206 research outputs found
Far infrared properties of the rare-earth scandate DyScO3
We present reflectance measurements in the infrared region on a single
crystal the rare earth scandate DyScO3. Measurements performed between room
temperature and 10 K allow to determine the frequency of the infrared-active
phonons, never investigated experimentally, and to get information on their
temperature dependence. A comparison with the phonon peak frequency resulting
from ab-initio computations is also provided. We finally report detailed data
on the frequency dependence of the complex refractive index of DyScO3 in the
terahertz region, which is important in the analysis of terahertz measurements
on thin films deposited on DyScO3
Spectral weight redistribution in (LaNiO3)n/(LaMnO3)2 superlattices from optical spectroscopy
We have studied the optical properties of four
(LaNiO)/(LaMnO) superlattices (SL) (=2, 3, 4, 5) on
SrTiO substrates. We have measured the reflectivity at temperatures from 20
K to 400 K, and extracted the optical conductivity through a fitting procedure
based on a Kramers-Kronig consistent Lorentz-Drude model. With increasing
LaNiO thickness, the SLs undergo an insulator-to-metal transition (IMT)
that is accompanied by the transfer of spectral weight from high to low
frequency. The presence of a broad mid-infrared band, however, shows that the
optical conductivity of the (LaNiO)/(LaMnO) SLs is not a linear
combination of the LaMnO and LaNiO conductivities. Our observations
suggest that interfacial charge transfer leads to an IMT due to a change in
valence at the Mn and Ni sites.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett. 5 pages, 5 figure
Infrared signature of the charge-density-wave gap in ZrTe3
Abstract.: The chain-like ZrTe3 compound undergoes a charge-density-wave (CDW) transition at TCDW=63K, most strongly affecting the conductivity perpendicular to the chains. We measure the temperature (T) dependence of the optical reflectivity from the far infrared up to the ultraviolet with polarized light. The CDW gap Δ(T) along the direction perpendicular to the chains is compatible for T<TCDW with the behavior of an order parameter within the mean-field Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory. Δ(T) also persists well above TCDW, which emphasizes the role played by fluctuation effect
Optical Properties of (SrMnO3)n/(LaMnO3)2n superlattices: an insulator-to-metal transition observed in the absence of disorder
We measure the optical conductivity of (SrMnO3)n/(LaMnO3)2n superlattices
(SL) for n=1,3,5, and 8 and 10 < T < 400 K. Data show a T-dependent insulator
to metal transition (IMT) for n \leq 3, driven by the softening of a polaronic
mid-infrared band. At n = 5 that softening is incomplete, while at the
largest-period n=8 compound the MIR band is independent of T and the SL remains
insulating. One can thus first observe the IMT in a manganite system in the
absence of the disorder due to chemical doping. Unsuccessful reconstruction of
the SL optical properties from those of the original bulk materials suggests
that (SrMnO3)n/(LaMnO3)2n heterostructures give rise to a novel electronic
state.Comment: Published Online in Nano Letters, November 8, 2010;
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nl1022628; 5 pages, 3 figure
Metallic ground state and glassy transport in single crystalline URhGe: Enhancement of disorder effects in a strongly correlated electron system
We present a detailed study of the electronic transport properties on a
single crystalline specimen of the moderately disordered heavy fermion system
URhGe. For this material, we find glassy electronic transport in a
single crystalline compound. We derive the temperature dependence of the
electrical conductivity and establish metallicity by means of optical
conductivity and Hall effect measurements. The overall behavior of the
electronic transport properties closely resembles that of metallic glasses,
with at low temperatures an additional minor spin disorder contribution. We
argue that this glassy electronic behavior in a crystalline compound reflects
the enhancement of disorder effects as consequence of strong electronic
correlations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Pressure tuning of light-induced superconductivity in K3C60
Optical excitation at terahertz frequencies has emerged as an effective means
to manipulate complex solids dynamically. In the molecular solid K3C60,
coherent excitation of intramolecular vibrations was shown to transform the
high temperature metal into a non-equilibrium state with the optical
conductivity of a superconductor. Here we tune this effect with hydrostatic
pressure, and we find it to disappear around 0.3 GPa. Reduction with pressure
underscores the similarity with the equilibrium superconducting phase of K3C60,
in which a larger electronic bandwidth is detrimental for pairing. Crucially,
our observation excludes alternative interpretations based on a high-mobility
metallic phase. The pressure dependence also suggests that transient, incipient
superconductivity occurs far above the 150 K hypothesised previously, and
rather extends all the way to room temperature.Comment: 33 pages, 17 figures, 2 table
Electrodynamics near the Metal-to-Insulator Transition in V3O5
The electrodynamics near the metal-to-insulator transitions (MIT) induced, in
V3O5 single crystals, by both temperature (T) and pressure (P) has been studied
by infrared spectroscopy. The T- and P-dependence of the optical conductivity
may be explained within a polaronic scenario. The insulating phase at ambient T
and P corresponds to strongly localized small polarons. Meanwhile the T-induced
metallic phase at ambient pressure is related to a liquid of polarons showing
incoherent dc transport, in the P-induced metallic phase at room T strongly
localized polarons coexist with partially delocalized ones. The electronic
spectral weight is almost recovered, in both the T and P induced metallization
processes, on an energy scale of 1 eV, thus supporting the key-role of
electron-lattice interaction in the V3O5 metal-to-insulator transition.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Evidence of a pressure-induced metallization process in monoclinic VO
Raman and combined trasmission and reflectivity mid infrared measurements
have been carried out on monoclinic VO at room temperature over the 0-19
GPa and 0-14 GPa pressure ranges, respectively. The pressure dependence
obtained for both lattice dynamics and optical gap shows a remarkable stability
of the system up to P*10 GPa. Evidence of subtle modifications of V ion
arrangements within the monoclinic lattice together with the onset of a
metallization process via band gap filling are observed for PP*. Differently
from ambient pressure, where the VO metal phase is found only in
conjunction with the rutile structure above 340 K, a new room temperature
metallic phase coupled to a monoclinic structure appears accessible in the high
pressure regime, thus opening to new important queries on the physics of
VO.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Optical properties of V2O3 in its whole phase diagram
Vanadium sesquioxide V2O3 is considered a textbook example of Mott-Hubbard
physics. In this paper we present an extended optical study of its whole
temperature/doping phase diagram as obtained by doping the pure material with
M=Cr or Ti atoms (V1-xMx)2O3. We reveal that its thermodynamically stable
metallic and insulating phases, although macroscopically equivalent, show very
different low-energy electrodynamics. The Cr and Ti doping drastically change
both the antiferromagnetic gap and the paramagnetic metallic properties. A
slight chromium content induces a mesoscopic electronic phase separation, while
the pure compound is characterized by short-lived quasiparticles at high
temperature. This study thus provides a new comprehensive scenario of the
Mott-Hubbard physics in the prototype compound V2O3
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