51 research outputs found
Dynamics of modulated and composite aperiodic crystals: the signature of the inner polarization in the neutron coherent inelastic scattering
We compare within an unifying formalism the dynamical properties of modulated
and composite aperiodic (incommensurate) crystals. We discuss the concept of
inner polarization and we define an inner polarization parameter beta that
distinguishes between different acoustic modes of aperiodic crystals. Although
this concept has its limitations, we show that it can be used to extract
valuable information from neutron coherent inelastic scattering experiments.
Within certain conditions, the ratio between the dynamic and the static
structure factors at various Bragg peaks depends on beta. We show how the
knowledge of beta for modes of an unknown structure can be used to decide
whether the structure is composite or modulated. Furthermore, the same
information can be used to predict scattered intensity within unexplored
regions of the reciprocal space, being thus a guide for experiment
Magnetoconductance anisotropy of a polymer thin film at the onset of metallicity
Thin films of poly(2,5-bis(3-dodecyl-2-yl)-thieno[3,2-b] thiophene) (C12-PBTTT) polymer under electrolyte gating and doping are investigated as model systems for organic thin films devices approaching the metallic side of a metal-insulator (M-I) transition. For the most doped samples, with an estimated density reaching 8 x 10(20) cm(-3) holes and a conductivity exceeding 1000 S cm(-1), a positive high-field magnetoconductance is found in a limited temperature range window and only when the field is perpendicular to the sample plane. This signature of weak localization, combined with indications of finite zero-temperature conductivity, allows us to identify delocalized metallic-like transport in these thin films, even though the conductivity decreases when cooling down the samples
Structure optimization effects on the electronic properties of BiSrCaCuO
We present detailed first-principles calculations for the normal state
electronic properties of the high T superconductor
BiSrCaCuO, by means of the linearized augmented plane wave
(LAPW) method within the framework of density functional theory (DFT). As a
first step, the body centered tetragonal (BCT) cell has been adopted, and
optimized regarding its volume, ratio and internal atomic positions by
total energy and force minimizations. The full optimization of the BCT cell
leads to small but visible changes in the topology of the Fermi surface,
rounding the shape of CuO barrels, and causing both the BiO bands,
responsible for the pockets near the \textit{\=M} 2D symmetry point, to dip
below the Fermi level. We have then studied the influence of the distortions in
the BiO plane observed in nature by means of a
orthorhombic cell (AD-ORTH) with space group. Contrary to what has been
observed for the Bi-2201 compound, we find that for Bi-2212 the distortion does
not sensibly shift the BiO bands which retain their metallic character. As a
severe test for the considered structures we present Raman-active phonon
frequencies () and eigenvectors calculated within the frozen-phonon
approximation. Focussing on the totally symmetric A modes, we observe
that for a reliable attribution of the peaks observed in Raman experiments,
both - and a-axis vibrations must be taken into account, the latter being
activated by the in-plane orthorhombic distortion.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure
Magnetoconductance anisotropy of a polymer thin film at the onset of metallicity
Thin films of poly(2,5-bis(3-dodecyl-2-yl)-thieno[3,2-b] thiophene) (C12-PBTTT) polymer under electrolyte gating and doping are investigated as model systems for organic thin films devices approaching the metallic side of a metal-insulator (M-I) transition. For the most doped samples, with an estimated density reaching 8 x 10(20) cm(-3) holes and a conductivity exceeding 1000 S cm(-1), a positive high-field magnetoconductance is found in a limited temperature range window and only when the field is perpendicular to the sample plane. This signature of weak localization, combined with indications of finite zero-temperature conductivity, allows us to identify delocalized metallic-like transport in these thin films, even though the conductivity decreases when cooling down the samples. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC
Hole crystallization in the spin ladder of Sr14Cu24O41
One of the deepest questions in condensed matter physics concerns what other
phases compete with superconductivity in high-transition-temperature (high-Tc)
superconductors. One candidate is the "stripe" phase, in which the carriers
(holes) condense into rivers of charge separating regions of
antiferromagnetism. A related but lesser known system is the "spin ladder",
which consists of two coupled chains of magnetic ions forming an array of
rungs. A doped ladder can be thought of as a high-Tc material with lower
dimensionality, and has been predicted to exhibit both superconductivity and an
insulating "hole crystal" phase in which the carriers are localised through
many-body interactions. The competition between the two resembles that between
static stripes and superconductivity in high-Tc materials. Here we report
evidence, from resonant x-ray scattering, for the existence of a hole crystal
in the doped spin ladder of Sr14Cu24O41. This phase exists without a detectable
distortion in the structural lattice, indicating it arises from many-body
effects. Our measurements confirm theoretical predictions and support the
picture that proximity to charge ordered states is a general property of
superconductivity in copper-oxides.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Incommensurate Intermodulation of an Organic Intergrowth Compound Observed by Neutron Scattering
International audienceThe observation of an incommensurate diffraction pattern in urea inclusion compounds by neutron diffraction is reported. It reveals for the first time in these compounds the existence of all kinds of reflections expected for an intermodulated composite. The superspace analysis together with the temperature evolution of some characteristic reflections are presented
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