Investigation of the temperature dependence of electron and phonon Raman scattering in single crystal YBa2Cu3O6.952

Detailed Raman-scattering measurements have been performed on high-quality YBa₂Cu₃O_6.952 single crystal (T _c =93 K, ΔT _c =0.3 K). A sharp (FWHM 7.2 cm^?1 at 70 K and 10.0 cm^?1 at 110 K) 340 cm^?1phonon mode has been observed inB _1g polarization. An electronic scattering peak at 500 cm^?1 in theB _1g polarization extends down to 250 cm^?1. These FWHM values determine the upper limit of the homogeneous linewidth of the phonon and electronic excitations. The start of the electronic spectral function renormalization and of the 340 cm^?1 mode anomalies (frequency softening, linewidth sharpening, and intensity increase) have been observed to occur approximately 40 K aboveT _c . The 340 cm^?1 mode Fano shape analysis has been performed and the temperature dependences of the Fano shape parameters have been estimated. All 340 cm^?1 mode anomalies have been explained by the electronic spectral function renormalization.     

Resonant Raman Study of Superconducting Gap and Electron-Phonon Coupling in YbBa2Cu3O7−δ

We investigate the electronic background as well as the 02-03 mode at 330 cm ^–1 of highly doped YbBa ₂ Cu ₃ O _7– in B _1g symmetry. Above the critical temperature T._c the spectra consist of an almost constant electronic background and superimposed phononic excitations. Below T _c the superconducting gap opens and the electronic background redistributes exhibiting a 2 peak at 320 cm ^–1 . We use a model that allows us to separate the background from the phonon. In this model the phonon intensity is assigned to the coupling of the phonon to inter- and intraband electronic excitations. For excitation energies between 1.96 eV and 2.71 eV the electronic background exhibits hardly any resonance. Accordingly, the intraband contribution to the phonon intensity is not affected. In contrast, the interband contribution vanishes below T _c at 1.96 eV while it remains almost unaffected at 2.71 eV.     

Intrinsic critical current of Ag-clad (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3Oz tapes

True zero-field critical current densityJ _c of a well-characterized BPSCCO/Ag tape has been determined by means of high-resolution ac susceptibility in the temperature range 77–110 K. The resultant values (30,000 A/cm² at 77 K) agree well with the transportJ _c of the same tape. Because of a very thin BPSCCO, the coreJ _c determined from the imaginary part of the ac susceptibility is nearly the same as the zero field one. AllJ _c 's follow the same (1-T/T _c )ⁿ withn=1.45 dependence.J _c shows an approximateH ^–0.5 field dependence over the explored temperature range. Accordingly, the variations ofJ _c withT andH seem to be determined by the flux creep.     

Neutron and Raman Scattering Studies of Hgba2CuO4+δ

The HgBa₂CuO₄₊ sample was characterized by Neutron diffraction and magnetic measurements. Both of the measurements indicate a high purity of the sample. Raman measurement was performed on a HgBa₂CuO₄₊ compound of T_c = 96 K. The apical oxygen vibration at 592 cm^–1 was found to show (a) an above T_c anomaly, and (b) frequency hardening and linewidth broadening below the superconducting phase transition. The latter is attributed to the coupling of the phonon to the electronic excitation and related to the opening of the superconducting gap below the phonon frequency.     

Raman scattering from single crystal YBa2Cu3O7-δ in a magnetic field

A magneto-Raman study of a YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ single crystal(T _c = 92 K) was carried out at a resolution of 2 cm^-1 over the temperature range 5–125 K. At temperatures belowT _c we observed a slight narrowing of the 340 cm^-1 Raman mode in a magnetic field of 5.15 T directed parallel to thec-axisof the crystal. The observed magneto-temperature dependences of the Raman continuum intensity measured in the low-frequency region, at ca. 40 cm^-1, indicate contributions of electronic excitations arising from a pair-breaking process. Within the experimental uncertainty, the Raman intensity of the high-frequency continuum was observed to be independent of the magnetic field strength.     

Ion-channeling studies of lattice anomalies well aboveT c in YBa2CU3O7−y

Backscattering yields in the <001> axial channeling mode using D⁺ ions have been measured for YBa₂Cu₃O_7–y single crystals with T_c=59K. 68K and 91K at temperatures between 40K and 295K. In 60 K-class YBa₂Cu₃O_7–y with significant anomalies associated with the spin gap, it is found that the channeling anomalies are observed at 130–140 K(T_pa) in addition to anomalies at T_c. The channeling anomalies at T_c follow to the shift of T_c, suggesting the phonon anomalies induced by the superconducting-gap opening. On the other hand, T_pa is found to be almost unchanged for varying T_c, although T_pa appears near the temperature where the spin gap is opened. This leads a question whether the channeling anomalies at T_pa is directly related to the phonon anomalies induced by the spin-gap opening. The existence of lattice instability is suggested as one of possible explanations for the anomalies at T_pa.     

Photoinduced changes in Raman spectra of YBa2Cu3O6.4 films

The evolution of Raman spectra with illumination has been studied in YBa₂Cu₃O_6.4 films at temperatures between 5–300 K. Low laser power has always been used to avoid local overheating, which was controlled by measuring the local temperature by the Stokes/anti-Stokes ratio. Three important photoinduced effects have been found: (i) the enhancement of the intensity of the observed phonon modes: (Cu(2) at 141 cm^–1, O(2)-O(3) at 338 cm^–1, and O(4) at 488 cm^–1), which may be related to the ordering of oxygen vacancies, (ii) the increase of the electronic scattering background for low Raman frequencies, which is in agreement with the enhancement of the static conductivity(0) after illumination, and (iii) the suppression of the intensity of the two-magnon band, which may be caused by the increase of charge carriers due to photodoping.     

Neutron and Raman Scattering Studies of Hgba2CuO4+δ

The HgBa₂CuO_4+δ sample was characterized by Neutron diffraction and magnetic measurements. Both of the measurements indicate a high purity of the sample. Raman measurement was performed on a HgBa₂CuO_4+δ compound of T_c = 96 K. The apical oxygen vibration at 592 cm^?1 was found to show (a) an above T_c anomaly, and (b) frequency hardening and linewidth broadening below the superconducting phase transition. The latter is attributed to the coupling of the phonon to the electronic excitation and related to the opening of the superconducting gap below the phonon frequency.     

Physical properties of a new cuprate superconductor Pr2Ba4Cu7O15−δ

We present studies of the thermal, magnetic, and electrical transport properties of reduced polycrystalline Pr₂Ba₄Cu₇O_15−δ (Pr247) showing a superconducting transition at T_c=10–16 K, and compare them with those of as-sintered non-superconducting Pr247. The electrical resistivity in the normal state exhibited T² dependence up to approximately 150 K. A clear specific heat anomaly was observed at T_c for Pr247 reduced in a vacuum for 24 h, proving the bulk nature of the superconducting state. By the reduction treatment, the magnetic ordering temperature T_N of Pr moments decreased from 16 to 11 K, and the entropy associated with the ordering increased, while the effective paramagnetic moments obtained from the DC magnetic susceptibility varied from 2.72 to 3.13μ_B. The sign of Hall coefficient changed from positive to negative with decreasing temperature in the normal state of a superconducting Pr247, while that of the as-sintered one was positive down to 5 K. The electrical resistivity under high magnetic fields was found to exhibit T^α dependence (α=0.08–0.4) at low temperatures. A possibility of superconductivity in the so-called CuO double chains is discussed.     

The critical constants of long-chain normal paraffins

Because of the recent availability of the critical constants of normal alkanes up to octadecane, some modifications in the estimation procedures for the critical constants have become necessary. It has been shown that the equation of Ambrose for the critical temperature of normal alkanes leads to the result that as n , the limiting value for the critical temperature is equal to the limiting value for the normal boiling point and the limiting value for the critical pressure is 1 atm. Currently, the CH₂ increment for the critical volume is considered constant. The recent data of Teja have shown that the CH₂ increment increases indefinitely in a homologous series until the critical volume reaches its limiting value. This has made the current procedure for estimating the critical volume obsolete. Taking into account the new measurements of Teja, we have now developed new equations for estimating the critical constants. The limiting values for an infinitely long alkyl chain for T _b, T _c, P _c, and V _c have been found to be 1021 K, 1021 K, 1.01325 bar, and 18618 cm³ · mol^–1, respectively. These new concepts have been applied to the estimation of various properties other than the critical constants.Nomenclature M Molar mass, kg·mol ^–1 - V _c Critical volume, cm³·mol^–1 - V ₁ Saturated liquid volume, cm³·mol^–1 - P _c Critical Pressure, bar - T _c Critical temperature, K - T _b Normal boiling point, K - T _B Boyle temperature, K - T _A Temperature at which the third virial coefficient is zero, K - V _c Limiting value of critical volume = 18,618 cm³ · mol^–1 - P _c Limiting value of critical pressure=1.01325 bar - T _c Limiting value of critical temperature = 1021 K - T _b Limiting value of normal boiling point = 1021 K - P _b Pressure at the normal boiling point, 1 atm - Z _c Critical compressibility factor - Z _c Limiting value for the critical compressibility factor = 0.22222 - R Gas constant, 83.1448×10^–6m³ · bar · K^–1 · mol^–1 - Acentric factor - X (T _c–T _b)/T _c - X ₁ (T _c–T)/T _c - X ₂ 1–(T _B/T)^5/4 - X ₃ 1–(T _A/T)^5/2 - Y P _c/RT _c - Surface tension, mN · m^–1 - B Second virial coefficient, cm³ · mol^–1 - B Limiting value for the second virial coefficient = –30,463 cm³ · mol^–1 - C Third virial coefficient, cm⁶ · mol^–2 - C _b Third virial coefficient at the normal boiling point, cm⁶ · mol^–2 - C _c Third virial coefficient at the critical temperature, cm⁶ · mol^–2 - C _B Third virial coefficient at the Boyle temperature, cm⁶ · mol^–2 - H _vb Enthalpy of vaporization at the normal boiling point, kJ · mol^–1 - n Number of carbon atoms in a homologous series - p Platt number, number of C-C-C-C structural elements - a, b, c, d, e, etc Constants associated with the specific equation - T _c ^* , T _b ^* , P _c ^* , V _c ^* , etc. Dimensionless variables     

Superconductivity in MgB2: Phonon modes and influence of carbon doping

Following a brief overview, results of our investigations on phonon modes in MgB₂, and superconducting transition in carbon doped MgB₂ are presented. The superconducting transition temperature in MgB_{2 x}C_x as obtained from susceptibility and resistivity measurements is observed to decrease systematically from 39-4 K forx = 0 to 26 K forx = 0.5. It is shown the changes in lattice volume, as obtained from x-ray diffraction measurements, can account only partially for the observed decrease inT _c . The observed variation ofT _c with carbon content is seen to correlate with the Debye temperatures, obtained from an analysis of the resistivity data. Investigation of the phonon modes in MgB₂, through infrared absorption measurements indicate three modes at 410,475 and 560 cm^-1. The former two are associated with the infrared active modes, and the third component is associated with the Raman mode, that gets activated due to disorder. A study of the temperature dependence of these modes indicates no changes across the superconducting transition. The mode at 560 cm^-1 shows a significant hardening and a corresponding decrease in linewidth, with the lowering of temperature, that can been accounted in terms of anharmonicity.     

Superconducting gap in PrxY1?xBa2Cu4O8 and YBa2?ySryCu4O8 probed by infrared phonon self-energies

We report a reflectivity study of thez-polarized TO-phonons of Pr _x Y_1–x Ba₂Cu₄O₈ and YBa_2–y Sr _y Cu₄O₈ alloys in the temperature range 10–300 K. Anomalies of the frequency and linewidth of the plane-oxygen vibration at300 cm^–1 due to the opening of the superconducting gap are found to occur upon crossing the superconducting transition temperatureT _c . Phonon self-energy effects are strongly dependent onT _c , providing evidence for a relative shift of the gap with respect to the energy of phonon.On leave from the Institute for Semiconductor Physics, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, 252650 Kiev-28, Ukraine.     

The effect of oxygen and lead doping on electrical and optical properties of highT c GdBa2(Cu1−x Pb x )3Oδ compound superconductors

A systematic study of the electrical and infrared properties of the high critical temperature,T _c , compound superconductor GdBa₂(Cu_1–xPb_x)₃O has been performed. Resistivity and a.c. susceptibility measurements show a significant drop inT _c when copper is replaced by lead in the range 0.005 x 0.025. Infrared measurements show that the conductivity of the compound increases with the increase in lead concentration. For undoped samples, all the Restrahlen vibrations, common to these materials, are present in the infrared reflectance spectra. As the concentration of lead is increased, a shift of the phonon modes, as well as broadening of the 150 cm^–1 phonon mode, is observed. Also the Restrahlen vibration around 410 cm^–1 present in the normal material starts to disappear. This 150 mode is attributed to a change in the oxygen concentration, and is shown to be correlated with the critical temperature.     

Superconductivity of Ba1 ? xKxBiO3 (0.35 < x < 1) Synthesized by the High Pressure and High Temperature Technique

Ba_{1 – x} K _x BiO₃ (BKBO) samples with 0.35 < x < 1 were synthesized by the high pressure and high temperature technique. XRD analysis showed that the BKBO samples were single phase for the whole range of the potassium doping concentration. The change of superconducting transition temperature, T _c, as well as lattice parameters have been investigated upon doping concentration. As the K doping concentration (x) increases from x = 0.37, T _c decreases from 30.4 K to almost zero at x = 0.74. However, in some BKBO samples without including any barium in the starting composition (x = 1), which is denoted as KBO samples, superconductivity is observed with T _c as high as 9 K with partial substitutions of Bi at the K site. Depending on the synthesis condition of the KBO samples, T _c and lattice parameters were different from sample to sample. Compared with other superconducting bismuthates, the evolution of T _c by potassium doping in the cubic BKBO system is discussed in terms of its electronic band structure.     

Effect of Ca Substitution on the Superconductivity of La2.5Y0.5CaBa3(Cu0.88Fe0.12)7Oz

The structural and superconducting properties of single-phase La_2.5–y Y_0.5Ca_1+y Ba₃ (Cu_0.88Fe_0.12)₇O _z (LYCaBCuFe) (y= 0.0–1.0) compounds with triple perovskite structure are investigated using X-ray diffraction, resistivity, a.c. susceptibility, and oxygen content measurements. Increasing Ca substitution for La resulted in a decrease in unit cell axes and volume. T _c ^R=0 shows a marginal increase from 31 K to 37 K for y = 0.0–0.21 and thereafter it decreases with increasing y leading to zero T _c ^R=0 at y 0.84. This shows that the suppression of T _c from 80 K to 31 K by Fe doping at x = 0.12 La_2.5Y_0.5CaBa₃(Cu_1–x Fe _x )₇O _z cannot be compensated by appropriate hole doping with Ca in LaYCaBCuFe.     

Reproducibility of transition temperature and critical current density of thin films of YBa2Cu3O7 on (100) LaAlO3

Submicrometer epitaxial films of YBa₂Cu₃O₇(YBCO) on (100) LaAlO₃ were made by coevaporation and furnace annealing. Samples from more than a dozen runs are used in this study. The zero resistance transition temperature (T _c) is high (89 or 90 K) if the film composition is phase pure (Ba/Y=2, Cu/Y=3) or if it is enriched in Ba and Cu. For these compositions the critical current density (J _c) at 77 K has an average value of 2×10⁵ A cm^–2, with a tendency for decreasingJ _c with increasing film thickness (0.2 to 0.8m). Variations inJ _c are not correlated with deviations from ideal stoichiometry. Steeper slopes of the resistance-temperature curves above 100 K and lower values of the room-temperature resistivity are associated with high values ofJ _c. If the film composition is enriched in Y relative to Ba and Cu,T _c decreases by several degrees.     

Normal-State Optical Response Functions of MgB2 Superconductor

The reflectivity of superconducting MgB₂ (T _c = 39 K) has been measured on a randomly oriented thin film at room temperature over a wide-range of frequencies, 20 ≤ ω < 100000 cm^?1. The conductivity shows highly metallic behavior but cannot be explained with a simple Drude model alone. The electronic contribution is analyzed by a generalized Drude model. The scattering rate 1/τ(ω) and the mass renormalization ratio m*(ω)/m = 1 + λ (ω) exhibit clear frequency dependence. The electron–phonon coupling strength is estimated to be λ ～ 1.5 ± 0.5 while the plasma frequency ω_p is 2.4 eV.     

Enhanced Superconductivity in the Tl1?XBiXBa2Ca2Cu3Oy System

Compounds of the system, Tl_1–xBi_xBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O₉, were synthesized and studied. Bi substitutes at the Tl-site for values of x up to x=0.2. The superconducting transition temperature, T_c, increases from 110K for x=0.0 to 116K for x=0.2. SEM images reveal a plate-like morphology which is highly suitable for powder-in-tube processing. M-H loops show that the Bi-substituted phase has significantly better low temperature flux pinning properties than the pristine Tl-cuprate, and exhibits only a weak dependence on temperature and field when compared to that of unsubstituted phase. The J_c values calculated using the Bean model are: 3 × 10⁷ A/cm² at 10K,1T and 2 × 10⁴ A/cm² at 77K.1T. Substitution of 20% of Bi in TlBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O₉ makes the compound an excellent choice for magnet wire applications at relatively low temperatures.     

Normal-State Optical Response Functions of MgB2 Superconductor

The reflectivity of superconducting MgB₂ (T _c = 39 K) has been measured on a randomly oriented thin film at room temperature over a wide-range of frequencies, 20 < 100000 cm^–1. The conductivity shows highly metallic behavior but cannot be explained with a simple Drude model alone. The electronic contribution is analyzed by a generalized Drude model. The scattering rate 1/() and the mass renormalization ratio m*()/m = 1 + () exhibit clear frequency dependence. The electron–phonon coupling strength is estimated to be 1.5 ± 0.5 while the plasma frequency _p is 2.4 eV.     

Electrical conductivity and domain structure in ferroelastic Tl2SeO4

We have carried out the optical observation, electrical conductivity and ²⁰⁵Tl NMR measurements, and subsequently investigated the origin of the large conductivity above ferroelastic phase transition temperature T_c (=661 K) on the basis of the domain structure and the crystal structure. Electrical conductivity exhibits the discontinuous increase around T_c with increasing temperature and becomes approximately 5 × 10⁻³ S m⁻¹ above T_c. Moreover, from the ²⁰⁵Tl NMR measurements, it is found that mobile Tl ions exist above T_c. Furthermore, from the analysis of the domain structure based on the crystal structure in the low-temperature ferroelastic phase, it is also found that the anomalously large fluctuations of SeO₄ tetrahedrons exist above T_c. It is deduced from these results that the high electrical conductivity above T_c is caused by the mobile Tl ions closely related to the anomalously large fluctuations of SeO₄ tetrahedrons accompanied by the ferroelastic phase transition.