We report a Cu K-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) study of
high-Tc cuprates. Momentum-resolved charge excitations in the CuO2 plane are
examined from parent Mott insulators to carrier-doped superconductors. The Mott
gap excitation in undoped insulators is found to commonly show a larger
dispersion along the [pi,pi] direction than the [pi,0] direction. On the other
hand, the resonance condition displays material dependence. Upon hole doping,
the dispersion of the Mott gap excitation becomes weaker and an intraband
excitation appears as a continuum intensity below the gap at the same time. In
the case of electron doping, the Mott gap excitation is prominent at the zone
center and a dispersive intraband excitation is observed at finite momentum
transfer
