7 research outputs found
Advances in single crystal growth and annealing treatment of electron-doped HTSC
High quality electron-doped HTSC single crystals of and have been
successfully grown by the container-free traveling solvent floating zone
technique. The optimally doped and crystals have transition temperatures
of \,K and \,K, respectively, with a transition width of less than
\,K. We found a strong dependence of the optimal growth parameters on the Ce
content . We discuss the optimization of the post-growth annealing treatment
of the samples, the doping extension of the superconducting dome for both
compounds as well as the role of excess oxygen. The absolute oxygen content of
the as-grown crystals is determined from thermogravimetric experiments and is
found to be . This oxygen surplus is nearly completely removed by a
post-growth annealing treatment. The reduction process is reversible as
demonstrated by magnetization measurements. In as-grown samples the excess
oxygen resides on the apical site O(3). This apical oxygen has nearly no doping
effect, but rather influences the evolution of superconductivity by inducing
additional disorder in the CuO layers. The very high crystal quality of
is particularly manifest in magnetic quantum
oscillations observed on several samples at different doping levels. They
provide a unique opportunity of studying the Fermi surface and its dependence
on the carrier concentration in the bulk of the crystals.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J.
Raman light scattering study and microstructural analysis of epitaxial films of the electron-doped superconductor La_{2-x}Ce_{x}CuO_{4}
We present a detailed temperature-dependent Raman light scattering study of
optical phonons in molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown films of the electron-doped
superconductor La_{2-x}Ce_{x}CuO_{4} close to optimal doping (x ~ 0.08, T_c =
29 K and x ~ 0.1, T_c = 27 K). The main focus of this work is a detailed
characterization and microstructural analysis of the films. Based on
micro-Raman spectroscopy in combination with x-ray diffraction,
energy-dispersive x-ray analysis, and scanning electron microscopy, some of the
observed phonon modes can be attributed to micron-sized inclusions of Cu_{2}O.
In the slightly underdoped film (x ~ 0.08), both the Cu_{2}O modes and others
that can be assigned to the La_{2-x}Ce_{x}CuO_{4} matrix show pronounced
softening and narrowing upon cooling below T ~ T_c. Based on control
measurements on commercial Cu_{2}O powders and on a comparison to prior Raman
scattering studies of other high-temperature superconductors, we speculate that
proximity effects at La_{2-x}Ce_{x}CuO_{4}/Cu_{2}O interfaces may be
responsible for these anomalies. Experiments on the slightly overdoped
La_{2-x}Ce_{x}CuO_{4} film (x ~ 0.1) did not reveal comparable phonon
anomalies.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Phase decomposition and chemical inhomogeneity in Nd2 xCexCuO4 delta
Extensive x ray and neutron scattering experiments and additional transmission electron microscopy results reveal the partial decomposition of Nd2 x Cex CuO4 delta NCCO in a low oxygen fugacity environment such as that typically realized during the annealing process required to create a superconducting state. Unlike a typical situation in which a disordered secondary phase results in diffuse powder scattering, a serendipitous match between the in plane lattice constant of NCCO and the lattice constant of one of the decomposition products, Nd,Ce 2 O3 , causes the secondary phase to form an oriented, quasi two dimensional epitaxial structure. Consequently, diffraction peaks from the secondary phase appear at rational positions H,K,0 in the reciprocal space of NCCO. Additionally, because of neodymium paramagnetism, the application of a magnetic field increases the low temperature intensity observed at these positions via neutron scattering. Such effects may mimic the formation of a structural superlattice or the strengthening of antiferromagnetic order of NCCO, but the intrinsic mechanism may be identified through careful and systematic experimentation. For typical reduction conditions, the Nd,Ce 2 O3 volume fraction is approximately 1 , and the secondary phase layers exhibit long range order parallel to the NCCO CuO2 sheets and have a typical thickness of approximately 100 . The presence of the secondary phase should also be taken into account in the analysis of other experiments on NCCO, such as transport measurements