First evidence for charge ordering in NaV2_2O5_5 from Raman spectroscopy

We argue on the basis of symmetry selection rules and Raman scattering spectra that NaV$_2$O$_5$ undergoes a charge ordering phase transition at T$_c$=34 K. Such a transition is characterized by the redistribution of the charges at the phase transition and corresponds to the change of the vanadium ions, from uniform V$^{4.5+}$ to two different V$^{4+}$ and V$^{5+}$ states. In the low temperature phase the V$^{4+}$ ions are forming a "zig-zag" ladder structure along the {\bf b}-axis, consistent with the symmetry of the P2/b space group.Comment: to be published in solid state communication

Optical properties of NaxV2O5

The optical properties of sodium-deficient NaxV2O5 (0.85 < x <1) single crystals are analyzed in the wide energy range, from 0.012 to 4.5 eV, using ellipsometry, infrared reflectivity, and Raman scattering techniques. The material remains insulating up to the maximal achieved hole concentration of about 15%. In sodium deficient samples the optical absorption peak associated to the fundamental electronic gap develops at about 0.44 eV. It corresponds to the transition between vanadium dxy and the impurity band, which forms in the middle of the pure NaV2O5 gap. Raman spectra measured with incident photon energy larger then 2 eV show strong resonant behavior, due to the presence of the hole-doping activated optical transitions, peaked at 2.8 eV.Comment: 7 pages, 4 fugures, to be published in PR

Pairing in cuprates from high energy electronic states

The in-plane optical conductivity of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d thin films with small carrier density (underdoped) up to large carrier density (overdoped) is analyzed with unprecedented accuracy. Integrating the conductivity up to increasingly higher energies points to the energy scale involved when the superfluid condensate builds up. In the underdoped sample, states extending up to 2 eV contribute to the superfluid. This anomalously large energy scale may be assigned to a change of in-plane kinetic energy at the superconducting transition, and is compatible with an electronic pairing mechanism.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

The in-plane electrodynamics of the superconductivity in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d: energy scales and spectral weight distribution

The in-plane infrared and visible (3 meV-3 eV) reflectivity of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (Bi-2212) thin films is measured between 300 K and 10 K for different doping levels with unprecedented accuracy. The optical conductivity is derived through an accurate fitting procedure. We study the transfer of spectral weight from finite energy into the superfluid as the system becomes superconducting. In the over-doped regime, the superfluid develops at the expense of states lying below 60 meV, a conventional energy of the order of a few times the superconducting gap. In the underdoped regime, spectral weight is removed from up to 2 eV, far beyond any conventional scale. The intraband spectral weight change between the normal and superconducting state, if analyzed in terms of a change of kinetic energy is ~1 meV. Compared to the condensation energy, this figure addresses the issue of a kinetic energy driven mechanism.Comment: 13 pages with 9 figures include

The nanostructural origin of the ac conductance in dielectric granular metals: the case study of Co_20(ZrO_2)_80

We show which is the nanostructure required in granular Co20(ZrO2)80 thin films to produce an ac response such as the one that is universally observed in a very wide variety of dielectric materials. A bimodal size distribution of Co particles yields randomly competing conductance channels which allow both thermally assisted tunneling through small particles and capacitive conductance among larger particles that are further apart. A model consisting on a simple cubic random resistance-capacitor network describes quantitatively the experimental results as functions of temperature and frequency, and enables the determination of the microscopic parameters controlling the ac response of the samples.Comment: Available online at: http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=APPLAB000091000005052108000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=ye

The change of Fermi surface topology in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 with doping

We report the observation of a change in Fermi surface topology of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 with doping. By collecting high statistics ARPES data from moderately and highly overdoped samples and dividing the data by the Fermi function, we answer a long standing question about the Fermi surface shape of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 close to the (pi,0) point. For moderately overdoped samples (Tc=80K) we find that both the bonding and antibonding sheets of the Fermi surface are hole-like. However for a doping level corresponding to Tc=55K we find that the antibonding sheet becomes electron-like. This change does not directly affect the critical temperature and therefore the superconductivity. However, since similar observations of the change of the topology of the Fermi surface were observed in LSCO and Bi2Sr2Cu2O6, it appears to be a generic feature of hole-doped superconductors. Because of bilayer splitting, though, this doping value is considerably lower than that for the single layer materials, which again argues that it is unrelated to Tc

Optical properties, electron-phonon coupling, and Raman scattering of vanadium ladder compounds

The electronic structure of two V-based ladder compounds, the quarter-filled NaV$_2$O$_5$ in the symmetric phase and the iso-structural half-filled CaV$_2$O$_5$ is investigated by ab initio calculations. Based on the bandstructure we determine the dielectric tensor $\epsilon(\omega)$ of these systems in a wide energy range. The frequencies and eigenvectors of the fully symmetric A$_{g}$ phonon modes and the corresponding electron-phonon and spin-phonon coupling parameters are also calculated from first-principles. We determine the Raman scattering intensities of the A$_g$ phonon modes as a function of polarization and frequency of the exciting light. All results, i.e. shape and magnitude of the dielectric function, phonon frequencies and Raman intensities show very good agreement with available experimental data.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure