseudogap and the more conventional metallic state as obtained for optimal and overdoping, respectively. The investigation is performed for the anomalous high-frequency-oxygen-bond stretching modes (OBSM) which experimentally are known to display a strong softening of the frequencies upon doping in the cuprates. This most likely generic anomalous behaviour of the OBSM has been shown to be due to a strong nonlocal electron-phonon interaction (EPI) mediated by charge fluc…
The optical properties the high-temperature superconductor La{2-x}Ba{x}CuO{4} have been measured over a wide frequency and temperature range for light polarized in the a-b planes and along the c axis. Three different Ba concentrations have been examined, x=0.095 with a critical temperature T_c=32 K, x=0.125 with T_c ~ 2.4 K, and x=0.145 with T_c ~ 24 K. The in-plane behavior of the optical conductivity for these materials at high temperature is described by a Drude-like response with a scattering rate that decreases with temperature. Below T_c in the x=0.095 and 0.145 materials there is a clea…
The electrical transport properties of [BaCuO_x]_2/[CaCuO_2]_n (CBCCO-2xn)underdoped high temperature superconducting superlattices grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition have been investigated. Starting from the optimally doped CBCCO-2x2 superlattice, having three CuO_2 planes and T_c around 80 K, we have systematically increased the number n up to 15 moving toward the underdoped region and hence decreasing T_c. For n>11 the artificial structures are no longer superconducting, as expected, for a uniformly distributed charge carriers density inside the conducting block layer. The sheet resistance of…
