Microscopic electronic inhomogeneity in the high-Tc superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x

The parent compounds of the copper oxide high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors are unusual insulators (so-called Mott insulators). Superconductivity arises when they are 'doped' away from stoichiometry. For the compound Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x, doping is achieved by adding extra oxygen atoms, which introduce positive charge carriers ('holes') into the CuO2 planes where the superconductivity is believed to originate. Aside from providing the charge carriers, the role of the oxygen dopants is not well understood, nor is it clear how the charge carriers are distributed on the planes. Many models of high-Tc superconductivity accordingly assume that the introduced carriers are distributed uniformly, leading to an electronically homogeneous system as in ordinary metals. Here we report the presence of an electronic inhomogeneity in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x, on the basis of observations using scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy. The inhomogeneity is manifested as spatial variations in both the local density of states spectrum and the superconducting energy gap. These variations are correlated spatially and vary on the surprisingly short length scale of approximately 14 A. Our analysis suggests that this inhomogeneity is a consequence of proximity to a Mott insulator resulting in poor screening of the charge potentials associated with the oxygen ions left in the BiO plane after doping, and is indicative of the local nature of the superconducting state.     

Interplay of electron-lattice interactions and superconductivity in superconductivity in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

Formation of electron pairs is essential to superconductivity. For conventional superconductors, tunnelling spectroscopy has established that pairing is mediated by bosonic modes (phonons); a peak in the second derivative of tunnel current d2I/dV2 corresponds to each phonon mode. For high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductivity, however, no boson mediating electron pairing has been identified. One explanation could be that electron pair formation and related electron-boson interactions are heterogeneous at the atomic scale and therefore challenging to characterize. However, with the latest advances in d2I/dV2 spectroscopy using scanning tunnelling microscopy, it has become possible to study bosonic modes directly at the atomic scale. Here we report d2I/dV2 imaging studies of the high-T(c) superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta. We find intense disorder of electron-boson interaction energies at the nanometre scale, along with the expected modulations in d2I/dV2 (refs 9, 10). Changing the density of holes has minimal effects on both the average mode energies and the modulations, indicating that the bosonic modes are unrelated to electronic or magnetic structure. Instead, the modes appear to be local lattice vibrations, as substitution of 18O for 16O throughout the material reduces the average mode energy by approximately 6 per cent--the expected effect of this isotope substitution on lattice vibration frequencies. Significantly, the mode energies are always spatially anticorrelated with the superconducting pairing-gap energies, suggesting an interplay between these lattice vibration modes and the superconductivity.     

How Cooper pairs vanish approaching the Mott insulator in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

The antiferromagnetic ground state of copper oxide Mott insulators is achieved by localizing an electron at each copper atom in real space (r-space). Removing a small fraction of these electrons (hole doping) transforms this system into a superconducting fluid of delocalized Cooper pairs in momentum space (k-space). During this transformation, two distinctive classes of electronic excitations appear. At high energies, the mysterious 'pseudogap' excitations are found, whereas, at lower energies, Bogoliubov quasi-particles-the excitations resulting from the breaking of Cooper pairs-should exist. To explore this transformation, and to identify the two excitation types, we have imaged the electronic structure of Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta) in r-space and k-space simultaneously. We find that although the low-energy excitations are indeed Bogoliubov quasi-particles, they occupy only a restricted region of k-space that shrinks rapidly with diminishing hole density. Concomitantly, spectral weight is transferred to higher energy r-space states that lack the characteristics of excitations from delocalized Cooper pairs. Instead, these states break translational and rotational symmetries locally at the atomic scale in an energy-independent way. We demonstrate that these unusual r-space excitations are, in fact, the pseudogap states. Thus, as the Mott insulating state is approached by decreasing the hole density, the delocalized Cooper pairs vanish from k-space, to be replaced by locally translational- and rotational-symmetry-breaking pseudogap states in r-space.     

Imaging the granular structure of high-Tc superconductivity in underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta.

Granular superconductivity occurs when microscopic superconducting grains are separated by non-superconducting regions; Josephson tunnelling between the grains establishes the macroscopic superconducting state. Although crystals of the copper oxide high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors are not granular in a structural sense, theory suggests that at low levels of hole doping the holes can become concentrated at certain locations resulting in hole-rich superconducting domains. Granular superconductivity arising from tunnelling between such domains would represent a new view of the underdoped copper oxide superconductors. Here we report scanning tunnelling microscope studies of underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta that reveal an apparent segregation of the electronic structure into superconducting domains that are approximately 3 nm in size (and local energy gap <50 meV), located in an electronically distinct background. We used scattering resonances at Ni impurity atoms as 'markers' for local superconductivity; no Ni resonances were detected in any region where the local energy gap Delta > 50 +/- 2.5 meV. These observations suggest that underdoped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta is a mixture of two different short-range electronic orders with the long-range characteristics of a granular superconductor.     

Imaging the effects of individual zinc impurity atoms on superconductivity in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

Although the crystal structures of the copper oxide high-temperature superconductors are complex and diverse, they all contain some crystal planes consisting of only copper and oxygen atoms in a square lattice: superconductivity is believed to originate from strongly interacting electrons in these CuO2 planes. Substituting a single impurity atom for a copper atom strongly perturbs the surrounding electronic environment and can therefore be used to probe high-temperature superconductivity at the atomic scale. This has provided the motivation for several experimental and theoretical studies. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) is an ideal technique for the study of such effects at the atomic scale, as it has been used very successfully to probe individual impurity atoms in several other systems. Here we use STM to investigate the effects of individual zinc impurity atoms in the high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta. We find intense quasiparticle scattering resonances at the Zn sites, coincident with strong suppression of superconductivity within approximately 15 A of the scattering sites. Imaging of the spatial dependence of the quasiparticle density of states in the vicinity of the impurity atoms reveals the long-sought four-fold symmetric quasiparticle 'cloud' aligned with the nodes of the d-wave superconducting gap which is believed to characterize superconductivity in these materials.     

Visualizing pair formation on the atomic scale in the high-Tc superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

Pairing of electrons in conventional superconductors occurs at the superconducting transition temperature T(c), creating an energy gap Delta in the electronic density of states (DOS). In the high-T(c) superconductors, a partial gap in the DOS exists for a range of temperatures above T(c) (ref. 2). A key question is whether the gap in the DOS above T(c) is associated with pairing, and what determines the temperature at which incoherent pairs form. Here we report the first spatially resolved measurements of gap formation in a high-T(c) superconductor, measured on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta samples with different T(c) values (hole concentration of 0.12 to 0.22) using scanning tunnelling microscopy. Over a wide range of doping from 0.16 to 0.22 we find that pairing gaps nucleate in nanoscale regions above T(c). These regions proliferate as the temperature is lowered, resulting in a spatial distribution of gap sizes in the superconducting state. Despite the inhomogeneity, we find that every pairing gap develops locally at a temperature T(p), following the relation 2Delta/k(B)T(p) = 7.9 +/- 0.5. At very low doping (< or =0.14), systematic changes in the DOS indicate the presence of another phenomenon, which is unrelated and perhaps competes with electron pairing. Our observation of nanometre-sized pairing regions provides the missing microscopic basis for understanding recent reports of fluctuating superconducting response above T(c) in hole-doped high-T(c) copper oxide superconductors.     

Emergence of preformed Cooper pairs from the doped Mott insulating state in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta

Superconductors are characterized by an energy gap that represents the energy needed to break the pairs of electrons (Cooper pairs) apart. At temperatures considerably above those associated with superconductivity, the high-transition-temperature copper oxides have an additional 'pseudogap'. It has been unclear whether this represents preformed pairs of electrons that have not achieved the coherence necessary for superconductivity, or whether it reflects some alternative ground state that competes with superconductivity. Paired electrons should display particle-hole symmetry with respect to the Fermi level (the energy of the highest occupied level in the electronic system), but competing states need not show such symmetry. Here we report a photoemission study of the underdoped copper oxide Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta) that shows the opening of a symmetric gap only in the anti-nodal region, contrary to the expectation that pairing would take place in the nodal region. It is therefore evident that the pseudogap does reflect the formation of preformed pairs of electrons and that the pairing occurs only in well-defined directions of the underlying lattice.     

Interplay of magnetism and high-Tc superconductivity at individual Ni impurity atoms in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta.

Magnetic interactions and magnetic impurities are destructive to superconductivity in conventional superconductors. By contrast, in some unconventional macroscopic quantum systems (such as superfluid 3He and superconducting UGe2), the superconductivity (or superfluidity) is actually mediated by magnetic interactions. A magnetic mechanism has also been proposed for high-temperature superconductivity. Within this context, the fact that magnetic Ni impurity atoms have a weaker effect on superconductivity than non-magnetic Zn atoms in the high-Tc superconductors has been put forward as evidence supporting a magnetic mechanism. Here we use scanning tunnelling microscopy to determine directly the influence of individual Ni atoms on the local electronic structure of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta. At each Ni site we observe two d-wave impurity states of apparently opposite spin polarization, whose existence indicates that Ni retains a magnetic moment in the superconducting state. However, analysis of the impurity-state energies shows that quasiparticle scattering at Ni is predominantly non-magnetic. Furthermore, we show that the superconducting energy gap and correlations are unimpaired at Ni. This is in strong contrast to the effects of non-magnetic Zn impurities, which locally destroy superconductivity. These results are consistent with predictions for impurity atom phenomena derived from a magnetic mechanism.     

Harmonic mixing of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x intrinsic junction at millimeter waveband

Using intrinsic Josephson junctions in Ba₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x single crystal, harmonic frequency mixing at 8 and 3 mm wavebands was successfully demonstrated at liquid nitrogen temperatures with harmonic numbers up to 68 and 50 respectively. The dependences of intermediate frequency output on the local oscillator power and dc bias were carefully studied.     

Structural and microstructural transformations in Bi2Sr2Ca1 −xYxCu2O8 + y system

Conclusions With the substitution of Y for Ca in BSCYCO system, both the hole concentration and structure parameters change. The superconductor-nonsuperconductor transition at x_c = 0.4 is more sensitive to the structure transformation than the variation in the hole concentration. Microanalysis reveals an inhomogeneous substitution of Y for Ca. So a much sharper drop of T, is expected at transition point by ideal monophase samples of BSCYCO. A ratio of lattice constants c / o. 5 (a + b) is found to be a very good parameter of describing the SC-AF transition of ISCYCO, reflecting the degree of the localization of Cu-3d electrons on the CuOz plane.     

Fluctuating stripes at the onset of the pseudogap in the high-T(c) superconductor Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+x)

Doped Mott insulators have a strong propensity to form patterns of holes and spins often referred to as stripes. In copper oxides, doping also gives rise to the pseudogap state, which can be transformed into a high-temperature superconducting state with sufficient doping or by reducing the temperature. A long-standing issue has been the interplay between the pseudogap, which is generic to all hole-doped copper oxide superconductors, and stripes, whose static form occurs in only one family of copper oxides over a narrow range of the phase diagram. Here we report observations of the spatial reorganization of electronic states with the onset of the pseudogap state in the high-temperature superconductor Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+x), using spectroscopic mapping with a scanning tunnelling microscope. We find that the onset of the pseudogap phase coincides with the appearance of electronic patterns that have the predicted characteristics of fluctuating stripes. As expected, the stripe patterns are strongest when the hole concentration in the CuO(2) planes is close to 1/8 (per copper atom). Although they demonstrate that the fluctuating stripes emerge with the onset of the pseudogap state and occur over a large part of the phase diagram, our experiments indicate that the stripes are a consequence of pseudogap behaviour rather than its cause.     

化学溶液沉积Bi2Sr2Co2O8热电薄膜及其激光诱导电压效应研究

利用化学溶液沉积技术在LaAlO3（001）单晶基片上外延生长了Bi2Sr2Co2O8热电薄膜并对其激光诱导电压效应进行了研究．热电性能测试表明该外延薄膜的室温电阻率和塞贝克系数均可以和优质单晶样品相比拟．此外,实验发现当用308nm,532nm,1064nm及10．6gm的激光辐照生长在斜切LaAlO3上的Bi2Sr2Co2O8外延薄膜表面时,可以在薄膜中观测到很强的横向开路电压信号．分析认为当入射激光光子能量（308,532和1064nm激光输出）大于Bi2Sr2Co2O8禁带宽度时,在Bi2Sr2Co2O8外延薄膜中观测到的激光诱导横向开路电压信号源于该薄膜热电效应和光电效应的综合贡献;而当入射激光光子能量（10．6μm激光输出）小于Bi2Sr2Co208禁带宽度时,在Bi2Sr2Co2O8外延薄膜中观测到的激光诱导横向开路电压信号主要源于薄膜的热电效应．以上结果表明Bi2Sr2Co2O8热电薄膜不仅在热电器件领域而且在宽波段激光光探测器领域都具有潜在的应用前景．     

Imaging the atomic-scale electronic states induced by a pair of hole dopants in Ca2CuO2Cl2 Mott insulator

We use scanning tunneling microscopy to visualize the atomic-scale electronic states induced by a pair of hole dopants in Ca2CuO2Cl2 parent Mott insulator of cu...     

改变Sr3MgSi2O8中Mn2+/Eu2+的比例探讨其发光性能

单掺Mn2+在Sr3MgSi2O8中是不发光的,Mn2+的3d电子组态中的4T1(4G)→6A1(6S)是自旋禁阻的,对紫外光吸收很弱,所以Mn2+的红光发射依赖于Eu2+的激活,存在Eu2+对Mn2+的能量传递作用,改变Mn2+/Eu2+的比例不会使发射峰位发生变化,但Eu2+的460 nm的发光强度会随着Mn2+含量的增加而降低,且寿命会缩短.     

燃烧法合成Eu2+、Dy3+、Nd3+共掺杂的硅酸盐长余辉发光材料Sr2MgSi2O7和Sr2ZnSi2O7

采用燃烧法在600~800℃合成了Sr2MgSi2O7:Eu2 、Dy3 、Nd3 ,Sr2ZnSi2O7:Eu2 、Dy3 、Nd3 和Sr2ZnSi2O7:Eu2 、Dy3 蓝色长余辉发光材料,对材料进行了XRD、TEM、激发和发射光谱、余辉亮度及余辉衰减的测定.结果表明:稀土离子的掺杂对基质晶体结构没有影响,激发和发射光谱显示它们的光谱性质是Eu2 典型的4f-5d的跃迁所致,对Sr2ZnSi2O7:Eu2 、Dy3 材料,Nd3 的共掺杂有利于提高其余辉性能.     

Sr8Si4O12Cl8:Eu3+,M3+(M3+=Sm3+,Al3+)中Eu3+的敏化发光

采用高温固相法合成了碱土氯硅酸盐Sr8Si4O112Cl8:Eu3 ,M3 (M=Sm3 ,Al3 )发光材料,并通过激发光谱和发射光谱的测试,首次在碱土氯硅酸盐体系中研究了Sm3 、Al3 三价金属离子对Eu3 发光性能的影响及其相对发光强度随组成变化的规律.实验结果表明,Sm3 和Al3 掺入可大幅度提高Eu3 的发光强度,掺入Sm3 和Al3 后Eu3 的相对发光强度分别提高了7.3%和40.5%.Sm3 和Al3 对Eu3 有很好的敏化作用,其中Al3 的敏化作用尤为突出.Eu3 和Sm3 (Al3 )的最佳掺入量(摩尔分数)为8%和5%(18%).     

CR传输线解析EIS确定Bi/Bi_2O_3体系平带电位

电化学阻抗谱是表征金属/氧化物体系的强大工具,应用关键是正确解析.许多金属氧化物有半导体特征,平带电位是关键参数,以文献Bi/Bi2O3体系EIS实例说明根据CR传输线离散参数Ci随特征频率fi的分布,能从共存的多个表面态电容CSS中鉴别出空间电荷层电容CSC,直接根据Mott-Schottky关系得到较准确的平带电位,最后讨论了方法的合理性.     

旋轨耦合作用对Ti3+:Al2O3能级分裂的贡献

运用晶体场理论对钛宝石能级分裂的精细结构进行了计算，结果说明，在不计Jahn-Teller效应的情况下，考虑晶场和自旋一轨道耦合的共同作用能很好的解释其基态能级分裂，解决了Macfarlane认为不能用晶体场理论进行计算的困难．理论数据与实验结果符合得很好．