Two-dimensional geometry of spin excitations in the high-transition-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O6+x

The fundamental building block of the copper oxide superconductors is a Cu4O4 square plaquette. The plaquettes in most of these materials are slightly distorted to form a rectangular lattice, for which an influential theory predicts that high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductivity is nucleated in 'stripes' aligned along one of the axes. This theory received strong support from experiments that indicated a one-dimensional character for the magnetic excitations in the high-T(c) material YBa2Cu3O6.6 (ref. 4). Here we report neutron scattering data on 'untwinned' YBa2Cu3O6+x crystals, in which the orientation of the rectangular lattice is maintained throughout the entire volume. Contrary to the earlier claim, we demonstrate that the geometry of the magnetic fluctuations is two-dimensional. Rigid stripe arrays therefore appear to be ruled out over a wide range of doping levels in YBa2Cu3O6+x, but the data may be consistent with liquid-crystalline stripe order. The debate about stripes has therefore been reopened.     

Quantum magnetic excitations from stripes in copper oxide superconductors

In the copper oxide parent compounds of the high-transition-temperature superconductors the valence electrons are localized--one per copper site--by strong intra-atomic Coulomb repulsion. A symptom of this localization is antiferromagnetism, where the spins of localized electrons alternate between up and down. Superconductivity appears when mobile 'holes' are doped into this insulating state, and it coexists with antiferromagnetic fluctuations. In one approach to describing the coexistence, the holes are believed to self-organize into 'stripes' that alternate with antiferromagnetic (insulating) regions within copper oxide planes, which would necessitate an unconventional mechanism of superconductivity. There is an apparent problem with this picture, however: measurements of magnetic excitations in superconducting YBa2Cu3O6+x near optimum doping are incompatible with the naive expectations for a material with stripes. Here we report neutron scattering measurements on stripe-ordered La1.875Ba0.125CuO4. We show that the measured excitations are, surprisingly, quite similar to those in YBa2Cu3O6+x (refs 9, 10) (that is, the predicted spectrum of magnetic excitations is wrong). We find instead that the observed spectrum can be understood within a stripe model by taking account of quantum excitations. Our results support the concept that stripe correlations are essential to high-transition-temperature superconductivity.     

Magnetic-field-induced charge-stripe order in the high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3Oy

Electronic charges introduced in copper-oxide (CuO(2)) planes generate high-transition-temperature (T(c)) superconductivity but, under special circumstances, they can also order into filaments called stripes. Whether an underlying tendency towards charge order is present in all copper oxides and whether this has any relationship with superconductivity are, however, two highly controversial issues. To uncover underlying electronic order, magnetic fields strong enough to destabilize superconductivity can be used. Such experiments, including quantum oscillations in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(y) (an extremely clean copper oxide in which charge order has not until now been observed) have suggested that superconductivity competes with spin, rather than charge, order. Here we report nuclear magnetic resonance measurements showing that high magnetic fields actually induce charge order, without spin order, in the CuO(2) planes of YBa(2)Cu(3)O(y). The observed static, unidirectional, modulation of the charge density breaks translational symmetry, thus explaining quantum oscillation results, and we argue that it is most probably the same 4a-periodic modulation as in stripe-ordered copper oxides. That it develops only when superconductivity fades away and near the same 1/8 hole doping as in La(2-x)Ba(x)CuO(4) (ref.?1) suggests that charge order, although visibly pinned by CuO chains in YBa(2)Cu(3)O(y), is an intrinsic propensity of the superconducting planes of high-T(c) copper oxides.     

NdB2Cu3O7-x/YBa2Cu3O7-y高温超导薄膜的稳定性研究

采用脉冲激光沉积方法 ,在钇稳定氧化锆 (YSZ)衬底上制备了YBa2 Cu3 O7-y高温超导薄膜和NdB2 Cu3 O7-x/YBa2 Cu3 O7-y双层高温超导薄膜。X射线衍射分析结果表明 ,NdB2 Cu3 O7-x/YBa2 Cu3 O7-y双层膜在结晶度、表面光滑平整度和稳定性方面优于YBa2 Cu3 O7-y薄膜 ;电阻温度曲线测量结果表明 ,NdB2 Cu3 O7-x/YBa2 Cu3 O7-y双层膜的转变温度为 87.6 6K ,转变宽度为 0 .34K ;YBa2 Cu3 O7-y薄膜的则分别为 86 .6 4K和 0 .95K。与YBa2 Cu3 O7-y薄膜相比 ,NdB2 Cu3 O7-x/YBa2 Cu3 O7-y双层膜稳定性更高 ,在超导电子器件领域更具有应用潜力。     

Phase transitions in the incoherent lattice fluctuations in YBa2Cu3O(7-delta)

The growing body of experimental evidence for the existence of complex textures of charges and spins in the high-temperature superconductors has drawn attention to the so-called 'stripe-phase' models as a possible basis for the mechanism of superconductivity in these materials. Such observations have until now been restricted to systems where the texture dynamics are slow or suppressed altogether, and do not include the important case of YBa2Cu3O(7-delta). It seems likely that the dynamic behaviour of stripes, which has been suggested to undergo several phase transitions as a function of temperature, should also be reflected in the lattice properties of the host materials, and this forms the motivation for our present experiments. Specifically, we use MeV helium ion channelling, an ultrafast real-space probe of atomic displacements (with sub-picometre resolution), to probe incoherent lattice fluctuations in YBa2Cu3O(7-delta) as a function of temperature and oxygen doping. We detect lattice fluctuations that are larger than the expected thermal vibration component, and which show anomalies characteristic of the phase transitions anticipated for a dynamic stripe phase. Comparison of our lattice results with single-particle-tunnelling and photoemission data highlights the importance of spin-charge separation phenomena in the copper oxide superconductors.     

Electron pockets in the Fermi surface of hole-doped high-Tc superconductors

High-temperature superconductivity in copper oxides occurs when the materials are chemically tuned to have a carrier concentration intermediate between their metallic state at high doping and their insulating state at zero doping. The underlying evolution of the electron system in the absence of superconductivity is still unclear, and a question of central importance is whether it involves any intermediate phase with broken symmetry. The Fermi surface of the electronic states in the underdoped 'YBCO' materials YBa2Cu3O(y) and YBa2Cu4O8 was recently shown to include small pockets, in contrast with the large cylinder that characterizes the overdoped regime, pointing to a topological change in the Fermi surface. Here we report the observation of a negative Hall resistance in the magnetic-field-induced normal state of YBa2Cu3O(y) and YBa2Cu4O8, which reveals that these pockets are electron-like rather than hole-like. We propose that these electron pockets most probably arise from a reconstruction of the Fermi surface caused by the onset of a density-wave phase, as is thought to occur in the electron-doped copper oxides near the onset of antiferromagnetic order. Comparison with materials of the La2CuO4 family that exhibit spin/charge density-wave order suggests that a Fermi surface reconstruction also occurs in those materials, pointing to a generic property of high-transition-temperature (T(c)) superconductors.     

Spatially resolved electronic structure inside and outside the vortex cores of a high-temperature superconductor

Puzzling aspects of high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors include the prevalence of magnetism in the normal state and the persistence of superconductivity in high magnetic fields. Superconductivity and magnetism generally are thought to be incompatible, based on what is known about conventional superconductors. Recent results, however, indicate that antiferromagnetism can appear in the superconducting state of a high-Tc superconductor in the presence of an applied magnetic field. Magnetic fields penetrate a superconductor in the form of quantized flux lines, each of which represents a vortex of supercurrents. Superconductivity is suppressed in the core of the vortex and it has been suggested that antiferromagnetism might develop there. Here we report the results of a high-field nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) imaging experiment in which we spatially resolve the electronic structure of near-optimally doped YBa2Cu3O7-delta inside and outside vortex cores. Outside the cores, we find strong antiferromagnetic fluctuations, whereas inside we detect electronic states that are rather different from those found in conventional superconductors.     

Resonance as a measure of pairing correlations in the high-Tc superconductor YBa2Cu3O6.6

One of the most striking properties of the high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors is that they are all derived from insulating antiferromagnetic parent compounds. The intimate relationship between magnetism and superconductivity in these copper oxide materials has intrigued researchers from the outset, because it does not exist in conventional superconductors. Evidence for this link comes from neutron-scattering experiments that show the unambiguous presence of short-range antiferromagnetic correlations (excitations) in the high-Tc superconductors. Even so, the role of such excitations in the pairing mechanism for superconductivity is still a subject of controversy. For YBa2Cu3O(6+x), where x controls the hole-doping level, the most prominent feature in the magnetic excitation spectrum is a sharp resonance (refs 6-11). Here we show that for underdoped YBa2Cu3O6.6, where x and Tc are below their optimal values, modest magnetic fields suppress the resonance significantly, much more so for fields approximately perpendicular to the CuO2 planes than for parallel fields. Our results indicate that the resonance measures pairing and phase coherence, suggesting that magnetism plays an important role in high-Tc superconductivity. The persistence of a field effect above Tc favours mechanisms in which the superconducting electron pairs are pre-formed in the normal state of underdoped copper oxide superconductors, awaiting transition to the superconducting state.     

自旋梯状化合物Sr14(Cu1-xZnx)24O41的电输运及磁学性质

采用标准固相反应法制备了Sr14(Cu1-xZnx)24O41(x=0, 0. 01, 0. 02, 0. 03)系列多晶样品. X射线衍射谱表明所有样品均呈单相,且样品晶格常数大小随Zn掺杂量x的变化存在微弱波动. X射线光电子能谱表明Sr14Cu24O41中Cu离子以+2价形式存在,Zn掺杂对体系中Cu离子化合价不造成影响. 磁化率测量结果表明在10~300 K温度范围内Zn掺杂使体系磁化率降低,拟合结果表明随着Zn掺杂量x的增大,居里-外斯项对体系磁化率贡献逐渐减弱,二聚体耦合能JD 逐渐降低,每个分子中CuO2 自旋链内二聚体个数ND 与自由Cu2+离子自旋数NF 均逐渐减少,进一步分析显示替换二聚体内Cu2+离子的Zn2+离子数少于替换自由Cu2+离子的Zn2+离子数. 电阻率测量结果表明Sr14Cu24O41体系具有半导体特性,并且Zn掺杂会使体系电阻率降低,降低程度随掺杂量x增大而增大,但并未使体系发生金属- 绝缘体转变. 认为电阻率降低可能是由于Zn2+离子掺杂使体系内CuO2 自旋链中二聚体发生退耦,破坏了电荷有序超结构,从而使更多的空穴释放出来并转移到导电性好的Cu2O3自旋梯子中所致.     

Bi_2O_3掺杂对TSMTG法单畴YBCO超导块材性能的影响

本文采用顶部籽晶熔融织构法(TSMTG)成功地将Bi2O3掺杂到YBCO超导块材中,研究了Bi2O3掺杂含量对单畴YBCO超导块材生长形貌和磁悬浮力的影响.结果表明,在YBa2Cu3O7-δ(Y123):Y2BaCuO5(Y211)=1:0.4不变的情况下,掺杂的Bi2O3粉体在样品内部均生成了Y2Ba4CuBiOx纳米粒子.当Bi2O3添加量x≤1.5wt%时,样品均可长成完整的单畴YBCO超导块材,且样品的磁悬浮力随着Bi2O3掺杂量的增加而增大;当x1.5wt%时,YBCO超导块材的单畴区域随着Bi2O3掺杂量的增加而逐渐减小,且随机成核现象严重,磁悬浮力降低;当x=1.5wt%时,样品的磁悬浮力最大.该结果对缩短样品制备的周期及进一步提高超导块材性能具有十分重要的意义.     

草酸盐一次共沉淀法制备YBa2Cu3O7—x超导体

用改进的双流加料共沉淀法和恰当的草酸盐沉淀剂组成,克服了草酸盐一次共沉淀不完全的缺点;依据共沉淀的钇钡铜草酸盐样品在净化氧气氛中的 DTA/TG 曲线特征,拟定共沉淀样品的合理灼烧程序,以防止混合草酸盐样品内部氧化还原的急剧反应,致使部分 Cu~(2+)被还原为 Cu~0,并释放出大量气体。按此法制得的高温超导体样品,经XRD,SEM,TEM,F_C,J_C 测定,说明样品属 YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-x)斜方晶系;而且该样品未经研磨、压片和重新烧结,T_C 即已达到 91K,说明本方法具有一定的实用意义。     

YBa_2Cu_3O_7的LDF-LMTO电子结构

本文用密度泛函理论和线性丸盒轨道方法计算了YBa_2Cu_3O_1系统的电子能带结构.结果表明有两个强2D特征的能带和一个1D特征的能带与Fermi面相交.它们分别对应于原胞中的两个准2D Cu-O平面和一个含有Cu-O线链的基平面上Cu 3d和O 2p态之间的相互作用.各原子分波态密度的分析表明,对电导和超导起决定作用的Cu-O平面和Cu-O线链中,2D Cu-O面对态密度的贡献是基本的.     

Unusual magnetic order in the pseudogap region of the superconductor HgBa2CuO4+delta

The pseudogap region of the phase diagram is an important unsolved puzzle in the field of high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductivity, characterized by anomalous physical properties. There are open questions about the number of distinct phases and the possible presence of a quantum-critical point underneath the superconducting dome. The picture has remained unclear because there has not been conclusive evidence for a new type of order. Neutron scattering measurements for YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+delta) (YBCO) resulted in contradictory claims of no and weak magnetic order, and the interpretation of muon spin relaxation measurements on YBCO and of circularly polarized photoemission experiments on Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta)(refs 12, 13) has been controversial. Here we use polarized neutron diffraction to demonstrate for the model superconductor HgBa(2)CuO(4+delta) (Hg1201) that the characteristic temperature T* marks the onset of an unusual magnetic order. Together with recent results for YBCO, this observation constitutes a demonstration of the universal existence of such a state. The findings appear to rule out theories that regard T* as a crossover temperature rather than a phase transition temperature. Instead, they are consistent with a variant of previously proposed charge-current-loop order that involves apical oxygen orbitals, and with the notion that many of the unusual properties arise from the presence of a quantum-critical point.     

Quantum oscillations and the Fermi surface in an underdoped high-Tc superconductor

Despite twenty years of research, the phase diagram of high-transition-temperature superconductors remains enigmatic. A central issue is the origin of the differences in the physical properties of these copper oxides doped to opposite sides of the superconducting region. In the overdoped regime, the material behaves as a reasonably conventional metal, with a large Fermi surface. The underdoped regime, however, is highly anomalous and appears to have no coherent Fermi surface, but only disconnected 'Fermi arcs'. The fundamental question, then, is whether underdoped copper oxides have a Fermi surface, and if so, whether it is topologically different from that seen in the overdoped regime. Here we report the observation of quantum oscillations in the electrical resistance of the oxygen-ordered copper oxide YBa2Cu3O6.5, establishing the existence of a well-defined Fermi surface in the ground state of underdoped copper oxides, once superconductivity is suppressed by a magnetic field. The low oscillation frequency reveals a Fermi surface made of small pockets, in contrast to the large cylinder characteristic of the overdoped regime. Two possible interpretations are discussed: either a small pocket is part of the band structure specific to YBa2Cu3O6.5 or small pockets arise from a topological change at a critical point in the phase diagram. Our understanding of high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductors will depend critically on which of these two interpretations proves to be correct.     

钙钛矿La2/3Ca1/3MnO3/YBa2Cu4O8/La2/3Ca1/3MnO3三层薄膜的磁输运性能

高温超导材料YBa2Cu4O8(YBCO)和铁磁材料La2／3Ca1／3MnO3(LCMO)形成的三层薄膜LCMO／YBCO／LCMO由对靶溅射技术制得．与YBCO单层薄膜相比，由于超导／铁磁系统中的磁性邻近效应，三层薄膜表现出较低的超导转变温度(Tc,ON)．与LCMO单层膜相比，三层薄膜的金属半导体转变温度(TMS)被提高并且强烈依赖于YBCO层的厚度．随中间层厚度的变化，磁电阻显示出非单调行为，长振荡周期被发现．结果表明，当YBCO处于正常态时两层LCMO膜之间存左着磁性自旋相互作用．     

添加剂对电泳法制备YBa2Cu3O7-δ超导涂层的影响

第二代高温超导带材YBa2Cu3O7-δ(YBCO)具有高载流能力、高不可逆场、低交流损耗和高转变温度,成为当前的热点研究对象.采用低成本的电泳沉积技术在Hastelloy合金上成功制备了YBCO超导层.添加剂对电泳液的稳定性及涂层性能有着重要影响.实验研究了添加剂(种类选择及添加量)与YBCO超导层的关系.结果表明,添加005gPVB时所制备的样品具有较好的超导电性,其临界电流密度可达100A/cm2(0T,77K).     

硅和蓝宝石基底上的高Tc薄膜

使用多层沉积和大块沉积两种技术,在硅和蓝宝石的单晶基底上沉积了Yba2XCu3O7高Tc薄膜,实验显示：在硅基底上得到了转变温度为80K的期待结果．     

U－Doped Y－Ba－Cu－O Melt－Processed Superconductor

Large grain Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) superconductors doped with various amounts of depleted uranium oxide have been fabricated by top seeded melt growth (TSMG). The effect of depleted UO2 on the large grain microstructure has been studied systematically in samples with and without added Pt. Addition of uranium oxide results in the formation of U-phase particles of dimensions of a few hundred nanometers with an approximately spherical morphology in the superconducting YBa2Cu3O7-8(Y-123) phase matrix. Addition of Y2O3to the uranium doped precursor powder, rather than Y-211, yields a significantly finer distribution of second phase particles.The chemical composition of the U-phase particles, found in samples with no Pt addition, has been identified as Y2Ba4CuUOy, which exhibits paramagnetic behaviour. It has been confirmed experimentally that this phase forms during the peritectic solidification process. Magnetic measurements show that U-doped melt processed YBCO exhibits improved critical current densities and trapped fields compared to un-doped material.     

化学法在Ni-W基带上制备Ag缓冲层研究

在双轴织构的Ni-W基带上,采用化学镀银法为YBa2Cu3O7-δ(YBCO)涂层导体制备Ag缓冲层薄膜,并通过XRD和φ扫描研究烧结温度和镀银次数对Ag薄膜取向的影响。结果表明,在Ar-H2混合气氛下,于870℃镀银5次所制备的薄膜具有(200)晶面单一取向;采用化学法制备的Ag薄膜有较好的外延性,且适用于涂层导体中的单一导电型缓冲层。     

Enhanced current transport at grain boundaries in high-T(c) superconductors

Large-scale applications of high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductors, such as their use in superconducting cables, are impeded by the fact that polycrystalline materials (the only practical option) support significantly lower current densities than single crystals. The superconducting critical current density (J(c)) across a grain boundary drops exponentially if the misorientation angle exceeds 2 degrees -7 degrees. Grain texturing reduces the average misorientation angle, but problems persist. Adding impurities (such as Ca in YBa2Cu3O7-delta; YBCO) leads to increased J(c) (refs 9, 10), which is generally attributed to excess holes introduced by Ca2+ substituting for Y3+ (ref. 11). However, a comprehensive physical model for the role of grain boundaries and Ca doping has remained elusive. Here we report calculations, imaging and spectroscopy at the atomic scale that demonstrate that in poly-crystalline YBCO, highly strained grain-boundary regions contain excess O vacancies, which reduce the local hole concentration. The Ca impurities indeed substitute for Y, but in grain-boundary regions under compression and tension they also replace Ba and Cu, relieving strain and suppressing O-vacancy formation. Our results demonstrate that the ionic radii are more important than their electronic valences for enhancing J(c).